Android and Termux

Brum on Android & Termux

High-Performance Multi-Pane File Commander & Web Environment for Android
Run Brum directly on unrooted Android devices via Termux, PRoot, UserLAnd, or as a standalone Progressive Web App (PWA).

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1. Overview & Architecture

Brum is built in pure asynchronous Rust (axum, tokio, rust-embed) and compiles into a single, zero-dependency native binary embedding the entire web interface.

On Android devices, Brum can run as a local userspace daemon in Termux or a PRoot Linux container, providing:

• Direct Android Storage Access: Manage internal storage (/sdcard), DCIM, Downloads, Documents, and external USB OTG drives without root.
• Progressive Web App (PWA): Access http://127.0.0.1:3140 via Chrome, Firefox, or Brave with full-screen, native-feeling mobile touch UI.
• Embedded Bite! Terminal: Spawns an interactive Android shell (bash, zsh, sh) directly inside your browser.
• Wireless Commander Fleet Node: Wirelessly browse, edit, and sync phone files from a PC or tablet over local Wi-Fi or Tailscale without MTP cables.

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2. Installation via Termux (Recommended)

Termux provides a robust Linux environment for Android. Install the official build from F-Droid or GitHub Releases (avoid Google Play Store builds which are deprecated).

Step 1: Grant Android Storage Permission

Run the following inside Termux and tap Allow on the Android system popup:

termux-setup-storage

This maps standard Android storage folders to ~/storage/ inside Termux:

• ~/storage/shared $\to$ Internal Storage root (/sdcard)
• ~/storage/downloads $\to$ Android Downloads
• ~/storage/dcim $\to$ Camera & Photos
• ~/storage/documents $\to$ Android Documents
• ~/storage/external-1 $\to$ External MicroSD / USB OTG drive

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Step 2: Install Build Toolchain & Dependencies

pkg update -y
pkg install -y rust clang openssl make git

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Step 3: Install Brum

Option A: Direct Install via Cargo (Crates.io)

cargo install brum

Option B: Compile from Source Repository

git clone https://github.com/Woofson/brum.git
cd brum
cargo build --release
cp target/release/brum $PREFIX/bin/

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Step 4: Launch Brum

Start the server listening on localhost:

brum

To expose Brum across your local Wi-Fi network (to browse phone files from a PC):

brum --host 0.0.0.0 --port 3140

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3. Alternative Android Environments

If you prefer using full Linux distributions on Android without Termux's custom package prefix, use one of the following methods:

A. PRoot Distro inside Termux (Alpine / Debian / Ubuntu)

1. Install proot-distro in Termux:

   pkg install proot-distro
   proot-distro install alpine
   proot-distro login alpine

2. Inside Alpine Linux, install the official Brum .apk package:

   apk add --allow-untrusted https://github.com/Woofson/brum/releases/download/v1.0.0/brum-1.0.0-r0.x86_64.apk
   brum --host 0.0.0.0 --port 3140

B. UserLAnd / AndroNix

1. Launch an Alpine or Debian session in UserLAnd.
2. Download the generic Linux binary tarball:

   curl -LO https://github.com/Woofson/brum/releases/latest/download/brum-v1.0.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
   tar -xzf brum-v1.0.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
   cd brum-v1.0.0-linux-x86_64
   ./brum

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4. Setting Up the Android PWA (Standalone App)

Brum automatically detects mobile screen viewports (<600px Phone mode) with single-pane navigation and quick bottom actions.

1. Open Chrome, Firefox, or Brave on your Android device.
2. Navigate to http://127.0.0.1:3140.
3. Open the browser menu (three dots ⋮) and select "Add to Home screen" or "Install App".
4. Brum will install as a native-feeling standalone application with no address bars or browser frames.

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5. Background Daemon & Autostart (Termux:Boot)

Android's battery management will eventually kill background processes. Follow these steps to ensure continuous background operation:

1. Acquire Wake Lock

Prevent Android from suspending the Termux CPU:

termux-wake-lock

2. Run as a Background Service

nohup brum --host 0.0.0.0 --port 3140 > /dev/null 2>&1 &

3. Autostart on Device Boot via Termux:Boot

1. Install the Termux:Boot add-on from F-Droid.
2. Launch the Termux:Boot app once to register Android broadcast permissions.
3. Create the boot script in Termux:

   mkdir -p ~/.termux/boot
   cat << 'EOF' > ~/.termux/boot/start-brum.sh
   #!/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/bash
   termux-wake-lock
   brum --host 0.0.0.0 --port 3140 > ~/.brum.log 2>&1 &
   EOF
   chmod +x ~/.termux/boot/start-brum.sh

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6. Configuring Android Storage Roots in config.toml

Customize the pre-configured bookmarks and storage roots in ~/.config/brum/config.toml for Android:

[server]
host = "0.0.0.0"
port = 3140
default_path = "/data/data/com.termux/files/home/storage/shared"

[storage]
# Pre-configure Android directories in Places & Favorites menu
roots = [
    { name = "Internal Storage", path = "/sdcard" },
    { name = "Downloads", path = "/data/data/com.termux/files/home/storage/downloads" },
    { name = "Photos (DCIM)", path = "/data/data/com.termux/files/home/storage/dcim" },
    { name = "Documents", path = "/data/data/com.termux/files/home/storage/documents" },
    { name = "Termux Home", path = "/data/data/com.termux/files/home" }
]

[terminal]
default_shell = "/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/bash"

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7. Accessing from PC over Wi-Fi (Wireless File Commander)

1. Check your phone's local IP in Termux:

   ifconfig wlan0 | grep inet

   (Example: 192.168.1.145)
2. On your desktop PC or laptop browser, open:

   http://192.168.1.145:3140
   

3. You now have full Total Commander / Orthodox dual-pane control over your Android phone's storage from your desktop PC, including drag-and-drop file transfers, audio streaming, PDF viewing, 3D CAD inspection, and hex editing.

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8. Cross-Compiling Android ARM64 Binaries from PC

If you are developing or compiling release builds for Android ARM64 devices from a Linux or macOS host machine, use cross:

# Install cross
cargo install cross --git https://github.com/cross-rs/cross

# Build Android aarch64 binary
cross build --target aarch64-linux-android --release

The compiled binary will be located at target/aarch64-linux-android/release/brum and can be pushed directly to Android via ADB:

adb push target/aarch64-linux-android/release/brum /data/local/tmp/