Python terminal app as Android Phone app

5•dharmatech•2mo ago

I put together a small water consumption app (how much water you drink in a day) in SQLite and Python.

Then I wanted to use it on my phone so I made a Kotlin app as a UI for the simple database.

Then I wondered, how far could I get if I just ran a Python terminal app on my phone?

Well, I got surprisingly far...

https://youtu.be/sTj1FalZMVw?si=yZShqGdDBewV8dob

Happy to release the code at some point. Just need to organize the repo a bit.

I'm surprised I haven't seen more terminal apps intended to be run as phone apps like this. Let's me know if you know of any others.

Comments

dharmatech•2mo ago

Link to the video:

https://youtu.be/sTj1FalZMVw?si=yZShqGdDBewV8dob

Stevemiller07•2mo ago

Nice experiment. Running a Python terminal app on a phone is more practical than people expect for small tools like this. The demo looks smooth. Looking forward to the code when you release it.

dharmatech•2mo ago

Thanks for checking it out!

dharmatech•2mo ago

Source now available:

https://github.com/dharmatech/sqlite-water-tracker.py

McNulty2•2mo ago

I've used JuiceSSH client for ages, and it has a localhost option. I've played with it but never had a use for it

dharmatech•2mo ago

If you have Android, check out the UserLand app.

dharmatech•2mo ago

Source now available:

https://github.com/dharmatech/sqlite-water-tracker.py

dasboth•2mo ago

Textual apps powered by sqlite running on a phone sounds like a superpower for filling your phone with useful tools, thanks for sharing! Does it access a local sqlite file or are you hosting that somewhere? Either way, this is really neat.

dharmatech•2mo ago

Thanks for checking it out!

Currently yeah, it's accessing a local sqlite file.

dharmatech•2mo ago

Source now available:

https://github.com/dharmatech/sqlite-water-tracker.py

dharmatech•2mo ago

Just tested on termux and it works great there too.

rumpelstiel•2mo ago

You could split the ui and backend code using fast api and sqlalchemy. so you later could change the ui endpoint to point to your nas hosted remote backend (using vpn), but thanks for the i spiration using a tui.

Or you could create a app user on a ssh server and this user starts this app instead of a shell on the server, like your-app@your-server.con

dharmatech•2mo ago

Source now available:

https://github.com/dharmatech/sqlite-water-tracker.py

dharmatech•2mo ago

Yeah, that would be cool to have apps like this available over ssh!

Discuss – Do AI agents deserve all the hype they are getting?

LLMs are powerful, but enterprises are deterministic by nature

Ask HN: Anyone Using a Mac Studio for Local AI/LLM?

Ask HN: Non AI-obsessed tech forums

Ask HN: Ideas for small ways to make the world a better place

Ask HN: 10 months since the Llama-4 release: what happened to Meta AI?

Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (February 2026)

Ask HN: Who is hiring? (February 2026)

Ask HN: Non-profit, volunteers run org needs CRM. Is Odoo Community a good sol.?

AI Regex Scientist: A self-improving regex solver

Tell HN: Another round of Zendesk email spam

Ask HN: Is Connecting via SSH Risky?

Ask HN: Has your whole engineering team gone big into AI coding? How's it going?

Ask HN: Why LLM providers sell access instead of consulting services?

Ask HN: What is the most complicated Algorithm you came up with yourself?

Ask HN: How does ChatGPT decide which websites to recommend?

Ask HN: Is it just me or are most businesses insane?

Ask HN: Mem0 stores memories, but doesn't learn user patterns

Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?

Kernighan on Programming

Ask HN: Any International Job Boards for International Workers?

Ask HN: Anyone Seeing YT ads related to chats on ChatGPT?

Ask HN: Does global decoupling from the USA signal comeback of the desktop app?

We built a serverless GPU inference platform with predictable latency

Ask HN: Does a good "read it later" app exist?

Ask HN: How Did You Validate?

Ask HN: Have you been fired because of AI?

Ask HN: Cheap laptop for Linux without GUI (for writing)

Ask HN: Anyone have a "sovereign" solution for phone calls?

Ask HN: OpenClaw users, what is your token spend?

Discuss – Do AI agents deserve all the hype they are getting?

LLMs are powerful, but enterprises are deterministic by nature

Ask HN: Anyone Using a Mac Studio for Local AI/LLM?

Ask HN: Non AI-obsessed tech forums

Ask HN: Ideas for small ways to make the world a better place

Ask HN: 10 months since the Llama-4 release: what happened to Meta AI?

Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (February 2026)

Ask HN: Who is hiring? (February 2026)

Ask HN: Non-profit, volunteers run org needs CRM. Is Odoo Community a good sol.?

AI Regex Scientist: A self-improving regex solver

Tell HN: Another round of Zendesk email spam

Ask HN: Is Connecting via SSH Risky?

Ask HN: Has your whole engineering team gone big into AI coding? How's it going?

Ask HN: Why LLM providers sell access instead of consulting services?

Ask HN: What is the most complicated Algorithm you came up with yourself?

Ask HN: How does ChatGPT decide which websites to recommend?

Ask HN: Is it just me or are most businesses insane?

Ask HN: Mem0 stores memories, but doesn't learn user patterns

Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?

Kernighan on Programming

Ask HN: Any International Job Boards for International Workers?

Ask HN: Anyone Seeing YT ads related to chats on ChatGPT?

Ask HN: Does global decoupling from the USA signal comeback of the desktop app?

We built a serverless GPU inference platform with predictable latency

Ask HN: Does a good "read it later" app exist?

Ask HN: How Did You Validate?

Ask HN: Have you been fired because of AI?

Ask HN: Cheap laptop for Linux without GUI (for writing)

Ask HN: Anyone have a "sovereign" solution for phone calls?

Ask HN: OpenClaw users, what is your token spend?

Python terminal app as Android Phone app

Comments