diff --git a/build-package.sh b/build-package.sh
index e05a0834d..3c70ea97c 100755
--- a/build-package.sh
+++ b/build-package.sh
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ export TERMUX_SCRIPTDIR
 # shellcheck source=scripts/properties.sh
 . "$TERMUX_SCRIPTDIR/scripts/properties.sh"
 
-if $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "true" ]; then
 	# For on device builds cross compiling is not supported.
 	# Target architecture must be same as for environment used currently.
 	export TERMUX_ARCH=$(dpkg --print-architecture)
@@ -180,11 +180,11 @@ _show_usage() {
     echo "Build a package by creating a .deb file in the debs/ folder."
     echo
     echo "Available options:"
-    ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD && echo "  -a The architecture to build for: aarch64(default), arm, i686, x86_64 or all."
+    [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ] && echo "  -a The architecture to build for: aarch64(default), arm, i686, x86_64 or all."
     echo "  -d Build with debug symbols."
     echo "  -D Build a disabled package in disabled-packages/."
     echo "  -f Force build even if package has already been built."
-    ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD && echo "  -i Download and extract dependencies instead of building them."
+    [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ] && echo "  -i Download and extract dependencies instead of building them."
     echo "  -I Download and extract dependencies instead of building them, keep existing /data/data/com.termux files."
     echo "  -q Quiet build."
     echo "  -s Skip dependency check."
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ _show_usage() {
 while getopts :a:hdDfiIqso: option; do
 	case "$option" in
 		a)
-			if $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+			if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "true" ]; then
 				termux_error_exit "./build-package.sh: option '-a' is not available for on-device builds"
 			else
 				export TERMUX_ARCH="$OPTARG"
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ while getopts :a:hdDfiIqso: option; do
 		D) local TERMUX_IS_DISABLED=true;;
 		f) TERMUX_FORCE_BUILD=true;;
 		i)
-			if $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+			if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "true" ]; then
 				termux_error_exit "./build-package.sh: option '-i' is not available for on-device builds"
 			else
 				export TERMUX_INSTALL_DEPS=true
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ while (($# > 0)); do
 		fi
 
 		# Handle 'all' arch:
-		if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD && [ -n "${TERMUX_ARCH+x}" ] && [ "${TERMUX_ARCH}" = 'all' ]; then
+		if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ] && [ -n "${TERMUX_ARCH+x}" ] && [ "${TERMUX_ARCH}" = 'all' ]; then
 			for arch in 'aarch64' 'arm' 'i686' 'x86_64'; do
 				env TERMUX_ARCH="$arch" TERMUX_BUILD_IGNORE_LOCK=true ./build-package.sh \
 					${TERMUX_FORCE_BUILD+-f} ${TERMUX_INSTALL_DEPS+-i} ${TERMUX_IS_DISABLED+-D} \
diff --git a/scripts/build/configure/termux_step_configure.sh b/scripts/build/configure/termux_step_configure.sh
index 8647fe8c1..6d1d434fd 100644
--- a/scripts/build/configure/termux_step_configure.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/configure/termux_step_configure.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 termux_step_configure() {
-	if ! ${TERMUX_PKG_FORCE_CMAKE-false} && [ -f "$TERMUX_PKG_SRCDIR/configure" ]; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_PKG_FORCE_CMAKE" = "false" ] && [ -f "$TERMUX_PKG_SRCDIR/configure" ]; then
 		termux_step_configure_autotools
 	elif [ -f "$TERMUX_PKG_SRCDIR/CMakeLists.txt" ]; then
 		termux_step_configure_cmake
diff --git a/scripts/build/configure/termux_step_configure_autotools.sh b/scripts/build/configure/termux_step_configure_autotools.sh
index 9c03cc6cd..aa01f0a6a 100644
--- a/scripts/build/configure/termux_step_configure_autotools.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/configure/termux_step_configure_autotools.sh
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ termux_step_configure_autotools() {
 		QUIET_BUILD="--enable-silent-rules --silent --quiet"
 	fi
 
