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How to Install OpenResty on Termux (Ubuntu via PRoot)

·2 mins

Running a full OpenResty (Nginx + Lua) stack on Android is a powerful way to develop and test web applications on the go. This guide uses proot-distro to set up an Ubuntu environment, providing a familiar ecosystem for OpenResty.

Phase 1: Environment Setup in Termux #

First, ensure Termux is updated and install the necessary PRoot utilities.

# Update Termux packages
pkg update && pkg upgrade

# Install PRoot and PRoot-Distro
pkg install proot proot-distro

# Install and login to Ubuntu
proot-distro install ubuntu
proot-distro login ubuntu

Phase 2: Repository Configuration (Inside Ubuntu) #

Once inside the Ubuntu shell, you need to add the official OpenResty package repository. This example targets Ubuntu Noble (24.04).

1. Install Dependencies #

apt-get update
apt-get -y install --no-install-recommends wget gnupg ca-certificates lsb-release

2. Import GPG Key #

wget -O - https://openresty.org/package/pubkey.gpg | gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/openresty.gpg

3. Add OpenResty Source List #

echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/openresty.gpg] http://openresty.org/package/arm64/ubuntu noble main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/openresty.list > /dev/null

Phase 3: Installation #

Update the package lists and install OpenResty.

apt-get update
apt-get -y install openresty

Phase 4: Configure for Non-Root Environment #

In Termux/PRoot, you cannot bind to privileged ports below 1024 (like the default port 80). You must change the listening port to a higher value, such as 8080.

Use sed to update the configuration file instantly:

# Change default port 80 to 8080
sed -i 's/listen[[:space:]]\+80;/listen 8080;/g' /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf

Phase 5: Start and Verify #

You can now start OpenResty using its absolute binary path. Note that systemctl is not available in PRoot environments.

Start the Service #

/usr/local/openresty/bin/openresty

Verify it’s Running #

Verify that the OpenResty processes are active in the background:

ps aux | grep openresty

Your OpenResty server is now accessible at http://localhost:8080.

Pro-Tip: To stop the server, use the -s stop signal: /usr/local/openresty/bin/openresty -s stop