How to Install Hydra in Termux on Android – Full Guide (2025)

Install Hydra in Termux – Complete Step-by-Step Guide (2025)

Introduction

If you're passionate about cybersecurity, ethical hacking, or simply exploring powerful open-source tools on Android, then you've likely come across Hydra. THC-Hydra is a legendary brute-force tool used to crack login credentials for a wide range of protocols like SSH, FTP, Telnet, HTTP, and more. It's fast, flexible, and highly effective—but not readily available for Android users via standard package managers like Termux’s pkg command.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the entire process of installing Hydra in Termux on your Android device. Whether you’re a beginner or intermediate user, you’ll learn how to compile Hydra from its source code, configure it properly, and execute powerful brute-force attacks in your own ethical hacking lab environment.

We'll also cover important background information on what brute force attacks are, how password cracking works, and how Hydra supports multiple protocols to give you maximum flexibility in your ethical hacking toolkit.

⚠️ Disclaimer: This tutorial is strictly for educational purposes. Unauthorized access to systems you don’t own or have permission to test is illegal. Always use these tools responsibly.

Let’s get started and turn your Android phone into a mini hacking lab using Termux!

What Is Hydra and Why Use It?

Hydra is a parallelized login cracker developed by the THC (The Hacker's Choice) team. It's designed to perform dictionary attacks against multiple protocols quickly and efficiently. It supports various services including:

• SSH
• FTP
• Telnet
• HTTP/HTTPS
• SMB
• RDP
• VNC
• POP3/IMAP
• MySQL/PostgreSQL

Hydra is often used by penetration testers and security professionals to evaluate the strength of password authentication mechanisms. On Android, Termux makes it possible to run such advanced tools—right from your pocket.

Why Hydra Isn't Available via pkg

Many Termux users search for pkg install hydra, expecting a one-command solution. Unfortunately, Hydra is not part of the Termux package repositories due to its complex dependencies and native compilation requirements. The only way to use Hydra is by building it manually from its source code using tools like make and clang. This guide is here to make that process super easy.

Preparing Termux

Before we install Hydra, you need to prepare your Termux environment.

Update and Upgrade:

pkg update && pkg upgrade -y

This ensures you have the latest versions of all essential packages.

Install Essential Dependencies:

pkg install git build-essential curl wget make clang python -y
pkg install openssl-dev libssh-dev -y

These packages will allow us to compile Hydra and resolve network-related dependencies like SSL and SSH libraries.

Cloning and Building Hydra

Step 1: Clone Hydra from GitHub

git clone https://github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra.git

Hydra’s official GitHub repository contains the latest source code.

Step 2: Navigate and Compile

cd thc-hydra
./configure
make

This step configures the build environment and compiles the binary.

How to Use Hydra After Installation

Once Hydra is built successfully, run it with:

./hydra -h

That command displays the help menu with all possible options and flags.

Hydra Basic Syntax

./hydra -l username -P wordlist.txt service://target

Example: FTP Brute Force

./hydra -l admin -P passwords.txt ftp://192.168.1.1

This will try the username admin with each password in passwords.txt on an FTP server at 192.168.1.1.

Other Examples:

• hydra -l root -P rockyou.txt ssh://192.168.0.2 – SSH brute force
• hydra -L users.txt -P pass.txt http-post-form://target/login.php – HTTP form attack
• hydra -V -l admin -P 10k.txt rdp://target-ip – RDP brute force

Download Wordlist for Hydra

You can create your own password list or use a ready-made one:

wget https://github.com/danielmiessler/SecLists/blob/master/Passwords/Common-Credentials/10k-most-common.txt -O passwords.txt

Download Wordlist

Tips for Better Results

• Use targeted usernames and custom password lists for better accuracy.
• Combine Hydra with Nmap to identify open services before attacking.
• Always test in legal, ethical environments such as your own servers or virtual machines.
• Hydra supports parallel processing. Use -t flag to increase thread count for speed.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've now installed and learned how to use Hydra in Termux like a pro. With this powerful tool, you're ready to test password strength and improve your cybersecurity skills.

Always remember to use Hydra ethically. Bookmark HYDRA TERMUX for more in-depth tutorials on hacking tools, Termux commands, and Android cybersecurity techniques.