pcqpcq/open-source-android-apps: a curated list of 509 open source Android apps

The problem: Android app discovery is split across scattered GitHub repositories

Finding an open source Android app is not hard. Finding several of them, sorted by what they do, without reading a dozen unrelated awesome-lists, is the tedious part. This repository answers that by keeping a single index: the README states it is "a curated collection of open-source Android applications" and that all applications are organized into specific categories. The audience is developers and technically comfortable users who already know they want source-available software and need a map of what exists. It is not aimed at someone who wants to tap install and be done. The README's own framing is a discovery argument: exploring open source projects is presented as a way to find apps and to improve your development skills. That second half matters. A large share of the value here is reading how an app is built, not running it.

How the repository is laid out: README, categories directory, and Python scripts

The structure is flat and readable. At the top level sit .github/, categories/, scripts/, requirements.txt, CONTRIBUTING.md, LICENSE and README.md. The README carries a Hot Apps table for projects above ten thousand stars, then a category table with counts: 6 Android TV entries, 15 Android Wear, 4 Business, 31 Communication, 22 Education, 14 Finance, 35 Game, 13 Health & Fitness, 14 LifeStyle, and more cut off in the excerpt. Each category row links to a markdown file under categories/, for example categories/android_tv.md and categories/communication.md. So the data flow is simple: a category file holds the entries, the README holds the summary tables, and scripts/ with requirements.txt (requests>=2.28) is the automation layer that keeps the counts and tables in step. The README also points to an Add App Workflow under .github/workflows/add-app.yml, which is the contribution path for anyone who does not want to hand-edit markdown. The Hot Apps table itself is a snapshot of the wider ecosystem: v2rayNG, Termux, Joplin, Rocket.Chat, NewPipe, Shadowsocks, ZXing, SmartTubeNext, Telegram, Signal, Mindustry, Super Productivity, ExoPlayer, Google I/O, Obtainium, BookStack, GitHub Store, Plaid, Organic Maps, K-9 Mail, Minetest, UniversalMusicPlayer, Aegis Authenticator, AnkiDroid, CloudStream, RTranslator and Loop Habit Tracker. Those are pointers to other repositories, not vendored code.

Working with the list locally

There is no published install guide for an end user, because there is nothing to install as an application. The repository is cloned and read, and the Python side exists to maintain the index. Clone it first:

git clone https://github.com/pcqpcq/open-source-android-apps.git
cd open-source-android-apps

After that, the category files are plain markdown you can open directly, for instance categories/android_tv.md or categories/communication.md. If you want to run or extend the maintenance scripts, install the single declared dependency:

pip install -r requirements.txt

The only pinned requirement is requests>=2.28. The README does not document the script entry points, so read the files under scripts/ before running anything, and expect to adjust paths if the scripts assume a particular working directory. For adding an app, the README gives two routes: a pull request, or the Add App Workflow at .github/workflows/add-app.yml. The workflow route is the one to prefer if you do not want to hand-edit a category file and its count in the README. Note what is absent: no APK downloads, no F-Droid style index format, no client application. Every entry is a link to an upstream GitHub project.

What the catalogue does not tell you about the apps it lists

The README records a name, a one-line description and, for the hot list, a star figure. It does not record the licence of each listed app. That is the biggest gap, and it is not a small one. An entry appearing in an MIT-licensed list tells you nothing about the terms of the app itself; you have to open the upstream repository and read its licence file. The same applies to maintenance: the catalogue's own last push was on 2026-09-21, but an entry can point at a project that has been dormant for years, and nothing in the table flags that. Star counts in the Hot Apps table are a popularity signal only. They are not evidence that an app is maintained, secure, or suitable for the Android version on your device. Treat the descriptions as short summaries written by contributors, not as audited claims. And because the repository hosts no binaries, there is no verification step here at all: the trust boundary is entirely the upstream project you end up visiting.

How this differs from F-Droid and from Obtainium

F-Droid is a repository of built, signed APKs with its own client, build recipes and signing keys. It ships software. This project ships links. That difference decides the use case: F-Droid can install and update apps on a device, while pcqpcq/open-source-android-apps can only tell you that an app exists and where its source lives. Obtainium, which appears in this catalogue's own Hot Apps table, takes a third approach: it fetches updates directly from a project's release page on sources such as GitHub or F-Droid. So the three sit at different layers. F-Droid and Obtainium are delivery mechanisms, and this repository is an index that can feed either of them. If your goal is getting an app onto a phone, this list is a step before the tool, not a replacement for it. If your goal is surveying what the Android open source ecosystem contains by category, the list is the more direct fit, because neither F-Droid nor Obtainium organizes anything by what an app is for.

Maintenance, contributions and licence

The repository is not archived, and its last push was on 2026-09-21. Contributions run through pull requests or the Add App Workflow, and CONTRIBUTING.md is the file to read before either. The dependency surface is deliberately thin: requirements.txt declares only requests>=2.28, so there is no build toolchain to keep current and no compiled artifact to release. The practical upgrade cost is therefore close to zero for consumers of the list, who can pull the latest markdown at any time. The cost sits with contributors: adding an app means editing a category file and keeping the README counts consistent, which is exactly the kind of bookkeeping the scripts and the workflow exist to reduce. On licensing, the repository is MIT, which covers the list content and the scripts. It does not and cannot relicense the applications it links to. If you copy entries into your own project, the MIT terms apply to the catalogue text; the linked apps carry their own licences, and nothing here substitutes for reading them.

Editorial conclusion

Adopt this repository when you need a starting point for finding open source Android apps by category, and treat it as a reading list rather than an installation source: it links to upstream GitHub projects, it does not host APKs. Skip it if you want an on-device store with update delivery, since the README describes no client and no package index. Before relying on any entry, open the linked upstream repository and check its own licence and last commit, because this catalogue records neither for the apps it lists. The MIT licence covers the list itself, and requirements.txt pins only requests>=2.28.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. Issues
2. License: MIT
3. pcqpcq/open-source-android-apps on GitHub
4. README