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Platform Termux SearXNG F-Droid License: CC BY 4.0

SearXNG on Termux Android

(without Root & proot-distro)

Lightweight • Private • Fully On‑Device

Complete Installation, Configuration, and Administration Guide

This guide describes how to install, configure, and use SearXNG on a non‑rooted Android device with Termux — without proot‑distro, using Termux:Widget and the pkg Python environment. It includes:

  • Full installation steps
  • Configuration instructions
  • Start/stop scripts for Termux:Widget
  • Browser integration
  • Recommended settings

Table of Contents

0. Quick Install

0.1 Option A (install Script)

Automatic installation via script (recommended)

   pkg install git -y && git clone https://github.com/LukasSR04/SearXNG-Termux-Android-noRoot.git && cd SearXNG-Termux-Android-noRoot && bash scripts/install-searxng.sh

To install in a Custom Path

   pkg install git -y && git clone https://github.com/LukasSR04/SearXNG-Termux-Android-noRoot.git && cd SearXNG-Termux-Android-noRoot && SEARXNG_BASE=/your/custom/path bash scripts/install-searxng.sh

0.2 Option B (installation by yourself)

0.2.1 Installation

pkg update && pkg upgrade -y
pkg install -y git python libxml2 libxslt clang binutils nano curl openssl-tool
rm -rf ~/searxng-src ~/searxng-pyenv ~/.config/searxng
git clone "https://github.com/searxng/searxng" ~/searxng-src
cd ~/searxng-src
git checkout b5bb27f231e5f24b3985cd7cbd3f371486c21a11
sed -i 's/msgspec==0\.20\.0/msgspec>=0.20.0/' ~/searxng-src/requirements.txt
sed -i 's/msgspec==0\.20\.0/msgspec>=0.20.0/' ~/searxng-src/pyproject.toml
cd
python -m venv searxng-pyenv
source searxng-pyenv/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel pyyaml pybind11 msgspec typing_extensions
cd ~/searxng-src
pip install --use-pep517 --no-build-isolation -e .
mkdir -p ~/.config/searxng
cp ~/searxng-src/searx/settings.yml ~/.config/searxng/settings.yml

cat << 'EOF' > ~/searxng-src/generate_secret.py
import os, yaml
p=os.path.expanduser("~/.config/searxng/settings.yml")
s=yaml.safe_load(open(p))
s["server"]["secret_key"]=os.urandom(24).hex()
yaml.dump(s, open(p,"w"))
EOF

python ~/searxng-src/generate_secret.py

0.2.2 Start+Stop+Access

Start

termux-wake-lock
source ~/searxng-pyenv/bin/activate
export SEARXNG_SETTINGS_PATH=~/.config/searxng/settings.yml
python ~/searxng-src/searx/webapp.py

Stop

pkill -f searx/webapp.py
unset SEARXNG_SETTINGS_PATH
termux-wake-unlock

Access

http://localhost:8888/ or http://127.0.0.1:8888/

Start of Guide

1. Prerequisites

Device specifications:

  • Minimum 4GB RAM
  • Minimum 2GB storage space
  • F-Droid app store installed

Apps from F-Droid Appstore:

Optional:

  • Connection to Phone via SSH because typing in the terminal with the smartphone keyboard sucks ass.

1.1. Tested On

Device Samsung Galaxy A34 5G (SM-A346B) termux/termux-docker:latest termux/termux-docker:aarch64
Created - 2026-06-21 03:03:58 UTC 2026-06-21 03:04:07 UTC
Tested 15-02-2026 27-06-2026 27-06-2026
Android Version 16 - -
Kernel 6.6.82-android15-8-abA346BXXSDEYL2-4k 7.0.9-ogc3.2.fc44.x86_64 7.0.9-ogc3.2.fc44.x86_64
Architecture aarch64 (arm64-v8a) amd64 arm64
RAM 6 GB real RAM + 6 GB RAM Plus (Swap) 32 GB 32 GB
Termux Version 0.118.3 (F-Droid)
Termux Tools Version 1.45.0 1.45.0 1.45.0
Python Version 3.12.12 3.14.5 3.14.5
pip Version 26.0.1 26.1.2 26.1.2
OpenSSL Version 3.6.1 (27 Jan 2026)
SearXNG Commit 8456831a04e904afdf3057dcdbe9925e8a37377c 8456831a04e904afdf3057dcdbe9925e8a37377c 8456831a04e904afdf3057dcdbe9925e8a37377c
Termux Plugins Termux:Widget (versionCode 1001)
Runtime Note Native on x86_64 host arm64 image on x86_64 host via emulation
RepoDigest docker.io/termux/termux-docker@sha256:370ab0833949aef43a36ac80e23758c33566b683dc3b3b49666fe98a94d50c7d docker.io/termux/termux-docker@sha256:a1e6d86991171bf355b00a20db641f1029828c5e79855980ac7c429eb02e2c56
Result Success ✔️ Success ✔️ Success ✔️

