Crash during `make build-release` on Termux + proot-distro Ubuntu (Android)

[QuantumCrypt-creator]

Bug Description

When building the Namada project on Android using Termux with proot-distro Ubuntu, the process fails near the end (~99%). The system begins to freeze, then forcibly kills the Termux session without any visible error message or logs. As a result, no final build artifacts are generated, and the build fails silently.

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🔁 Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Termux from F-Droid.

2. Run:

pkg install proot-distro
proot-distro install ubuntu
proot-distro login ubuntu

3. Inside Ubuntu:

apt update && apt upgrade -y
apt install curl git build-essential clang pkg-config libssl-dev protobuf-compiler libudev-dev -y
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env
git clone https://github.com/anoma/namada.git
cd namada
make build-release

4. Build progresses successfully until around 99%.

5. System suddenly freezes (keyboard stops responding).

6. Then:

VPN disconnects

Antivirus and Termux get force-closed

RAM usage drops dramatically

Termux restarts with welcome screen

7. No logs or error messages appear.

8. On relaunch: target/release/namada binary is missing.

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💻 System Info

Device: [📱 Samsung Galaxy A72]

Android Version: [Android 14]

Termux Version: [0.118.3, from F-Droid]

proot-distro: Ubuntu (default distro)

Rust: 1.88.0

Cargo: 1.88.0

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📎 Additional Notes

Reproduced multiple times.

Suspected related to memory exhaustion or hidden system-level process kill (e.g., lowmemkiller or OOM).

Would be helpful if build process supported checkpoints or better fault tolerance in low-RAM environments like Android Termux.

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🏷 Suggested Labels

bug

build

android

termux

crash

proot

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[QuantumCrypt-creator]

I tried repeating the build process, and this time I monitored the system resources closely. There was no memory overload - the RAM usage remained within a normal range. It appears that the Android operating system itself is forcefully terminating the Termux and related background processes, likely due to prolonged CPU usage or background execution restrictions.

This happens even when Termux is running in the foreground and there is no user action to close it. It may also be related to Android’s power-saving or security features automatically stopping long-running tasks.

[b0dski]

I'm not a team member but this is unlikely to be a supported build environment for the Namada project currently. This issue should probably be closed as 'wont-fix'.

However, if you've not already seen it you might find this doc useful. In particular, this section might contain a workaround for your issue by disabling Android's 'phantom process killer'.

[QuantumCrypt-creator]

@b0dski, thank you for the reference. I’m already familiar with the Android phantom process killer and how it behaves. In my case I explicitly monitored system resources and process state during the tests - there were only Termux and a single browser session running, memory and CPU load were stable, and no abnormal task termination occurred on the device side.

So I don’t believe this was caused by Android’s process management. The issue seems to come from another source that is not yet identified.