git-annex is available for Android inside Termux or Nix-On-Droid. This includes the git-annex 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 android sync with adb for instructions on using git-annex that way.)

Installation (Termux)

First, install Termux. 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

Installation (Nix-On-Droid)

Installing git-annex using Nix-On-Droid is recommended for more advanced users who want to use git-annex at the command line. The git-annex webapp does not currently work in Nix-On-Droid (as a workaround, run git annex webapp --listen 127.0.0.1 and copy-paste the URL in a browser).

To enter a shell with git-annex available to use, run inside Nix-On-Droid: nix-shell -p git git-annex

To avoid needing to do that every time you start Nix-On-Droid, you can add git and git-annex to your environment.packages in ~/.config/nixpkgs/nix-on-droid.nix and then run nix-on-droid switch

Starting git-annex assistant

Just run "git-annex webapp" inside Termux. A browser window will open with the git-annex interface.

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 (or Nix-On-Droid) is left open, git-annex will remain running and sync your files.

Starting at power on

If you install the Termux:Boot app, 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 or Nix-On-Droid. 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 (Termux)

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