Claude Code on Android: Termux + Cosyra Setup

You can run Claude Code on Android today. The fastest path is Cosyra on Google Play — install the app on any Pixel, Galaxy, OnePlus, or foldable running Android 9+, paste an Anthropic API key into the Ubuntu container, type claude, and the agent is up. Sign up gets you 1 hour free, no credit card. The two other real options are Termux with an npm install workaround (works, needs care on Android 12+) and SSH from Termux + tmux into your own always-on machine.

This guide is the Android-specific companion to our Claude Code on your phone walkthrough (which covers both iPhone and Android generically) and the Claude Code on iPad guide. What changes on Android is that Termux is a real local option — unlike on iOS — but it comes with a glibc-vs-Bionic libc story and the Android 12+ phantom-process killer, both of which we explain below. For the broader context across all four mobile AI agents see AI coding agents on mobile. And if you're choosing between Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex CLI from an Android phone, our Claude Code vs Codex CLI on phone head-to-head walks through the permission-prompt, sandbox, and pricing trade-offs.

Why is Android different from iPhone for Claude Code?

Android is different from iPhone for Claude Code because Android lets you run a real terminal emulator on-device. Termux ships a Linux package manager, Node.js, Python, Git, and tmux, all running against an ARM64 userland on top of the Android kernel. iOS does not allow any of that; iSH emulates x86 Alpine in userspace and a-Shell ships curated WebAssembly binaries, but neither is a real coding environment for Node-based CLIs like Claude Code. On Android, you genuinely have a local option — it just comes with two specific caveats: the ABI mismatch with Anthropic's native binary, and the OS-level phantom-process killer that ships with Android 12 and later.

We have an opinion that the desktop-first crowd would not share: Android, not iPhone, is the most underrated agent-driven coding device in 2026. The reason is exactly the thing iPhone refuses to do — let user-space software install a package manager and run a real Linux shell. On a Pixel 9 Pro Fold on the kitchen counter, the inner display gives you two side-by-side Cosyra panes (one running Claude Code, one with the diff) and a Bluetooth keyboard turns it into a near-laptop. The phone keyboard is fine for the natural-language part of agent work because you are writing one sentence at a time, not 40-line functions.

What are the three real ways to run Claude Code on Android in 2026?

There are three real ways to run Claude Code on Android as of 2026-05-19: Cosyra (cloud terminal with Claude Code pre-installed, native Android app), Termux (on-device with an npm install workaround), or SSH from Termux + Tailscale into your own always-on machine. We walk through each below with the honest trade-offs.

1. Cosyra (cloud terminal, native Android app)

This is what we build. The Cosyra Android app gives you a persistent Ubuntu 24.04 x86_64 container reached from any Pixel, Galaxy, OnePlus, or foldable. Claude Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode, and Gemini CLI are pre-installed. You get 30 GB of persistent storage, session hibernation that resumes exactly where you left off, and the same container is also reachable from iPhone, iPad, and a browser. No npm workaround, no phantom-killer to wrestle with, no Bluetooth-keyboard requirement.

• Works when: you want zero local setup, a persistent environment that survives device switches, and full x86_64 Ubuntu compatibility (Docker support on the container, glibc-linked binaries, precompiled Python wheels).
• Breaks when: you have no internet (the container is in the cloud — there is no offline mode), or you need to develop a native Android app in Android Studio (the container is Ubuntu, not Android Studio + emulator).
• Cost: Sign up — 1 hour free, no credit card. Extend with a 10-hour, 7-day trial when you want more. After that, $29.99/month or $300/year. See pricing.

2. Termux (on-device Linux, npm install)

Termux is an Android terminal emulator with a real Linux package manager. It is open-source (GPLv3) and available on F-Droid (requires Android 7+), the Google Play Store (requires Android 11+, separate version scheme since the return in June 2024), and direct GitHub releases. You install Node.js with the bundled package manager and then install Claude Code from npm.

