# Twire is an ad-free Twitch client forked from Pocket Plays > Twire is an open source Android client for browsing and playing Twitch streams, forked from the Pocket Plays for Twitch application and distributed through F-Droid and GitHub releases. The feature list is short and specific: a built-in adblock, VODs with chat replay, third party emotes, picture in picture and Twitch account support. **twireapp/Twire** — Twire is an alternative and open source Twitch client for Android - Repository: https://github.com/twireapp/Twire - Stars: 1,307 · Forks: 66 - Language: Kotlin - License: GPL-3.0 - Published: 2026-10-19 · Updated: 2026-10-19 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/twireapp-twire ## The fork is the interesting part of the history Twire is described as an open source, ad-free Twitch browser and stream player for Android, and it is a fork of the Pocket Plays for Twitch Android application, with more information linked in an issue on the original repository. The licensing section spells out the consequence of that lineage: Twire is licensed under the GNU v3 Public License, and because this is a fork under GNUv3, other developers were involved, with the copyright notice naming SebastianRask and alexzorin. That is a fairly clean statement of the situation for a GPL project, and it also tells you that the project carries an obligation the upstream application did not necessarily have to carry, since a fork of a GPL codebase inherits the copyleft terms. The application identifier is `com.perflyst.twire`, which is the giveaway that the fork kept the original package name. ## The adblock and the emote services are the two reasons to switch The current features list is short, which makes it easy to see what the fork is actually for. There is a built-in adblock, which is the main thing separating it from the official application. There is support for VODs with chat replay, so you can watch a recorded stream and read the chat alongside it. There are custom emotes from BTTV, FFZ and 7TV, which are the three third party emote services people usually reach for separately. There is picture in picture mode. There is a highly customizable UI, with the screenshots taken using the True Night theme enabled. And there is Twitch account support, so you get your follows and your stream list rather than only public channels. ## The F-Droid listing is the distribution story The application is on F-Droid under the package `com.perflyst.twire`, and there is a release badge pointing at the GitHub releases, so there are two ways to get it. That combination is what you want from an open source client, because F-Droid builds from the source in the repository rather than shipping a binary the developer uploaded, which means the build you install is one someone else reproduced. The project also uses Weblate for translations, with a translation status badge, and the contributing section says translators can help translate Twire over on Weblate. The screenshots in the README come from the `fastlane/` directory, with per-language metadata and phone screenshots, which is the usual setup for an app that is published through more than one channel and wants its store listing and its repository to agree. ## Building it locally is a clone and a Gradle wrapper The contributing section is brief. The easiest way to contribute is by reporting issues, and the other way is making pull requests, which the README says requires a proper IDE installed such as Visual Studio Code and a copy of the repository. The clone is the standard two commands, and there is a `git pull` for updating a copy: ``` git clone https://github.com/twireapp/Twire cd Twire ``` The repository layout is a conventional Android Gradle project, with an `app/` directory holding the application module, an `artwork/` directory for the icon assets, a `fastlane/` directory for the store metadata and screenshots, a `build.gradle.kts` and a `settings.gradle`, and the `gradlew` and `gradlew.bat` wrappers so the build does not depend on a system Gradle. The `.editorconfig`, `.idea/` directory and the `.github/` directory complete the setup, and there is a `StartUpActivity_robo_script.json` at the root. ## The project is active but the releases are a year apart The release history shows a steady line of patch releases through 2025, with v2.12.3 from 2025-08-20, v2.12.2 from 2025-08-06 and v2.12.1 from 2025-07-05, and the last push to the master branch was on 2026-07-10. The gap between the last release and the last commit is normal for a client application, where most of the work is against a third party API, but it does mean the published build you install may be behind the source. The project is a fork of the Pocket Plays client, and the topics attached to it reflect that lineage: android, hacktoberfest, java, twitch, twitch-client and twitch-tv. The primary language is Kotlin, while the topic list still carries java. ## Conclusion Adopt Twire if you want a Twitch client on Android without ads and with BTTV, FFZ and 7TV emotes, since those are the two things it adds. Do not adopt it expecting a guarantee that the stream playback will keep working, because the client is built on a third party API and a fork inherits that fragility. Verify first which version you install and that the F-Droid build matches it, and note that the fork carries GPLv3 obligations that the original authors and the later contributors are named for. ## FAQ ### What is Twire? It is an open source, ad-free Twitch browser and stream player for Android, forked from the Pocket Plays for Twitch application and distributed through F-Droid and GitHub releases under the package identifier com.perflyst.twire. ### What does Twire add to the official Twitch app? A built-in adblock, VODs with chat replay, custom emotes from BTTV, FFZ and 7TV, picture in picture mode, a highly customizable UI and Twitch account support. ### How do I build Twire from source? Clone the repository with git, change into the Twire directory, and build with the Gradle wrapper included in the repository. Pull requests are welcome, and the README points to the GitHub documentation on opening one. ### How do I help translate Twire? Translations are handled on Weblate, and the README says translators can help translate the project there. The project also carries a translation status badge pointing at the Weblate project. ### What licence is Twire released under? The GNU v3 Public License, with the licence file in the repository root. The README notes that because this is a fork under GNUv3, other developers were involved, and the copyright notice names SebastianRask and alexzorin. ## Sources - [Issues](https://github.com/twireapp/Twire/issues) - [License: GPL-3.0](https://github.com/twireapp/Twire/blob/master/LICENSE) - [README](https://github.com/twireapp/Twire/blob/master/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/twireapp/Twire/releases) - [twireapp/Twire on GitHub](https://github.com/twireapp/Twire) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/twireapp-twire