How to use nchat on Android with Termux?

[John4650-hub]

Is it possible to install this tool on android with termux?

[d99kris]

Hi @John4650-hub - good question! I just committed a fix for building nchat on Termux. It works with Telegram, but WhatsApp is not supported currently (do let me know if this would be useful, I can take another stab at it, but it seems it's not straight-forward).

To build and install nchat in Termux I did this:

pkg install cmake clang golang ccache gperf file readline libsqlite openssl
git clone https://github.com/d99kris/nchat && cd nchat
mkdir build && cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=${PREFIX} -DHAS_DYNAMICLOAD=OFF -DHAS_WHATSAPP=OFF ..
make -sj8
make install

Screenshot of nchat in Termux on my Samsung Galaxy S22:

[John4650-hub]

Thank you
It's absolutely useful. Personally, i would also prefer using whatsapp in my terminal rather than installing the application from play store.

[d99kris]

Hi @John4650-hub - support for building nchat with WhatsApp support under Termux has been added in 71fc941.

To build (with Telegram and WhatsApp support) under Termux, one must set certain build flags (HAS_DYNAMICLOAD=OFF and HAS_STATICGOLIB=OFF). The following commands can be used:

pkg install cmake clang golang ccache gperf file readline libsqlite openssl
git clone https://github.com/d99kris/nchat && cd nchat
mkdir build && cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=${PREFIX} -DHAS_DYNAMICLOAD=OFF -DHAS_STATICGOLIB=OFF ..
make -sj8
make install

Also note: For setting up a WhatsApp profile in nchat under Termux running on a phone, it will be easiest to ssh into the phone, so that the authentication Qr code can be viewed on a different device, and scanned using the phone in the WhatsApp app.

Screenshot of nchat with a WhatsApp profile in Termux on my S22:

[d99kris]

Update as of 2025 Oct 12th:

The make.sh script has been extended to support Termux now, so it should be possible to just:

git clone https://github.com/d99kris/nchat && cd nchat
./make.sh deps
./make.sh build && ./make.sh install

A few bugs related to running external commands from nchat (external editor, spell check, etc) on Termux has also been fixed.

[John4650-hub]

This is alot better. Thank you