• Works when: you want a free, local, offline-capable shell on Android, you are comfortable troubleshooting ABI quirks, and you are on Android 14+ where the phantom-killer fix is a Settings toggle.
• Breaks when: the native Anthropic installer is required (it is not — npm path still works), when you hit the phantom-process killer on long sessions, or when a tool you need wants x86_64 glibc (Docker, certain Python wheels, kernel modules).
• Cost: free.

3. SSH from Termux + tmux into your own machine

The remote-into-your-desktop path, popular on r/termux. Install Tailscale on a Mac or Linux box at home, install Tailscale on Android, install OpenSSH inside Termux (pkg install openssh), then ssh user@machine and tmux attach on the host. Claude Code runs on the host, Termux is just the terminal.

• Works when: you already have an always-on Mac, Linux box, or VPS, you are comfortable with SSH and tmux, and you want full control of the host environment.
• Breaks when: the host laptop sleeps, the Tailscale tunnel drops, your home network is down, or you do not want to keep another machine alive solely so your phone has a target. The whole point of phone coding is to detach from another machine; chaining your phone to a desktop in the closet defeats that.
• Cost: free Termux + free Tailscale tier + whatever the host machine costs.

How do you set up Claude Code on Android with Cosyra?

You set up Claude Code on Android in about two minutes: install Cosyra from Google Play, sign in, paste an Anthropic API key into the Ubuntu container, and type claude. No npm install, no package manager, no phantom-killer worry. The steps below are exactly what we run on a fresh Pixel 9.

Step 1: Install Cosyra from Google Play

Open the Google Play Store on your Android phone and search for Cosyra. The Android app runs on Pixel (Pixel 6 and later tested by us), Samsung Galaxy S and Z (foldable inner display layouts work), OnePlus, Nothing, and any device running Android 9 or later. Sign in with Google, Apple, or email and the app provisions a fresh Ubuntu container on first launch. First launch takes about 15 seconds in our testing on a Pixel 8 Pro.

Step 2: Pair a Bluetooth keyboard (optional)

Open Android Settings → Connected devices → Pair new device, and pair any Bluetooth keyboard. We use a small folding Bluetooth keyboard on trains and a Logitech MX Keys when working from a chair at home. Gboard handles short agent prompts fine — you are writing one English sentence at a time, not function bodies. The keyboard helps when you switch into git workflows, where typing branch names is faster than swipe-typing them.

On a Galaxy Z Fold or Pixel Fold, the inner display is large enough to run Cosyra and a browser side-by-side via Android's split-screen view. On Samsung DeX (Galaxy S20 and later, plugged into a monitor or a DeX cable), Cosyra opens as a resizable desktop window with full keyboard and mouse support. We have run a four-hour refactor session in DeX using a Galaxy S24 Ultra plugged into a USB-C monitor.

Step 3: Add your Anthropic API key and run claude

Get an API key from console.anthropic.com. In the Cosyra terminal on Android:

Clone a repo and start a session:

The agent indexes the repo and starts working. Approve or reject diffs inline. The phone keyboard is fine for the natural-language input (one sentence per turn). When the screen locks, the container keeps running; when you reopen the app, the session is exactly where you left it.

How do you install Claude Code in Termux on Android?

You install Claude Code in Termux by installing Node.js with the bundled package manager, installing the @anthropic-ai/claude-code npm package, and adding a shell alias because the npm release no longer ships a global CLI entry point. Below is the exact sequence we ran on a Pixel 8 running Android 14 with Termux from F-Droid.

Two things to know going in. First, recent versions of the npm package (2.1.113+) print a deprecation warning telling you to switch to the native installer. That installer does not work on Termux because the binary is glibc-linked and Termux uses Bionic libc. Anthropic closed the request for a native Termux build as "not planned" in claude-code Issue #10644, so the npm path is the recommended workflow. You can ignore the deprecation warning; the npm path keeps working. Second, the npm package no longer ships a global claude binary, so the alias above is required. The community claude-code-termux repo tracks this and other Termux-specific Claude Code workarounds.

