# Modern-Apps is a 36 app open source Android ecosystem with one certificate

> Modern-Apps collects Android apps built with Jetpack Compose and Material 3 You into a single GPL-3.0 repository with a shared design language, an F-Droid index and a signing certificate you can check. The v2.x apps are declared beta, and the table lists as many planned apps as released ones.

**vayun-mathur/Modern-Apps** — A full mobile ecosystem of 36 apps

- Repository: https://github.com/vayun-mathur/Modern-Apps
- Stars: 868 · Forks: 49
- Language: Kotlin
- License: GPL-3.0
- Published: 2026-10-20 · Updated: 2026-10-20 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/vayun-mathur-modern-apps

## One repository, thirty six apps, one design scheme

Modern-Apps is a collection of Android apps that aims to give the feel of a complete phone ecosystem without the proprietary parts of one. The project description calls it a full mobile ecosystem of 36 apps, and the stated aim is to replace the ecosystem feel of systems like Apple's and Google's while staying entirely open source.

What makes it more than a folder of unrelated apps is the shared approach to code. Every app is built with modern Android stack pieces such as Jetpack Compose and Material 3 You, and the reason the project gives for that is auditability: the code is meant to look good and read easily for anyone who wants to check it. The project also asks beginners in Kotlin and Android development to read the code, and says the apps are structured to be as beginner friendly as possible.

The apps live in the same repository as one Gradle project. The tree carries build-logic, a detekt.yml for static analysis, a deny.toml, a clippy.toml, a gradle.properties and a gradlew wrapper, alongside per app directories such as calculator, calendar, camera, contacts, email, findfamily and clock. There is also a Cargo.toml workspace with Rust members under several apps, so this is not a pure Kotlin repository despite Kotlin being the primary language.

## A tier system that separates flagships from the standard set

The master table in the README is the clearest statement of scope, and it classifies every released and planned app into a subgroup. MA-1 is for flagship apps, those that are fully unique in the free and open source world or particularly noteworthy. MA-2 covers the rest of a typical ecosystem, the standard apps. MA-3 is niche software that a small portion of people may want occasionally. MA-E is real world stuff, MA-G is games, and MA-C covers apps built for the MA-OS project that may or may not also be available as user apps.

The table columns carry a homepage link, an F-Droid entry and an Obtainium link for each app, and entries that are not yet published are marked In Progress. That is a useful signal about the ratio between what exists and what is planned. Auto and Backup are both listed as In Progress, while App Store, Astronomy, Calculator and Calendar have published entries.

One entry breaks the pattern. Cast is an Android TV receiver, the app that the Cast app mirrors to, and the project says plainly that it will not appear on a phone launcher and is not installable on a phone.

The device requirement is also stated: generally a 64-bit device running at least Android 12.

## Installing through F-Droid, Obtainium or the MA App Store

The project states that the recommended installation method is the MA App Store, calling it the most secure way to download MA apps. The App Store is itself listed as an app in the MA-C group, with an F-Droid package and an Obtainium link.

For F-Droid users the instruction is to add the project index to the client, which gives faster updates and access to apps unavailable on the main repository:

```text
https://ma.vayunmathur.com/fdroid
```

The Obtainium column is the third path. Obtainium is an app that tracks and installs releases directly from a source, and the table links each app through an api.vayunmathur.com endpoint that takes the app name, the package name and the APK filename.

The package names follow a consistent pattern, for example com.vayunmathur.appstore for the App Store and com.vayunmathur.calculator for the calculator, which makes them easy to spot in a list of installed applications and easy to pass to Obtainium.

The project is explicit that ecosystem does not mean walled garden, and that you are free to use as many or as few apps as you want. Nothing here depends on installing the whole set.

## The signing certificate is published so you can check it

Every APK built by the author is said to match one SHA-256 certificate, and the value is printed in the README:

```text
17:6F:CB:25:25:57:3E:5B:E8:E1:CB:3A:49:6D:D9:7B:13:7E:81:CA:5B:88:7A:1D:32:CB:89:4B:4E:57:17:B4
```

That single value is the anchor for trusting an install. The project also says that all the APK files it makes will match it, which means you can compare what you downloaded against what the source claims, rather than trusting the download channel alone.

This matters more here than in a typical app collection, because the recommended installation path is a project run app store rather than a mainstream one. A published certificate is what makes that path checkable rather than merely convenient.

The same principle appears elsewhere in the repository, which carries a SUPPLY_CHAIN_RISKS.md file and a deny.toml, the configuration used to control which crates and dependencies are allowed into a Cargo project. Both are about knowing where the bits came from.

