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How to Install OpenResty on Termux (Natively)

·2 mins

In my previous post, I showed how to run OpenResty using a PRoot Ubuntu environment. While that method is reliable, it comes with the overhead of a containerized distribution.

If you want maximum performance and a smaller footprint, you can now run OpenResty natively on Termux. I created the termux-openresty project to make this process seamless.

Why Native? #

  • Performance: No PRoot emulation overhead.
  • Simplicity: Stay within the Termux environment without switching to a different distribution shell.
  • Storage: Saves space by not requiring a full Ubuntu rootfs.

The installation is handled by a simple script that sets up the environment and compiles OpenResty specifically for the Termux environment.

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/joaothallis/termux-openresty.git
cd termux-openresty

# Run the build script
chmod +x build-openresty-termux.sh
./build-openresty-termux.sh

Configuration #

The script installs OpenResty into an isolated folder in your home directory (~/openresty-install). The configuration file is located at: ~/openresty-install/usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf.

Note: The build script automatically configures the server to listen on port 8080, so you can start it immediately without manual configuration changes.

Usage #

The script creates wrapper binaries in ~/bin/. To use them, ensure this directory is in your PATH (usually handled in your .bashrc):

# Ensure ~/bin is in your PATH
export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"

1. Start the Service #

openresty

2. Verify it’s Running #

Verify that the processes are active in the background:

# Check active processes
ps aux | grep openresty

3. Common Management Commands #

The wrapper supports standard signals for easy management:

# Test the configuration file
openresty -t

# Reload configuration without downtime
openresty -s reload

# Stop the service
openresty -s stop

Running OpenResty natively turns your Android device into a high-performance web server and Lua gateway without any extra layers. Check out the repository for more details!