2. Preparing Termux

Delete old searXNG files (only if they existed)

rm -rf ~/searxng-src
rm -rf ~/searxng-pyenv
rm -rf ~/.config/searxng

update Termux packages

pkg update && pkg upgrade -y
pkg install -y git python libxml2 libxslt clang binutils nano curl openssl-tool

3. Cloning SearXNG Source Code

cloning the source code

git clone "https://github.com/searxng/searxng" ~/searxng-src

cd ~/searxng-src
git checkout b5bb27f231e5f24b3985cd7cbd3f371486c21a11

4. Creating a Python Virtual Environment

using a virtual environment keeps SearXNG dependencies isolated from the main Termux Python installation

cd ~
python -m venv searxng-pyenv

activating Python

source searxng-pyenv/bin/activate

the prompt will change to (searxng-pyenv) ~$ indicating the virtual environment is active

5. Installing Python build Tools and Dependencies

while the virtual environment is active

pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel pyyaml pybind11 msgspec 
pip install --upgrade typing_extensions

6. Installing SearXNG and its Dependencies

Navigate into the cloned source directory and install SearXNG in editable mode (-e .).

cd ~/searxng-src
pip install --use-pep517 --no-build-isolation -e .

if an error occurs, then start again with step 5.

7. Configure SearXNG

create the configuration directory, then copy the default settings.yml and generate a unique secret_key The Python environment must still be active

mkdir -p ~/.config/searxng

cp ~/searxng-src/searx/settings.yml  ~/.config/searxng/settings.yml

generate secret_key file

touch ~/searxng-src/generate_secret.py
cat << 'EOF' > ~/searxng-src/generate_secret.py
import os
import yaml

settings_path = os.path.expanduser("~/.config/searxng/settings.yml")
with open(settings_path, "r") as f:
  settings = yaml.safe_load(f)
settings["server"]["secret_key"] = os.urandom(24).hex()
with open(settings_path, "w") as f:
  yaml.dump(settings, f, default_flow_style=False)

EOF
python ~/searxng-src/generate_secret.py

8. How to run the SearXNG Instance

8.1. Option A

You can create start and stop shortcuts with the Termux:Widget App, because typing in the Smartphone terminal really sucks For this the Termux:Widget App has to be installed from F-Droid and opened once to allow the requested system permissions

First check if the App already created the "~/.shortcuts" Folder in the home Directory

cd

ls -a ~ | grep .shortcuts

if the Output contains ".shortcuts" you can go on. If the folder is not listed then you need to make one with:

mkdir ~/.shortcuts

After that you need to create Bash Scripts for the Widget App to use

Creating the start and stop scripts.

touch ~/.shortcuts/start-searxng.sh ~/.shortcuts/stop-searxng.sh
cat << 'EOF' >  ~/.shortcuts/start-searxng.sh
#!/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/bash

# Activate WakeLock to prevent searxng from closing in the background
termux-wake-lock

# start Virtual Environment
source ~/searxng-pyenv/bin/activate

sleep 2

# Go to Searxng Folder
cd ~/searxng-src


# Export with corrected Path for webapp.py to prevent errors
export SEARXNG_SETTINGS_PATH=~/.config/searxng/settings.yml

# Start searxng in the background
python /data/data/com.termux/files/home/searxng-src/searx/webapp.py&

# Confirmation Messages
echo -e "\e[32m SearXNG has been started in the background! \e[0m\n"

addr=$(grep -E "^[[:space:]]*bind_address:" ~/.config/searxng/settings.yml | head -n 1 | awk -F': *' '{print $2}' | tr -d '"'\'' ')
port=$(grep -E "^[[:space:]]*port:" ~/.config/searxng/settings.yml | head -n 1 | awk -F': *' '{print $2}' | tr -d '"'\'' ')



echo -e "\e[32m SearXNG is using the address:\e[0m  $addr\n"
echo -e "\e[32m And uses the port: \e[0m $port\n"

echo -e "\e[32m And is accessible with the URL: \e[0m"
echo -e "http://$addr:$port/\n"


sleep 1

echo -e "\e[32m This Window will close in 8 Seconds! \e[0m\n"

sleep 8

exit 0

EOF
cat << 'EOF' > ~/.shortcuts/stop-searxng.sh
#!/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/bash

# kill SearXNG process
pkill -f searx/webapp.py

unset SEARXNG_SETTINGS_PATH

termux-wake-unlock

echo -e '\e[33m SearXNG and wake-lock has been stopped! \e[0m'

sleep 1

echo -e '\e[33m This Window will close in 2 Seconds \e[0m'


sleep 2

exit 0

EOF
chmod +x ~/.shortcuts/stop-searxng.sh ~/.shortcuts/start-searxng.sh

By picking the second Option like in the picture shows you can create a Termux:Widget Widget on your start page where the Scripts in the ~/.shortcuts Folder are displayed and Executable