## Apps that fill gaps the existing open source ecosystem leaves

The README names the areas where the collection goes beyond what is already covered. Find Family is a location sharing app, and the project describes it as the first and, to the author's knowledge only, free and open source, end-to-end encrypted, cross platform location sharing app. YouPipe is a privacy based frontend for YouTube. Email is described as an email client with push notifications and a functional dark mode widget.

Two more are marked as upcoming. Maps supports public transit routing, which the project points out is a feature missing from existing alternatives. Messages is described as an aggregator for other messaging apps rather than a chat client of its own.

Games are included as well. The project states that games are an important part of a good phone experience and that some enjoyed mobile games have been remade, with the intention of adding more over time. The tree carries a games directory, and the Cargo workspace includes Rust members for games/voxels and games/kart.

The history section explains how the collection came together. An earlier attempt, Material-Suite, went nowhere, and the project restarted with FindFamily after the author found no privacy respecting alternative with the same features. Several more apps were then built independently before being moved into this repository to share a design scheme and common components.

## Everything on the v2.x line is beta by the author's own statement

The acknowledgement of bugs section is blunt about the state of the collection. Every v2.x.x version of these apps is to be considered beta, because a lot of features and apps are being done in a short period of time, and the author says that inevitably results in some bugs. Version numbering will change to v3.x.x when all the apps are stable.

That is the single most important fact for anyone deciding whether to install this on a daily driver. A beta here covers the whole collection rather than one app, and the release numbers reflect that. The recent tags are v2.6.9 on 2026-10-07, v2.6.8 on 2026-08-25 and v2.6.7 on 2026-08-17.

The project invites bug reports and pull requests, with a note that fixes and new features are welcome as long as they are not bloaty. There are also cross platform signals in the tree, with apple/ and desktop/ directories alongside the Android apps, and a CROSS_PLATFORM_STATUS.md file.

For a change log, the repository also carries SPEC.md, AGENTS.md and CONTRIBUTING.md at the root, which are the files to read when you want to see what the project considers its own direction rather than what the README advertises.

## Reading the source is part of the pitch

The most distinctive thing about this repository is not any single app. It is the decision to put the entire ecosystem in one place, under one licence, with one certificate, so that the whole surface can be read.

The GPL-3.0 licence is the mechanism that makes that possible across the collection. It is a copyleft licence, which is the opposite of what you would pick for a set of apps meant to be adopted piecemeal into different people's setups, and it is the reason the project asks for contributions rather than accepting code that would have to be relicensed. That is a deliberate trade, and anyone considering reusing a single app's code should think about it rather than discover it later.

The alternative is the ordinary route: pick individual open source apps from separate repositories, each with its own licence, its own release cadence and its own signing key. The trade there is flexibility and less coordination. The trade here is that the set looks and behaves like one product, because the design scheme and the common components are shared.

For anyone who wants the ecosystem feel and is comfortable with beta software, the collection is more coherent than assembling the parts by hand. For anyone who needs a specific app to be stable, the MA-1, MA-2 and MA-3 groups in the table are where to check first.

## Conclusion

Modern-Apps suits an Android user who wants a coherent set of everyday apps with a consistent look, published under one certificate and readable source, and the MA App Store is the installation route the project itself calls the most secure. It does not suit anyone who needs stability today, because every v2.x release is declared beta and the version numbering only changes when all apps are stable. Before installing anything, check the SHA-256 certificate in the README against the APK you downloaded, add the F-Droid index at ma.vayunmathur.com/fdroid, and read the app table to see which entries are still marked In Progress.

## FAQ

### How do I install Modern-Apps on my Android phone?

The project calls the MA App Store the most secure download method and lists it as an app in the MA-C group. F-Droid users can add the project index at https://ma.vayunmathur.com/fdroid, and each app in the table also has an Obtainium link.

### What Android version does Modern-Apps need?

The README says that, with some exceptions, a 64-bit device running at least Android 12 is required. One app, Cast, is an Android TV receiver and is not installable on a phone.

### Are the Modern-Apps releases stable?

The project states that all v2.x.x versions are to be considered beta versions, with bugs expected, and that version numbering changes to v3.x.x when all the apps are stable. Bug reports and pull requests with fixes are welcomed.

## Sources

- [Issues](https://github.com/vayun-mathur/Modern-Apps/issues)
- [License: GPL-3.0](https://github.com/vayun-mathur/Modern-Apps/blob/main/LICENSE)
- [README](https://github.com/vayun-mathur/Modern-Apps/blob/main/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/vayun-mathur/Modern-Apps/releases)
- [vayun-mathur/Modern-Apps on GitHub](https://github.com/vayun-mathur/Modern-Apps)

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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/vayun-mathur-modern-apps