For the full Termux trade-off discussion — phantom-killer risk, ARM64 limits, where it wins — see Cosyra vs Termux.

How do you fix the Android 12+ phantom process killer?

Android 12 introduced a phantom-process limit of 32 background processes per app, and the OS will SIGKILL any beyond the limit or any using "excessive" CPU. For a Termux user running Claude Code, this shows up as the terminal printing [Process completed (signal 9) - press Enter] mid-session. The Termux maintainers track the issue at termux-app #2366; the issue is closed as "wontfix at OS level," with documented user-side workarounds.

The fix depends on your Android version:

• Android 14 and later: Settings → Developer options → "Disable child process restrictions" → toggle off. This is the one-time toggle most users want. If Developer options is not visible, enable it via Settings → About phone → tap "Build number" seven times.
• Android 12 and 13: the toggle does not exist. Run an ADB command from a laptop to lift the limit: adb shell "/system/bin/device_config set_sync_disabled_for_tests persistent" then adb shell "/system/bin/device_config put activity_manager max_phantom_processes 2147483647". The setting survives reboots until you factory reset.
• Cosyra users: none of this applies. The container runs in the cloud, not as a phantom process on the phone, so Android cannot kill it.

What about Galaxy DeX, foldables, and the S Pen?

Android's hardware variety is the biggest practical reason to write an Android-specific guide. iPhone has one shape. Android has Galaxy Z Fold 7s, Pixel Folds, Galaxy S24 Ultras with S Pens, OnePlus Open foldables, Surface Duo holdouts, and DeX, and each unlocks a different workflow.

Foldables (Galaxy Z Fold, Pixel Fold): the inner display gives you a ~7.6" canvas where Android's split-screen view runs Cosyra on the left and Chrome with the GitHub PR on the right. We do most foldable PR reviews this way. The agent's diff sits on the left, the PR conversation sits on the right, and Bluetooth keyboard typing feels closer to laptop than phone.

Samsung DeX (Galaxy S20 and later, Tab S series): plug a USB-C cable into a monitor (or a Smart Dock) and DeX boots a desktop shell. Cosyra opens as a resizable window with full Bluetooth keyboard and mouse support. The container is the same one you used on the phone five minutes ago. We tested a four-hour Galaxy S24 Ultra session in DeX with a 27" display: indistinguishable from a Linux desktop for agent-driven work.

S Pen on Galaxy Ultra and Tab S: hover-and-tap is faster than touch for selecting text in long diffs. We use it to circle specific lines, paste them into a prompt ("explain this regex"), and let Claude Code reply. On the Galaxy Tab S9 the S Pen plus Bluetooth keyboard combo turns the tablet into the same client we run on the phone, just with more vertical real estate.

Chromebook with Linux container (Crostini): a corner case worth flagging. If you carry a Chromebook with Linux containers enabled, you can install Claude Code inside Crostini directly. But honestly, a Chromebook with internet is a perfect Cosyra client — open cosyra.com in Chrome, sign in, and use the web terminal. We cover both paths in Claude Code on a Chromebook.

How do the Android options compare?

The Android options compare cleanly when you line them up against what actually matters for an agent client: persistent state, OS-level process killing, ABI compatibility, and whether you need another machine in the loop. The table below covers the three real paths as of 2026-05-19.

Choose Cosyra if you want zero local setup, the same container across Android, iPhone, iPad, and web, and no Android-OS quirks to manage. Choose Termux if free and offline matter more than the hour you will spend wrestling with the phantom-killer and the npm path. Choose SSH + tmux if you already run an always-on machine and Tailscale is already in your stack. For more on tmux and TUI ergonomics on a phone, see our TUI apps on phone guide.

Frequently asked questions