[Android/Termux] Gemini CLI build fails on Node v24 + arm64

[Codeleafly]

What happened?

Hello Gemini CLI team,

I am attempting to build and install Gemini CLI version 0.11.0-nightly on Termux (Android, arm64) using Node.js v24.9.0. The build fails due to native dependencies and platform-specific checks.

Issues observed:

1. keytar fails to build: The package libsecret-1 is not found in the pkg-config search path, causing the build to fail.

2. node-pty fails to build: The binding.gyp file references an undefined variable android_ndk_path, which prevents compilation.

3. @vscode/vsce-sign is not supported on Android: The post-install script explicitly checks for supported platforms and fails on Android/arm64.

What did you expect to happen?

Expected behavior:
The CLI should build and install successfully, or at least fallback gracefully if some native modules are not supported. The CLI should not crash completely on unsupported platforms. A degraded mode where core functionality works, even if some native features are missing, would allow Android/Termux users to still use Gemini CLI.

Client information

Clone the repository, navigate to the directory, and run the standard installation commands:

Clone the repo from GitHub.

Run npm install.

Run npm run build.

Environment:

OS: Termux on Android 6.0.1 to 16

Architecture: arm64

Node.js version: v24.9.0 ( the latest stable version )

npm version: 10.x

Login information

No response

Anything else we need to know?

Older versions of Gemini CLI were buildable on Termux/Android, but recent versions fail completely. The failure appears to be related to platform-specific native modules (keytar, node-pty, @vscode/vsce-sign) and dependencies like NDK and libsecret, which are missing or unsupported on Android.
Additional feedback:
The current problem is that some native modules (like keytar, node-pty, @vscode/vsce-sign) fail to build on Android/Termux because of missing dependencies or platform-specific checks. Right now, when one of these modules fails, the entire build process stops, which prevents the Gemini CLI from running at all.

What should happen instead:

1. Negative binding should not block the whole build:
   If a native module cannot be built (e.g., due to missing libsecret or NDK issues), the build should skip or disable only that module, instead of failing completely.

2. Maintain functional CLI:
   Even if one module is missing or some features are unavailable, the CLI itself should remain fully usable. Core functionality like AI agent commands, file operations, or multimodal interactions should still work.

3. Warn, but don’t crash:
   The system can log a warning about the missing module or unsupported feature, but it should not crash at runtime. The user should still be able to run the CLI and use all supported features.

4. Degraded mode for unsupported modules:
   Missing modules can be marked as unavailable for now, but the CLI should run in a degraded mode, meaning the missing feature is just disabled, not the entire CLI.

Key benefit: This approach ensures that user experience is preserved. Users can still use the CLI even on platforms where certain native modules are unsupported, without encountering runtime crashes.

[Codeleafly]

✦ Gemini CLI is an exceptional tool, compatible with Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. Its capabilities are astonishing — it can create a complete project from scratch effortlessly. ✦ Kudos to the ✦ Gemini CLI team for building such a powerful tool!

However, I noticed a small issue: the latest version seems incompatible with Android, whereas earlier versions worked fine. Apart from this, Gemini remains one of the greatest LLMs in the world — and it's free!

[adamfweidman]

Can you run the tool in this environment via gemini or is that broken as well?

[Codeleafly]

Can you run the tool in this environment via gemini or is that broken as well?

Hi @adamfweidman, thanks for checking! 🙌

The CLI unfortunately doesn’t install or build successfully on Android (Termux arm64) using Node.js v24.9.0.

Here’s what happens:

npm install or npm run build both fail during the build process.

The main errors are related to native modules like node-pty and keytar:

node-pty fails due to unknown platform "android" and missing NDK path.

keytar fails because libsecret-1 is not found in the pkg-config path.

The build stops completely after these errors, so the CLI never installs fully.

However, if I run the same commands with --ignore-scripts (for example npm install --ignore-scripts), then:

The installation completes successfully.

The Gemini CLI actually runs perfectly fine — even without native modules.

Commands execute in the terminal normally (like running shell commands etc.).

The best part: the CLI doesn’t crash at runtime — it just skips unavailable modules gracefully.

When pressing Ctrl + O, the debug log opens and clearly shows which modules are missing, but the tool still works smoothly.

So the core logic and runtime are fully functional on Android Termux; only the native build scripts are blocking the installation.
A fallback for unsupported platforms (like skipping native modules) would make it 100% compatible.

[jojorne]

@Codeleafly

mkdir ~/.gyp && echo "{'variables': {'android_ndk_path': ''}}" > ~/.gyp/include.gypi

npm install -g @google/gemini-cli@latest

[cnaples79]

@jojorne this worked for me. How did you come up with the fix?

[LakshmanKishore]

There were some warnings during installation, but it worked for me too.
Thanks @jojorne