Configuration

ternux installs with sensible defaults, and everything can be tuned. This page explains every knob, where it lives, and why it is set the way it is.

Install-time choices

Setting	Default	Notes
`--user NAME`	`ternux`	Debian user created inside the container
`--locale LANG`	`en_US.UTF-8`	Desktop locale (see below for Bangla)
`--backend`	`auto`	`auto` detects Adreno → `zink`, else `virgl`
`--zsh`	off	Switch the Termux shell to zsh as well
`--with-*`	none	Optional workload profiles

To change the user or locale after installation, run the installer with the new value without --resume, because resume skips phases already recorded as complete: bash install.sh --user X --locale bn_BD.UTF-8 --yes. Back up first; creating a new account does not migrate the old account’s home automatically.

Bangla locale

bash install.sh --locale bn_BD.UTF-8

This generates the bn_BD.UTF-8 locale inside Debian and installs Noto/Symbola font coverage, so Bangla renders correctly in the desktop terminal and apps.

Installer output

The installer’s renderer is a display choice only. Whatever the screen can show, the complete output of every phase is appended to $TERNUX_LOG_DIR/ternux.log.

Variable	Default	Effect
`TERNUX_UI`	`auto`	`auto`, `dashboard`, `plain` or `off` — the same values as `--ui`
`TERNUX_NO_ANIM`	unset	`1` freezes the spinner and colour cycling; the dashboard still updates
`TERNUX_QUIET`	`0`	Suppresses shared status messages and disables the frame
`TERNUX_JSON`	`0`	Requests structured output where a command documents it; disables the frame
`TERNUX_YES`	unset	`1` accepts the documented defaults without prompting, like `--yes`
`TERNUX_LOG_DIR`	`$TMPDIR/ternux`	Directory for `ternux.log` and the install stream log
`TERNUX_STATE_DIR`	`~/.local/share/ternux`	Phase state, saved install choices, saved profiles
`TERNUX_COLS`, `TERNUX_ROWS`	unset	Force a frame geometry; intended for tests and reproducible transcripts

Renderer selection is explained in Installation → The installer screen.

The launcher — `~/x.sh`

Generated for your GPU route and syntax-checked at install time. Edit it freely; a reinstall regenerates it (your edits are replaced).

Zink (Adreno) environment

MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE=zink   Force Mesa's Zink Gallium driver
GALLIUM_DRIVER=zink                (same intent, legacy spelling — both set)
TU_DEBUG=sysmem,noconform          Turnip options for correct desktop GL
MESA_VK_WSI_DEBUG=sw               Software WSI — avoids X11/Vulkan surface issues
MESA_DISK_CACHE_SINGLE_FILE=1      Shader cache as one file, faster warm starts
MESA_SHADER_CACHE_MAX_SIZE=2048M   Cap so the cache can't eat all storage
MESA_SHADER_CACHE_DIR=/tmp/mesa_cache  Cache in the shared tmp (RAM-backed)
QT_X11_NO_MITSHM=1 / _X11_NO_MITSHM=1  Disable MIT-SHM (broken over X11 here)
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=~/.runtime         Required by dbus/GTK apps
--bind /dev/kgsl-3d0               Expose the Adreno kernel node to the container

Why the cache tweaks? The phone’s storage is slow flash; a single-file, size-capped cache keeps app warm-starts fast without letting Mesa silently consume gigabytes.

VirGL environment

GALLIUM_DRIVER=virpipe              Route GL over the VirGL pipe
MESA_GL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=4.3COMPAT  Advertise OpenGL 4.3 compatibility to apps
MESA_GLES_VERSION_OVERRIDE=3.2

The host-side virgl_test_server_android process is started before the container; the launcher warns loudly if it fails to start (otherwise the session silently falls back to software rendering).

Audio

Three cooperating pieces:

Where	What
Termux `$PREFIX/etc/pulse/default.pa`	TCP bridge module on 127.0.0.1:4713, OpenSL sink as default
Launcher	starts `pulseaudio` before the container, loads the bridge
Debian `~/.config/pulse/client.conf`	`default-server = tcp:127.0.0.1:4713`

Why loopback-only? The bridge crosses the container boundary over TCP, so an anonymous ACL is needed — an explicit listen=127.0.0.1 keeps it off the LAN. Other same-device clients can still reach a loopback listener. Never change the listener to 0.0.0.0 without replacing anonymous access with deliberate authentication and firewalling.

To pick a different sink (Bluetooth, headphones), change the set-default-sink line in default.pa and restart the session (killx, then x).

Fonts

Installed inside Debian:

fonts-noto-color-emoji — emoji
fonts-symbola, fonts-font-awesome, fonts-powerline — symbol coverage
JetBrainsMono Nerd Font — terminal icon glyphs, downloaded once into ~/.local/share/fonts (sentinel file prevents re-downloads)

Add more fonts any time: drop the files in ~/.local/share/fonts and run fc-cache -f.

State files

Path	Purpose
`~/.ternux-state`	Which installer phases completed (powers `--resume`, `--status`)
`~/.ternux-state` also records	The SHA-256 of the downloaded Turnip driver
`$TMPDIR/ternux-install.log`	Full log of the last installer run

Deleting ~/.ternux-state discards completion records. Do not use --resume to reapply a completed phase; use the relevant ternux repair path or rerun the installer without --resume, with a backup first.

Held Mesa packages (Zink route)

db
sudo apt-mark showhold        # expect: mesa-vulkan-drivers libgl1-mesa-dri ...

These are held so a routine apt upgrade cannot replace the Turnip-backed path with stock Mesa and silently switch you to llvmpipe. Upgrade them deliberately:

sudo apt-mark unhold mesa-vulkan-drivers libgl1-mesa-dri libglx-mesa0 libgbm1 libegl-mesa0
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt-mark hold mesa-vulkan-drivers libgl1-mesa-dri libglx-mesa0 libgbm1 libegl-mesa0

…then verify the renderer string again (glxinfo | grep renderer).