How to edit code on Android without setting up Termux

Why the usual way fails

Termux gives you a real Linux userland, which is great, and it is also a project of its own. You install tools one package at a time, grant storage access so it can see your files, find an editor that behaves with a phone keyboard and keep it all updated. Then you still have to type code on glass, where brackets and indentation are a pain. Remote options like SSH into a server or a cloud editor need a machine running somewhere and a steady connection to it. For a small change, the setup costs more than the fix, and by the time it is ready you have often forgotten what you wanted to change.

How Rivet helps

Rivet is an Android app that works as a chat-based coding agent. You pick a project folder, pick a model and describe the change in plain words. The agent reads and searches your files, makes the edits and runs commands on the phone while you watch the output, and you can stop a command halfway. How much it does without asking depends on the mode you choose, and checkpoints let you undo a change that went wrong. It uses your own API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, OpenRouter or any OpenAI-compatible API, or you sign in with a ChatGPT plan.

Step by step

1. Download the APK from the project's GitHub Releases page and allow the install when Android asks.
2. Add your API key, or sign in with a ChatGPT plan.
3. Pick the project folder Rivet is allowed to work in.
4. Choose a mode: Ask, Basic YOLO or YOLO.
5. Describe the change in the chat and watch the edits and commands as they run.
6. Undo from a checkpoint if the result is wrong, and keep your real backup in Git.

Tips

• Put an AGENTS.md file in the project root with your conventions, such as the test command and the code style you follow. Rivet reads it, so you don't have to repeat the rules in every chat.
• Start in Ask mode until you trust how the agent behaves in your project. Commands run with the same access as any other app on the phone, so read each one before you approve it.
• Keep the project in Git or copied somewhere off the phone. Checkpoints take back a bad edit, but they won't save you if the folder itself is lost.
• Use a cheaper model for small edits and switch to a stronger one when the task gets harder. You can change provider, model or thinking level in the middle of a chat without starting over.

Questions