TermuxWidgetScreenshot

Just refresh the Widget by pressing the refresh symbol and it should display your bash start & stop Scripts

8.2. Option B (not recommended)

I really don't recommend it but you can of course start searXNG without shortcuts and widgets but inside the termux-terminal (why though?).

for starting searXNG in the Background

termux-wake-lock
source ~/searxng-pyenv/bin/activate
cd ~/searxng-src
export SEARXNG_SETTINGS_PATH=~/.config/searxng/settings.yml
python /data/data/com.termux/files/home/searxng-src/searx/webapp.py&

for stopping searXNG

pkill -f searx/webapp.py
termux-wake-unlock

8.3 Possible Error Output

After starting SearXNG you may see an Error like this:

2026-02-15 09:40:22,022 ERROR:searx.engines: loading engine ahmia failed: set engine to inactive!
2026-02-15 09:40:22,177 ERROR:searx.engines: loading engine torch failed: set engine to inactive!
2026-02-15 09:40:22,245 WARNING:searx.botdetection.config: missing config file: /data/data/com.termux/files/home/.config/searxng/limiter.toml

These messages are completely normal and can be ignored. The ahmia and torch engines do not work on Android and are automatically set to inactive by SearXNG. You do not need to disable them manually in settings.yml.

The botdetection warning can also be ignored. If you followed this guide, you did not create a limiter.toml file. In that case, SearXNG simply uses the built‑in default limiter configuration, which is perfectly fine for local use.

9. Further Configurations and diagnostics

after you start searxng with the method of your liking you should check the process and configurations in Order to not risk any future troubles

9.1. Checking Port, IP

For checking the Address on which SearXNG is accessible on your device you have to make sure it is a local Device IP like 127.0.0.1 or localhost and NOT 0.0.0.0 or some other IP, so it is only accessible on your Android Device.

IP and Port check. The output of the Following Commands should display the IP and port.

grep -E "bind_address|port" ~/.config/searxng/settings.yml

It should show something like:

bind_address: "localhost"
  port: 8888

or

bind_address: "127.0.0.1"
  port: 8888

Access check. If the IP and Port are correct you should check if the search engine is loaded. For this you need to curl the site with the URL ( http://bind_address:port/) For example:

curl http://127.0.0.1:8888/

If the output is some long HTML Script and NOT "curl: (7) Failed to connect to 127.0.0.1 port 8888 after 1 ms: Could not connect to server" or something similar then you are good to go

9.2 Optional Configurations

If you know your way around then you can also alter the configuration File to your liking to edit for example the IP, PORT or preconfiguring search engines and many other settings

nano ~/.config/searxng/settings.yml

10. Setting up searXNG in your Browser

since searXNG is running on your local Device IP you can access it by typing: http://bind_address:port/ in your browser

For example:

http://localhost:8888

Most good browsers nowadays allow you to add your own URLs as the default search engine. I will explain how to do this in the following points for the Firefox App but the steps could be applied to other browsers.

First check if your browser can access your Engine by typing the URL in the Address bar. You should see something like this:

Browserpicfirefox5

switch to your browser settings and press the Search button in General

Browserpicfirefox1

Then press the Default search engine or Manage alternative search engines Button

Browserpicfirefox2

After that you have to add a search engine. Then type in your URL and the Name you want. The Search URL consists of bind_address, port and query String:

http://bind_address:port/search?q=%s

For example:

Browserpicfirefox3

After that set searxng as your default and then you’re good to go

11. Saving Settings

Searxng can be modified by typing in the URL with a /preferences (for example: http://localhost:8888/preferences) or by pressing the gear symbol at the startpage of Searxng.

All settings you modify that way are stored as Cookies in your browser, if your browser is deleting cookies by default then you have to change the settings in the file ~/.config/searxng/settings.yml to make them the default. So ensure your browser won't delete your cookies.

To save your settings you can go to the category Cookies in the searxng settings menu and then copy the settings as URL or as text to copy it into another browser or just to save your preset

Note it matters if you access the engine with http://localhost:8888/ or http://127.0.0.1:8888/. Both URL are essentially the same for your Device and searxng but your browser will save different settings cookies for each of the URLs so make sure to access Searxng only with localhost OR 127.0.0.1

12. Recommended Settings

General:

  • Autocomplete: duckduckgo

Privacy:

  • HTTP Method: POST

  • Picture Proxy: on (can decrease performance)

  • Tracker-URL-Remover: ON

Engines:

  • wikimedia: ON

  • The default settings are fine

Special Queries:

  • Everything ON except Tor Test Plugin

SearXNG is licensed under the AGPLv3.
Termux, Android, and F‑Droid are trademarks of their respective owners.

Shield: CC BY 4.0

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

CC BY 4.0