GET STARTED

A small beginning.

From a fresh Termux session to your first conversation. No pip install required.

What you’ll need

• Termux and Python 3.11 or newer.
• Git, to download the source.
• An API key and an internet connection for inference: DeepSeek by default, or any OpenAI-compatible service. API usage is billed by your provider.

The demonstrated device is a Samsung Galaxy A10e running Android 11 and 32-bit Termux. Other environments are a portability goal, not a tested support matrix. Node.js is not required.

Install in Termux

If Python and Git aren’t installed yet, add them through Termux’s package manager:

sh

pkg update
pkg install python git

Then clone Chelus and put its launcher on your path:

sh

git clone https://github.com/ClankClub/chelus.git ~/chelus
ln -sf ~/chelus/chelus.sh "$PREFIX/bin/chelus"

Add your API key

In your Termux shell, store your DeepSeek key in a file readable only by you. The read command waits for your paste; press Enter afterward. Your input stays hidden.

sh

mkdir -p ~/.config/chelus && chmod 700 ~/.config/chelus
read -rs DK
(umask 077; printf '%s' "$DK" > ~/.config/chelus/deepseek.key); unset DK

Alternatively, set DEEPSEEK_API_KEY in the environment. It takes precedence over the saved key file. Never put a key in a project file, chat message, or Git commit.

Or use another model

Any OpenAI-compatible API works: OpenRouter, Groq, or a llama-server on your own network. Put this in ~/.config/chelus/config.toml, and save that provider’s key the same way under the file name you choose:

toml

provider = "openai"
base_url = "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"
model = "openai/gpt-oss-20b"
api_key_env = "OPENROUTER_API_KEY"   # read first
api_key_file = "openrouter.key"      # then this file in ~/.config/chelus

Smaller models are cheaper and less careful. On the project’s test bench, GPT-OSS 20B cost about a twenty-fifth as much as DeepSeek Flash, and more often skipped tools or claimed edits it never made.

Start a conversation

sh

chelus

Try: “Remember that I keep my projects in ~/projects.” Start a new conversation with /new and ask where your projects live. Owner memory carries across conversations.

For a single reply from the terminal:

sh

chelus ask "What can you help me do on this phone?"

For the battery tool, you’ll also need the Termux termux-api package and the Termux:API Android app. They’re optional for normal chat.

Make it useful

If something gets stuck

Check python --version first. If chelus is not found, rerun the launcher command above. Configuration errors exit with code 2; model/API failures exit with code 1. Verify your key and network connection without printing your key.

If DeepSeek is unavailable, Chelus retries with a countdown. Ctrl-C cancels in the terminal; /stop cancels Telegram retries. Read the current limits before relying on unattended tasks.