git-annex is available for Android inside Termux. This includes the 
[[git-annex assistant|/assistant]], for easy syncing between your Android
and other devices. You do not need to root your Android to use git-annex.

(Alternatively, rather than installing git-annex on your Android device,
git-annex can run on your computer and use `adb` to pull and push changes
to the Android device. See [[tips/android_sync_with_adb]] for instructions
on using git-annex that way.)

[[!toc ]]

## Installation

First, install [Termux](https://termux.com/). This is an Android app that can
run some Linux software in a terminal, including git-annex.

git-annex is not currently part of the Termux distribution, but it's easy
to install it. Paste these commands into Termux:

	pkg install wget
	wget https://git-annex.branchable.com/install/Android/git-annex-install
	source git-annex-install

## Starting git-annex

To start git-annex, just run "git annex webapp" inside Termux.
A browser window will open with the git-annex interface.

[[!img webapp.png alt="git-annex webapp"]]

## Closing and reopening the webapp

The webapp does not need to be left open after you've set up your
repository. As long as Termux is left open, git-annex will
remain running and sync your files.

## Starting at power on

If you install the [Termux:Boot app](https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Termux:Boot),
git-annex will be automatically started when your Android device
powers on. It will run in the background in whatever repositories you have
set up in the webapp.  

## Using the command line

If you prefer to use `git-annex` at the command line, you can do so inside
Termux. Here we'll make a repository for photos:

        cd ~/storage/dcim
        git init
        git annex init

You can go on to set up a ssh remote pointing to a server, and sync
your files to and from it.

And so on. Most ways you would use git-annex on a Linux system work fairly
well in the Termux environment.

## Upgrading

To upgrade to a new git-annex release, just run `git-annex-install` again.