-	if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ]; then
 		# Some packages provides a $PKG-config script which some configure scripts pickup instead of pkg-config:
 		mkdir "$TERMUX_PKG_TMPDIR/config-scripts"
 		for f in $TERMUX_PREFIX/bin/*config; do
diff --git a/scripts/build/configure/termux_step_configure_cmake.sh b/scripts/build/configure/termux_step_configure_cmake.sh
index 7c8bb5377..a34c44cd6 100644
--- a/scripts/build/configure/termux_step_configure_cmake.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/configure/termux_step_configure_cmake.sh
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ termux_step_configure_cmake() {
 	CFLAGS+=" -fno-addrsig"
 
 	local CMAKE_ADDITIONAL_ARGS=()
-	if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ]; then
 		CXXFLAGS+=" --target=$CCTERMUX_HOST_PLATFORM"
 		CFLAGS+=" --target=$CCTERMUX_HOST_PLATFORM"
 		LDFLAGS+=" --target=$CCTERMUX_HOST_PLATFORM"
diff --git a/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_cmake.sh b/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_cmake.sh
index 4190dc741..2ba8461b3 100644
--- a/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_cmake.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_cmake.sh
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ termux_setup_cmake() {
 	local TERMUX_CMAKE_TARFILE=$TERMUX_PKG_TMPDIR/$TERMUX_CMAKE_TARNAME
 	local TERMUX_CMAKE_FOLDER=$TERMUX_COMMON_CACHEDIR/cmake-$TERMUX_CMAKE_VERSION
 
-	if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ]; then
 		if [ ! -d "$TERMUX_CMAKE_FOLDER" ]; then
 			termux_download https://cmake.org/files/v$TERMUX_CMAKE_MAJORVESION/$TERMUX_CMAKE_TARNAME \
 				"$TERMUX_CMAKE_TARFILE" \
diff --git a/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_golang.sh b/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_golang.sh
index 5afe2d779..cb4616cfb 100644
--- a/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_golang.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_golang.sh
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ termux_setup_golang() {
 		termux_error_exit "Unsupported arch: $TERMUX_ARCH"
 	fi
 
-	if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ]; then
 		local TERMUX_GO_VERSION=go1.12.7
 		local TERMUX_GO_PLATFORM=linux-amd64
 
diff --git a/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_ninja.sh b/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_ninja.sh
index ea2947eb5..54e682078 100644
--- a/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_ninja.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_ninja.sh
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ termux_setup_ninja() {
 	local NINJA_VERSION=1.9.0
 	local NINJA_FOLDER=$TERMUX_COMMON_CACHEDIR/ninja-$NINJA_VERSION
 
-	if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ]; then
 		if [ ! -x "$NINJA_FOLDER/ninja" ]; then
 			mkdir -p "$NINJA_FOLDER"
 			local NINJA_ZIP_FILE=$TERMUX_PKG_TMPDIR/ninja-$NINJA_VERSION.zip
diff --git a/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_protobuf.sh b/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_protobuf.sh
index 9e106bbc4..b29f90b8a 100644
--- a/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_protobuf.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_protobuf.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ termux_setup_protobuf() {
 	local _PROTOBUF_ZIP=protoc-$_PROTOBUF_VERSION-linux-x86_64.zip
 	local _PROTOBUF_FOLDER=$TERMUX_COMMON_CACHEDIR/protobuf-$_PROTOBUF_VERSION
 
-	if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ]; then
 		if [ ! -d "$_PROTOBUF_FOLDER" ]; then
 			termux_download \
 				https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases/download/v$_PROTOBUF_VERSION/$_PROTOBUF_ZIP \
diff --git a/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_rust.sh b/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_rust.sh
index 7134d4f04..34a1883bd 100644
--- a/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_rust.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/setup/termux_setup_rust.sh
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ termux_setup_rust() {
 
 	export RUSTFLAGS="-C link-arg=-Wl,-rpath=$TERMUX_PREFIX/lib -C link-arg=-Wl,--enable-new-dtags"
 
