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Stephano Kambeta
Stephano Kambeta

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Accessing Android Storage from Termux: A Practical Guide

#termux #beginners #tutorial #storage

"If you can’t find your files, what’s the point of hacking?"

Let’s be real — installing tools in Termux is fun, but at some point, you’ll want to access your phone’s internal storage. Maybe you want to save scan results, open a text file, or even copy scripts between folders.

If that’s where you’re stuck, this post is for you.

📱 Why Termux Can’t Access Storage by Default

Android is built to protect your data. So, when you install Termux, it’s sandboxed — meaning it can’t see or touch your internal storage unless you explicitly allow it.

That’s why commands like ls /sdcard or saving files to ~/storage/downloads won’t work out of the box.

Let’s fix that.

✅ How to Access Storage in Termux (Step-by-Step)

1. Update your Termux first 

pkg update && pkg upgrade
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2. Grant storage permission

Termux has a built-in command to request storage access:

termux-setup-storage
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After you run this, you’ll see a pop-up asking for permission. Tap "Allow".

This will create a storage folder in your Termux home directory that links to common Android storage paths.

📂 What You Get with termux-setup-storage

Once granted, Termux creates this structure:

~/storage/shared      → Internal storage (/sdcard)
~/storage/downloads   → Downloads folder
~/storage/dcim        → Camera photos
~/storage/music       → Music folder
~/storage/pictures    → Pictures folder
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You can now read, write, copy, and move files easily between Termux and your regular Android apps.

📁 Example: Saving Output to Downloads

Let’s say you want to save your Nmap results in a .txt file:

nmap 192.168.0.1 > ~/storage/downloads/scan.txt
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Now you can open the scan.txt file from any file manager or even share it on Telegram — straight from your phone.

❗ Important Notes

  • You only need to run termux-setup-storage once (unless you uninstall Termux).
  • This does not give you access to /data/data of other apps. That requires root.
  • If you're using Android 11 or later, file access may still be limited due to scoped storage. Stick to the provided ~/storage paths.

🔄 Bonus Tip: Moving Files Between Termux and Android

Copy a file from Termux to Downloads:

cp myscript.sh ~/storage/downloads/
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Or move a file from Downloads into Termux:

cp ~/storage/downloads/somefile.txt ~/
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You can also mv, nano, or even cat any file within these directories.

🧠 Why This Matters

Accessing storage makes Termux 10x more useful. It turns your phone into a real mobile workstation. Now you can:

  • Save tool outputs
  • Read and edit scripts
  • Share logs or reports
  • Back up your configs

No root. No complex setup. Just one command and you’re ready.

💬 Need Help?

If you're still getting errors like Permission denied or No such file or directory, let me know in the comments. I’ll guide you through it.

Related Reads:

Stay curious, keep experimenting — and always stay ethical.

– Stephano | TerminalTools

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