Android & Termux

Running a 24/7 AI Bot on Your Android Phone with Termux

By the StudyClaw Team · Feb 28, 2026 · 8 min read

Your Android phone is a surprisingly capable server. With Termux — a powerful terminal emulator — you can run Go programs 24/7 without a cloud subscription. Here's exactly how to set up StudyClaw on your phone.

Step 1: Install Termux from F-Droid

Do not install Termux from the Play Store — that version is outdated. Instead, download from F-Droid. Once installed, open it and update the package list:

pkg update && pkg upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Go, Git, and Build Tools

pkg install golang git clang make -y

Verify Go is installed correctly:

go version
# Expected: go version go1.22.x linux/arm64

Step 3: Clone StudyClaw

git clone https://github.com/roshan30-git/picoclaw-scholar.git
cd picoclaw-scholar
go mod tidy

Step 4: Get Your Free Gemini API Key

Visit aistudio.google.com and create a free API key. No credit card needed. Then set it in Termux:

export GEMINI_API_KEY="AIzaSy_your_key_here"

💡 Add this to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.profile so it persists across sessions: echo 'export GEMINI_API_KEY="..."' >> ~/.bashrc

Step 5: Run the Bot and Scan QR

go run cmd/main.go

A QR code will appear as ASCII art in your Termux terminal. Open WhatsApp on another device → Linked Devices → Link a Device → Scan the code. Done!

Step 6: Keep It Running 24/7 with nohup

By default, Termux processes stop when you close the app. To run the bot in the background continuously, use nohup:

nohup go run cmd/main.go > studyclaw.log 2>&1 &
echo "Bot started. PID: $!"

To check logs: tail -f studyclaw.log

To stop the bot: pkill -f "studyclaw"

🔋 Battery tip: Enable "Disable Battery Optimization" for Termux in Android settings. Otherwise, Android may kill background processes after 30–60 minutes.

Resource Usage

StudyClaw uses approximately 30–50 MB of RAM at idle. On a 4GB+ RAM phone, this is negligible. The Go binary compiles to a single efficient executable with no JVM overhead.