-	if $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "true" ]; then
 		if [ "$(dpkg-query -W -f '${db:Status-Status}\n' rust 2>/dev/null)" != "installed" ]; then
 			echo "Package 'rust' is not installed."
 			echo "You can install it with"
diff --git a/scripts/build/termux_create_subpackages.sh b/scripts/build/termux_create_subpackages.sh
index fe84a1ffd..df503f4e0 100644
--- a/scripts/build/termux_create_subpackages.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/termux_create_subpackages.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 termux_create_subpackages() {
 	# Sub packages:
-	if ! ${TERMUX_PKG_NO_STATICSPLIT-false} && [[ -n $(shopt -s nullglob; echo lib/*.a) ]]; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_PKG_NO_STATICSPLIT" = "false" ] && [[ -n $(shopt -s nullglob; echo lib/*.a) ]]; then
 		# Add virtual -static sub package if there are include files:
 		local _STATIC_SUBPACKAGE_FILE=$TERMUX_PKG_TMPDIR/${TERMUX_PKG_NAME}-static.subpackage.sh
 		echo TERMUX_SUBPKG_INCLUDE=\"lib/**/*.a lib/**/*.la\" > "$_STATIC_SUBPACKAGE_FILE"
diff --git a/scripts/build/termux_download_deb.sh b/scripts/build/termux_download_deb.sh
index 4a4afd6b0..3ce660696 100755
--- a/scripts/build/termux_download_deb.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/termux_download_deb.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ termux_download_deb() {
 	local PACKAGE_ARCH=$2
 	local VERSION=$3
 
-	if $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "true" ]; then
 		apt install -y "${PACKAGE}=${VERSION}"
 		return "$?"
 	fi
diff --git a/scripts/build/termux_extract_dep_info.sh b/scripts/build/termux_extract_dep_info.sh
index 970449f08..e5c889324 100755
--- a/scripts/build/termux_extract_dep_info.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/termux_extract_dep_info.sh
@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@ termux_extract_dep_info() {
 			TERMUX_PKG_PLATFORM_INDEPENDENT=false
 			source ${PKG_DIR}/build.sh
 			TERMUX_SUBPKG_PLATFORM_INDEPENDENT=$TERMUX_PKG_PLATFORM_INDEPENDENT
-			if ! $TERMUX_INSTALL_DEPS || ${TERMUX_PKG_NO_STATICSPLIT-false} || [ "${PKG/-static/}-static" != "${PKG}" ]; then
+			if [ "$TERMUX_INSTALL_DEPS" = "false" ] || [ "$TERMUX_PKG_NO_STATICSPLIT" = "true" ] || [ "${PKG/-static/}-static" != "${PKG}" ]; then
 				source ${PKG_DIR}/${PKG}.subpackage.sh
 			fi
-			if ${TERMUX_SUBPKG_PLATFORM_INDEPENDENT-false}; then
+			if [ "$TERMUX_SUBPKG_PLATFORM_INDEPENDENT" = "true" ]; then
 				echo all
 			else
 				echo $TERMUX_ARCH
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ termux_extract_dep_info() {
 		TERMUX_PKG_PLATFORM_INDEPENDENT=false
 		TERMUX_PKG_REVISION="0"
 		source ${PKG_DIR}/build.sh
-		${TERMUX_PKG_PLATFORM_INDEPENDENT-false} && TERMUX_ARCH=all
+		[ "$TERMUX_PKG_PLATFORM_INDEPENDENT" = "true" ] && TERMUX_ARCH=all
 		if [ "$TERMUX_PKG_REVISION" != "0" ] || [ "$TERMUX_PKG_VERSION" != "${TERMUX_PKG_VERSION/-/}" ]; then
 			TERMUX_PKG_VERSION+="-$TERMUX_PKG_REVISION"
 		fi
diff --git a/scripts/build/termux_step_handle_hostbuild.sh b/scripts/build/termux_step_handle_hostbuild.sh
index cfd9070fe..ab029a18c 100644
--- a/scripts/build/termux_step_handle_hostbuild.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/termux_step_handle_hostbuild.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 termux_step_handle_hostbuild() {
-	if ! ${TERMUX_PKG_HOSTBUILD-false}; then return; fi
+	if [ "$TERMUX_PKG_HOSTBUILD" = "false" ]; then return; fi
 
 	cd "$TERMUX_PKG_SRCDIR"
 	for patch in $TERMUX_PKG_BUILDER_DIR/*.patch.beforehostbuild; do
diff --git a/scripts/build/termux_step_massage.sh b/scripts/build/termux_step_massage.sh
index 9485b3da7..c3ad3f97f 100644
--- a/scripts/build/termux_step_massage.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/termux_step_massage.sh
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ termux_step_massage() {
 	# Remove world permissions and make sure that user still have read-write permissions.
 	chmod -Rf u+rw,g-rwx,o-rwx . || true
 
