Hello, in this article I'm going to be giving you a tip of some useful tools to install after installing Termux so that Termux can be easier to use for you. Though there is so many tool out there you can install on Termux through the APT package manager and other development sites like GitHub, but after so many research I picked out the most important eight(8) that both newbies and pros can't do without and I am very sure that you'd find this tools helpful in your programming or ethical hacking journey.
What is Termux?
Termux is an Android terminal emulator and Linux environment app that works directly with no rooting or setup required. A minimal base system is installed automatically - additional packages are available using the APT package manager.
How To Install Termux?
I have previously made an article where I shared the best and the most secured way if installing Termux, if you haven't seen it already, you can check it out here.
The eight important things to do after installing Termux
1. Update Termux Repository
It is highly recommended to update and upgrade existing packages before installing the new one. To know more about termux repositories click here. You can install updates by running this command:
- apt update && apt upgrade
2. Give Termux storage permission
When you install termux for the very first time, it is important to give Termux storage permission because termux can be used for so many things that even you can't imagine and sometimes you might have files on your phone's storage you want to access or work on through Termux, and of course you're going to need storage permission to do that. You can give storage permission by running this command:
- termux-setup-storage
3. Install git, curl and wget.
After upgrading repositories and giving termux storage permission, the next thing we're going to do is install these three important packages as this packages are used in downloading files from the internet and they allow you to transfer data from one machine to another, further explanations will be made regarding this three as we proceed.
What is wget?
Wget is a free GNU command-line utility tool used to download files from the internet. It retrieves files using HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP protocols. You can install wget on Termux by running the below command
- pkg install wget
What is cURL?
cURL is a free and open-source command-line utility that allows users to transfer data from one remote machine to another with minimal or no user interaction. CURL use is prevalent in devices like routers, printers, phones, tablets, media players, and more. You can install curl on Termux by typing the following command:
- pkg install curl
What is Git?
Before heading to git clone, let me give you a brief definition of Git. Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.
Git is an important part of daily programming (especially if you're working with a team) and is widely used in the software industry.
There are various commands you can use, mastering Git takes time. But some commands are used more frequently (some daily). So in this post, I will share and explain the most used Git command that every developer should know, which is The Git Clone Command.
What is Git Clone?
git clone is primarily used to point to an existing repo and make a clone or copy of that repo at in a new directory, at another location, in other words, Git clone is a command for downloading existing source code from a remote repository (like Github, for example). In other words, Git clone basically makes an identical copy of the latest version of a project in a repository and saves it to your computer. To install Git Clone On Termux You can use the command.
- pkg install git
4. Install Text Editors (nano and vim)
It is important to install text editors on Termux because, as a termux user, you'r going to be editing and patching operating systems files and re-configuring files, that Is why we're going to need text editors and the two text editors out there that we mostly use and I recommend you to use are:
- nano text editor
- Vim text editor
What is nano text editor?
GNU nano is a text editor for Unix-like computing systems or operating environments using a command line interface. It emulates the Pico text editor, part of the Pine email client, and also provides additional functionality. Unlike Pico, nano is licensed under the GNU General Public License. Nano is great text editor for beginners who are new to terminal-based text editing. Nano is also useful for those who want to make just a few simple edits. If you are not a “perfect” Linux user, then Nano might be for you. To install nano text editor on Termux use the command:
- pkg install nano
What is vim text editor:
Vim is a highly configurable text editor built to make creating and changing any kind of text very efficient. It is included as "vi" with most UNIX systems and with Apple OS X.
Vim is rock stable and is continuously being developed to become even better. Among its features are:
- persistent, multi-level undo tree
- extensive plugin system
- support for hundreds of programming languages and file formats
- powerful search and replace
- integrates with many tools
To install vim on Termux, use the command:
- pkg install vim
5. Install zip and unzip
Another package to consider installing on Termux is the zip and unzip package, as you might have already guessed, these two packages are used to zip and unzip packages through the terminal. To install both packages you can use the command:
- apt install zip && unzip
6. Install python3
What is python?
I know that most of you must have heard of python from your various sources, and for those that don't know what python is, Python is a computer programming language often used to build websites and software, automate tasks, and conduct data analysis. Python is a general-purpose language, meaning it can be used to create a variety of different programs and isn't specialized for any specific problems.
What is python3?
Python 3 is a newer version of the Python programming language which was released in December 2008. This version was mainly released to fix problems that exist in Python 2. The nature of these changes is such that Python 3 was incompatible with Python 2. It is backward incompatible. To install python3 on Termux use the command:
- pkg install python
7. Install Apache2
The Apache HTTP Server is a free and open-source cross-platform web server software, released under the terms of Apache License 2.0. Apache is developed and maintained by an open community of developers under the auspices of the Apache Software Foundation. To install Apache2 in termux use the command:
- apt install apache2
8. Install Termux API
The Termux:API add-on provides command line access to device API:s: " Read and send sms messages from your terminal. " Access device GPS location sensor and many more. To install Termux:API on Termux, use the following procedures.
The first thing you're going to do is launch your F-droid application and install termux:API, after the installation is successful the next thing we're going to do is launch our termux terminal and install Termux: API with the command:
- pkg install termux-api
Some useful API commands are :
Get the status of the device battery.
Set the screen brightness between 0 and 255.
List call log history.
Get information about device camera(s).
It is guaranteed that you're on your way to professionalism on Termux if you have all of these packages installed, and making your own research on Termux, with enough practice. With all of this been said, this is going to be the end of this article, thanks for joining and reading with us.