# App Manager: an Android package manager that goes past Settings

> App Manager is a GPLv3 Android app for inspecting, backing up and modifying installed packages, with a large set of operations that only work with root or ADB. It is aimed at people who already understand what a package, a permission and an app op are.

**MuntashirAkon/AppManager** — A full-featured package manager and viewer for Android

- Repository: https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager
- Website: http://muntashir.dev/AppManager/
- Stars: 9,089 · Forks: 522
- Language: Java
- License: NOASSERTION
- Published: 2026-09-21 · Updated: 2026-09-21 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/muntashirakon-appmanager

## What App Manager is for, and who it is aimed at

Android's own Settings app shows you a list of installed applications and a handful of toggles per app. App Manager starts from that list and exposes the rest: activities, broadcast receivers, services, providers, app ops, permissions, signatures and shared libraries. The README describes the project as a "full-featured package manager and viewer", and the feature list backs that up with install and uninstall of APK, APKS, APKM and XAPK files (including OBB files), APK backup and restore, batch operations, a logcat viewer, a debloater, a code editor, a file manager and a simple terminal emulator.

The audience is narrow and specific. Someone who wants to know which tracker classes ship inside an app, or who wants to revoke a runtime permission that the system UI will not let them touch, is the target user. Someone who just wants to free up storage is not, because a stock Android build already does that adequately.

The README is explicit that the feature set is split by privilege level. Some features work on any device. Revoking runtime and development permissions, changing the mode of an app op, killing or force-stopping running processes, clearing app data or cache, changing net policy and controlling battery optimization all require root or ADB. Blocking components, editing shared preferences, backing up apps with data and viewing or changing SSAID require root.

## How the privilege split shapes what you can actually do

The mechanism is not a hidden trick. App Manager works through the package manager and system services that Android already exposes, and the split in the README reflects which of those interfaces are gated. On an unrooted device with no ADB connection, the app can read a great deal and write very little. Connect it over ADB, and the shell identity is enough for a defined subset. Run it with root, and the remaining set opens.

That design has a consequence worth stating plainly: the app is not a single product with a consistent capability level. It is closer to three products stacked in one interface. The README does not present a compatibility matrix for which Android versions support which operations, so the practical way to learn the boundary is to try an operation and see whether the app reports that it needs elevated access.

The backup side is where the split bites hardest. Backing up APK files is available more broadly, but backing up apps with their data, rules and extras (the README names permissions, battery optimization and SSAID as examples) is listed under root-only features. If your reason for installing App Manager is to migrate app data between devices, root is effectively a prerequisite.

## Installing App Manager and running a first inspection

The README points to F-Droid as the distribution channel, with a "Get it on F-Droid" badge linking to the package io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager. The repository also publishes releases on GitHub, and the README lists mirrors on Codeberg, GitLab, Riseup and sourcehut. The README does not give a command-line installation procedure, so the F-Droid route is the one the project documents.

Once installed, the first useful thing to do is open an app's detail page. The main page is designed, in the README's words, to "display as much information as possible", and the detail view is where the component lists live. There is no setup command to run for this part; it works without root or ADB.

For the operations that need elevation, the app expects you to enable ADB mode. The README does not spell out the pairing flow, so treat the in-app prompt as the source of truth. The README does not document any ADB command, so there is no shell snippet to quote here; the connection is established through the app's own interface.

After that, the operations the README lists under root or ADB become available: revoking runtime permissions, changing app op modes, force-stopping processes, clearing data or cache, and adjusting battery optimization. Each of these is a single action in the interface rather than a shell command you type.

App Manager also ships a simple terminal emulator, which the README lists among the general features. It is not described as a full shell replacement, and the README's upcoming-features list includes a "more advance terminal emulator", which tells you the current one is deliberately basic.

## Where App Manager is the wrong tool

The clearest limitation is the privilege requirement itself. If you are not willing to root the device or keep an ADB session available, a large part of the advertised feature set is simply out of reach. The README does not offer a workaround, and the app does not pretend otherwise.