-	if ! $TERMUX_DEBUG; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_DEBUG" = "false" ]; then
 		# Strip binaries. file(1) may fail for certain unusual files, so disable pipefail.
 		set +e +o pipefail
 		find . \( -path "./bin/*" -o -path "./lib/*" -o -path "./libexec/*" \) -type f | \
diff --git a/scripts/build/termux_step_patch_package.sh b/scripts/build/termux_step_patch_package.sh
index 0d1862d80..f70fdaaf7 100644
--- a/scripts/build/termux_step_patch_package.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/termux_step_patch_package.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 termux_step_patch_package() {
 	cd "$TERMUX_PKG_SRCDIR"
 	local DEBUG_PATCHES=""
-	if $TERMUX_DEBUG && [ -f $TERMUX_PKG_BUILDER_DIR/*.patch.debug ] ; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_DEBUG" = "true" ] && [ -f $TERMUX_PKG_BUILDER_DIR/*.patch.debug ] ; then
 		DEBUG_PATCHES="$(ls $TERMUX_PKG_BUILDER_DIR/*.patch.debug)"
 	fi
 	# Suffix patch with ".patch32" or ".patch64" to only apply for these bitnesses:
diff --git a/scripts/build/termux_step_setup_toolchain.sh b/scripts/build/termux_step_setup_toolchain.sh
index d25065491..2a0ec17dc 100644
--- a/scripts/build/termux_step_setup_toolchain.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/termux_step_setup_toolchain.sh
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ termux_step_setup_toolchain() {
 	export READELF=$TERMUX_HOST_PLATFORM-readelf
 	export STRIP=$TERMUX_HOST_PLATFORM-strip
 
-	if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ]; then
 		export PATH=$TERMUX_STANDALONE_TOOLCHAIN/bin:$PATH
 		export CC_FOR_BUILD=gcc
 		export PKG_CONFIG=$TERMUX_STANDALONE_TOOLCHAIN/bin/${TERMUX_HOST_PLATFORM}-pkg-config
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ termux_step_setup_toolchain() {
 	CFLAGS+=" -fstack-protector-strong"
 	LDFLAGS+=" -Wl,-z,relro,-z,now"
 
-	if $TERMUX_DEBUG; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_DEBUG" = "true" ]; then
 		CFLAGS+=" -g3 -O1 -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2"
 	else
 		CFLAGS+=" -Oz"
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ termux_step_setup_toolchain() {
 	export ac_cv_func_sigsetmask=no
 	export ac_cv_c_bigendian=no
 
-	if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD && [ ! -d $TERMUX_STANDALONE_TOOLCHAIN ]; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ] && [ ! -d $TERMUX_STANDALONE_TOOLCHAIN ]; then
 		# Do not put toolchain in place until we are done with setup, to avoid having a half setup
 		# toolchain left in place if something goes wrong (or process is just aborted):
 		local _TERMUX_TOOLCHAIN_TMPDIR=${TERMUX_STANDALONE_TOOLCHAIN}-tmp
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ termux_step_setup_toolchain() {
 
 	export PKG_CONFIG_LIBDIR="$TERMUX_PKG_CONFIG_LIBDIR"
 
-	if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ]; then
 		# Create a pkg-config wrapper. We use path to host pkg-config to
 		# avoid picking up a cross-compiled pkg-config later on.
 		local _HOST_PKGCONFIG
diff --git a/scripts/build/termux_step_setup_variables.sh b/scripts/build/termux_step_setup_variables.sh
index 4c990eab4..16f4042eb 100644
--- a/scripts/build/termux_step_setup_variables.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/termux_step_setup_variables.sh
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ termux_step_setup_variables() {
 	: "${TERMUX_INSTALL_DEPS:="false"}"
 	: "${TERMUX_PACKAGES_DIRECTORIES:="packages"}"
 
-	if $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "true" ]; then
 		# For on-device builds cross-compiling is not supported so we can
 		# store information about built packages under $TERMUX_TOPDIR.
 		TERMUX_BUILT_PACKAGES_DIRECTORY="$TERMUX_TOPDIR/.built-packages"
@@ -73,11 +73,11 @@ termux_step_setup_variables() {
 	TERMUX_HOST_PLATFORM="${TERMUX_ARCH}-linux-android"
 	if [ "$TERMUX_ARCH" = "arm" ]; then TERMUX_HOST_PLATFORM="${TERMUX_HOST_PLATFORM}eabi"; fi
 
