Run lightweight AI models locally on your Android phone using Termux and Ollama. One command to install, no root needed, runs completely offline.
- Checks your phone's RAM and storage
- Sets up a Debian container in Termux via PRoot (no root needed)
- Installs Ollama and downloads a model tailored to your device
- Adds a simple
momoscommand to chat and manage models
Open Termux and run:
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Sidharth-e/MOMOS/main/scripts/momos.sh)"The installer will test your hardware, recommend a model, set up the environment, and drop you straight into chat.
Larger models (14B, 32B) require too much memory and quickly crash or throttle on phones. MOMOS focuses on models under 7B parameters that fit within typical smartphone RAM limits (2GB to 8GB+):
| Model | Tag | Download | RAM Needed | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Llama 3.2 1B | llama3.2:1b |
~1.3 GB | 2 GB+ | Fast responses, low battery use, low-end phones |
| DeepSeek R1 1.5B | deepseek-r1:1.5b |
~1.1 GB | 2 GB+ | Step-by-step reasoning and logic |
| Llama 3.2 3B | llama3.2:3b |
~2.0 GB | 4 GB+ | Everyday chat, writing, and summarization |
| Qwen 2.5 3B | qwen2.5:3b |
~1.9 GB | 4 GB+ | Math, coding, and multilingual queries |
| DeepSeek R1 7B | deepseek-r1:7b |
~4.7 GB | 6–8 GB+ | Advanced reasoning on higher-RAM devices |
| Qwen 2.5 7B | qwen2.5:7b |
~4.7 GB | 6–8 GB+ | Detailed coding and technical answers |
You can also use any model tag from the Ollama library (e.g. phi4-mini, smollm2:1.7b).
momosShows a numbered menu to chat, browse models, pull new models, or update.
momos chat # Chat with your last used model
momos chat llama3.2:1b # Chat with Llama 3.2 1B
momos chat deepseek-r1:1.5b # Chat with DeepSeek R1 1.5B
momos chat qwen2.5:3b # Chat with Qwen 2.5 3Bmomos models list # Show downloaded models
momos models pull qwen2.5:3b # Download a model
momos models delete llama3.2:3b # Remove a modelmomos logs # View live Ollama server output (Ctrl+C to exit)
Note
The Ollama server starts automatically in the background when running momos chat or managing models. You only need momos logs if you want to inspect server output directly.
momos update # Update MOMOS scripts and Ollama
momos uninstall # Remove Debian container and all models
momos help # Show all commands- Android 7.0+
- Termux (install from F-Droid or GitHub, avoid Play Store builds)
- RAM: 2GB minimum (4GB+ recommended for 3B models, 8GB+ for 7B models)
- Free Storage: 3GB to 6GB+ depending on chosen model
- No root required
If you just installed Termux, run this setup script first to update packages and grant storage permissions:
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Sidharth-e/MOMOS/main/scripts/setup.sh)"Manual setup commands
pkg update && pkg upgrade -y
pkg install curl -y
termux-setup-storageThen run the Quick Install command above.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Termux (Android) │
│ ┌───────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Debian (via PRoot — no root) │ │
│ │ ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │ │
│ │ │ Ollama Server (background) │ │ │
│ │ │ └─ Local Model (<7B) │ │ │
│ │ └─────────────────────────────┘ │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ └─ 'momos' launcher command │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
- PRoot: Runs a Debian userland container without root permissions.
- Ollama: Runs the model server inside the container.
- MOMOS launcher: A bash script in
$PREFIX/bin/momosthat handles starting the server, attaching to chats, and managing models with simple arguments.
Check the log:
cat ~/.momos/install.logRun:
termux-setup-storageThen run the installer again.
The model is using more RAM than your device has available. Switch to a smaller model:
momos chat llama3.2:1b
# or
momos chat deepseek-r1:1.5bRun termux-wake-lock to keep Android from sleeping Termux during inference.
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