--- a/src/bootstrap/src/utils/cc_detect.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/src/utils/cc_detect.rs
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@
     // API 19 is the earliest API level supported by NDK r25b but AArch64 and x86_64 support
     // begins at API level 21.
     let api_level =
-        if triple.contains("aarch64") || triple.contains("x86_64") { "21" } else { "19" };
+        "@TERMUX_PKG_API_LEVEL@";
     let compiler = format!("{}{}-{}", triple_translated, api_level, compiler.clang());
     let host_tag = if cfg!(target_os = "macos") {
         // The NDK uses universal binaries, so this is correct even on ARM.