-	if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD && [ ! -d "$NDK" ]; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ] && [ ! -d "$NDK" ]; then
 		termux_error_exit 'NDK not pointing at a directory!'
 	fi
 
-	if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD && ! grep -s -q "Pkg.Revision = $TERMUX_NDK_VERSION_NUM" "$NDK/source.properties"; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ] && ! grep -s -q "Pkg.Revision = $TERMUX_NDK_VERSION_NUM" "$NDK/source.properties"; then
 		termux_error_exit "Wrong NDK version - we need $TERMUX_NDK_VERSION"
 	fi
 
diff --git a/scripts/build/termux_step_start_build.sh b/scripts/build/termux_step_start_build.sh
index 9d5abe114..fe0fae412 100644
--- a/scripts/build/termux_step_start_build.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/termux_step_start_build.sh
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ termux_step_start_build() {
 		TERMUX_PKG_FULLVERSION+="-$TERMUX_PKG_REVISION"
 	fi
 
-	if $TERMUX_DEBUG; then
-		if $TERMUX_PKG_HAS_DEBUG; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_DEBUG" = "true" ]; then
+		if [ "$TERMUX_PKG_HAS_DEBUG" = "true" ]; then
 			DEBUG="-dbg"
 		else
 			echo "Skipping building debug build for $TERMUX_PKG_NAME"
@@ -29,12 +29,12 @@ termux_step_start_build() {
 		DEBUG=""
 	fi
 
-	if ! $TERMUX_DEBUG && ${TERMUX_FORCE_BUILD-false}; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_DEBUG" = "true" ] && [ "$TERMUX_FORCE_BUILD" = "true" ]; then
 		if [ -e "$TERMUX_BUILT_PACKAGES_DIRECTORY/$TERMUX_PKG_NAME" ] &&
 		   [ "$(cat "$TERMUX_BUILT_PACKAGES_DIRECTORY/$TERMUX_PKG_NAME")" = "$TERMUX_PKG_FULLVERSION" ]; then
 			echo "$TERMUX_PKG_NAME@$TERMUX_PKG_FULLVERSION built - skipping (rm $TERMUX_BUILT_PACKAGES_DIRECTORY/$TERMUX_PKG_NAME to force rebuild)"
 			exit 0
-		elif $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD &&
+		elif [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "true" ] &&
 		     [ "$(dpkg-query -W -f '${db:Status-Status} ${Version}\n' "$TERMUX_PKG_NAME" 2>/dev/null)" = "installed $TERMUX_PKG_FULLVERSION" ]; then
 			echo "$TERMUX_PKG_NAME@$TERMUX_PKG_FULLVERSION installed - skipping"
 			exit 0
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ termux_step_start_build() {
 				TERMUX_BUILD_IGNORE_LOCK=true ./build-package.sh -I "${PKG_DIR}"
 				continue
 			else
-				if ! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD; then
+				if [ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ]; then
 					if [ ! "$TERMUX_QUIET_BUILD" = true ]; then echo "extracting $PKG..."; fi
 					(
 						cd $TERMUX_COMMON_CACHEDIR-$DEP_ARCH
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ termux_step_start_build() {
 
 	# Make $TERMUX_PREFIX/bin/sh executable on the builder, so that build
 	# scripts can assume that it works on both builder and host later on:
-	! $TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD && ln -sf /bin/sh "$TERMUX_PREFIX/bin/sh"
+	[ "$TERMUX_ON_DEVICE_BUILD" = "false" ] && ln -sf /bin/sh "$TERMUX_PREFIX/bin/sh"
 
 	local TERMUX_ELF_CLEANER_SRC=$TERMUX_COMMON_CACHEDIR/termux-elf-cleaner.cpp
 	local TERMUX_ELF_CLEANER_VERSION
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ termux_step_start_build() {
 			"$TERMUX_ELF_CLEANER_SRC" -o "$TERMUX_ELF_CLEANER"
 	fi
 
-	if ${TERMUX_PKG_BUILD_IN_SRC-false}; then
+	if [ "$TERMUX_PKG_BUILD_IN_SRC" = "true" ]; then
 		echo "Building in src due to TERMUX_PKG_BUILD_IN_SRC being set to true" > "$TERMUX_PKG_BUILDDIR/BUILDING_IN_SRC.txt"
 		TERMUX_PKG_BUILDDIR=$TERMUX_PKG_SRCDIR
 	fi