Termux scripts for syncing Git repositories

This repo includes scripts that are used with Termux on my Android devices. Termux is an Android terminal emulator and Linux environment app.

The main purpose is to sync my Obsidian vault between devices via Git.

The idea to use Termux for automatic syncing came from Rene Schallner: Syncing your Obsidian vault to Android via an encrypted GitHub repository

For syncing I'm now using the script git-sync.sh by Simon Thum: simonthum/git-sync

Why use Termux?

There are many ways to sync git repositories with Android devices. However, in my experience, this setup with git inside the Termux environment is the most flexible and reliable.

Alternatives:

Obsidian community plugin Obsidian Git: Great on desktop, but the mobile version has some limitations that make it a bad choice for me.
Android app MGit: No auto-sync in the background possible, has problems with storage permissions (see issue 620).
Android app GitJournal: No auto-sync in the background possible.
Syncthing: Generally a great solution for syncing! However, in my opinion you shouldn't use Syncthing to sync a Git repository. Also, I don't like having a file synced multiple times in the background while I'm editing it.

Setup

Preparation

Install Tasker, Termux, Termux Widget and Termux Tasker

Inside Termux, install some required packages:

pkg update && pkg upgrade
pkg install git openssh rsync

Give Termux access to your storage (Termux-setup-storage):
```
termux-setup-storage
```

Setup SSH

Accessing Termux from your computer (optional)

If you set up remote access to Termux on your Android device, the following steps will be easier.

Termux Remote Access

Start OpenSSH server in Termux:

sshd

Access your Termux session from another device (change the IP address to the address of your device, e.g. use ifconfig):

ssh -p 8022 192.168.0.108

Accessing remote Git repository

If you want to use SSH for accessing your remote Git repositories, create a new key pair:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your optional comment"
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)" # start the ssh-agent in the background
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Copy the public key to your Git remote server (GitHub, ...).

Setup git

git config --global user.email "you@example.com"
git config --global user.name "Your Name"

Clone this repo inside Termux:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/davidkopp/termux-scripts.git
cd termux-scripts

Setup sync

Note: The script setup-git-repo.sh changes some git configurations. If you want other options, modify it before executing it.

Make the scripts executable:

chmod +x *.sh

Execute setup-scripts to copy all required scripts to the correct locations:

./setup-scripts.sh

The script setup-git-repo.sh sets up a Git repository for syncing.

Single-repo setup:

Single-repo setup means that you only have one Git repository that you want to sync. The path to the repo gets stored in the config file repo.conf in your home directory.

Either prepare the config file repo.conf in your home directory (change PLACE_HERE_THE_PATH to the actual path to your git repo):

cp repo.conf.example $HOME/repo.conf
sed -i "s|GIT_REPO_PATH=|GIT_REPO_PATH=PLACE_HERE_THE_PATH|" $HOME/repo.conf
./setup-git-repo.sh

Or use interactive mode:
```
./setup-git-repo.sh
```

Now you are finished with the setup inside of Termux. Exit Termux and open your launcher’s widget menu, select Termux:Widget and place the respective widget on your home screen.

Multi-repo setup:

Multi-repo setup means that you have multiple Git repository that you want to sync. The path to the respective repository must be provided as an argument for each script later on (e.g. sync.sh ~/storage/shared/git/notes). There must be no file repo.conf in your home directory, otherwise the path configured in the file will be used instead! For setting up a git repository in a multi-repo setup, provide the path to the git repo as an argument to the script:

./setup-git-repo.sh path-to-repo branch-name

path-to-repo must be an absolute path. branch-name is optional, default branch is main.

Example with real values:

./setup-git-repo.sh ~/storage/shared/git/notes main

Now you are finished with the setup inside of Termux. Exit Termux and open your launcher’s widget menu, select Termux:Widget and place the respective widget on your home screen.

Setup automatic sync

To automatically commit and sync changes I use the Termux add-on Termux:Tasker. My Tasker profile configuration (simplified):

Trigger:
- Every 1h
- Wifi Connected
Task "Git Sync":
- Flash with text (e.g. "Git sync")
- Termux:
  - Executable: sync.sh
  - Arguments (if you have a multi-repo setup): repo-path (see above)
  - ✔ Wait for result for commands
  - Timeout: 30 seconds

Mathis Gauthey has also published a great tutorial with some helpful screenshots: How to Use Obsidian Git Sync on Android

As an alternative you can also setup a cronjob (see here for advice).

davidkopp / termux-scripts