A second limitation is scope. App Manager manages what is installed on the device it runs on. It is not a desktop package manager, it is not an iOS tool, and the related-search terms that suggest otherwise do not correspond to anything in the repository. The top-level entries are an Android Gradle project: app/, build.gradle, settings.gradle, gradle/ and gradlew. There is a server/ directory and a libserver/ directory, but the README does not describe a remote-management mode, so do not assume one exists.

The third limitation is the one that catches people after installation: the app is broad enough that a wrong tap has real consequences. Clearing app data, force-stopping system processes and editing shared preferences are all destructive or destabilising operations. The README lists them as features without a warning section, so the caution has to come from you.

## How it differs from a package disabler or a debloat script

The closest comparison in the Android world is a dedicated package disabler, the kind of tool that does one thing: it freezes or hides apps you cannot uninstall. App Manager includes freezing and unfreezing, but it also includes component-level blocking with import and export support for Watt and Blocker, the two formats those dedicated tools use. That means App Manager can consume the blocklists you already built elsewhere.

The difference in approach is breadth against focus. A disabler gives you a switch per app and nothing else. App Manager gives you a switch per activity, receiver, service and provider, plus the manifest viewer that tells you which of those exist, plus a tracker scanner that tells you which libraries are inside the APK. The cost of that breadth is a steeper interface and more ways to break something.

A second comparison point is the backup tooling. A dedicated backup app typically handles APK plus data and stops there. App Manager's backup system also covers rules and extras, and supports encryption through OpenPGP via OpenKeychain, RSA, ECC with hybrid AES, and plain AES. The README lists these as backup encryption options without further guidance on choosing between them.

## Maintenance, licensing and the cost of upgrading

The repository is not archived, and the last push was on 2026-09-20. The most recent release listed is v4.1.1 from 2026-09-04, following v4.1.0 in June 2026 and v4.0.5 in July 2025. That is a slow but continuing release cadence, and the gap between v4.0.5 and v4.1.0 is roughly eleven months, which is worth knowing if you depend on a specific fix landing quickly.

Licensing is described in the README as "Fully reproducible, copylefted libre software (GPLv3+)". The repository metadata reports the licence as NOASSERTION, and the root contains both a COPYING file and a LICENSES/ directory, so the practical answer is to read those files rather than trust a single identifier. The README source itself carries a dual-licence SPDX line, GPL-3.0-or-later OR CC-BY-SA-4.0, which applies to the documentation rather than the app code. None of this is legal advice; if you plan to redistribute a modified build, read COPYING and the LICENSES/ directory yourself.

Upgrade cost is mostly the usual Android sideloading friction. F-Droid handles updates if you installed from there. The README does not document a migration or rollback procedure between major versions, so if you rely on a specific behaviour, keep the APK of the version you are on before upgrading.

## Conclusion

App Manager is for Android users who already know their way around packages, permissions and app ops, and who accept either root or a working ADB connection. It is not for anyone who wants a one-tap cleaner on a stock, unrooted phone, because the most interesting operations sit behind root or ADB. Before adopting it, check the documentation for which mode each feature requires, and confirm your device supports the ADB pairing or root path you intend to use.

## FAQ

### What does App Manager do?

It is an Android package manager and viewer. It lists an application's activities, receivers, services, providers, app ops, permissions, signatures and shared libraries, and it can install, uninstall, back up and restore APK files.

### Is there an Android app called App Manager?

Yes. MuntashirAkon/AppManager is an Android application distributed through F-Droid under the package name io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager, with releases also published on GitHub.

### How do I install App Manager?

The README points to F-Droid, using the badge that links to the io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager package. Releases are also published on GitHub, and the README lists mirrors on Codeberg, GitLab, Riseup and sourcehut.

### How do I use App Manager with ADB?

The README does not document the pairing flow, so follow the prompt inside the app. Once a connection is established, the operations listed under root or ADB features become available, including revoking runtime permissions, changing app op modes, force-stopping processes and clearing app data or cache.

## Sources

- [Issues](https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager/issues)
- [MuntashirAkon/AppManager on GitHub](https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager)
- [Project website](http://muntashir.dev/AppManager/)
- [README](https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager/blob/master/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/muntashirakon-appmanager