OSS Tracker RE is a lightweight Android app that monitors the latest releases of open-source applications, allowing you to download and install them entirely within the app. No browser or file manager is required—experience seamless update management through a beautiful "Liquid glass" UI.
This project started as a fork of jroddev/android-oss-release-tracker and has since been heavily re‑designed and extended.
You can download the latest APK from GitHub Releases.
📌 Installation Guide Open the downloaded APK file on your device and allow "Install unknown apps" to proceed with the installation.
| Apps | Add Tracker | History |
|---|---|---|
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| Settings (Theme & Display) | Settings (API & Advanced) |
|---|---|
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- Multi-Platform Support: Monitors repositories across GitHub, GitLab, Codeberg, and F-Droid. Also supports direct APK download links for apps hosted elsewhere.
- Smart Versioning: Automatically separates stable releases from pre-releases into distinct, collapsible cards. Pre-release tracking can be toggled on or off.
- Robust Background Downloads: Utilizes a dedicated foreground service for reliable downloading. Features real-time progress display, pause, resume, and cancel functionalities.
- One-Tap Install: Trigger the installation screen directly from the app card once a download finishes. A "Download Only" mode is also available for manual management.
- Auto Update Check: Periodically checks tracked repositories for new stable releases in the background, notifying you when updates are found (default is every 24 hours).
- Bring Your Own Token (BYOT): Bypass GitHub's anonymous API limit (60 requests/hour) by configuring your own Personal Access Token, raising the limit to 5,000 requests/hour.
- Add a repository or direct APK link – Tap the + icon on the Apps screen, enter a GitHub, GitLab, Codeberg, or F‑Droid URL (or a direct APK download link), and tap Test Repository.
- You can optionally set a custom display name before testing — and change it later from the card. (You can re‑enable the dedicated New tab in Settings → Developer Options if you prefer.)
- Start tracking – Tap the + icon on the preview card to add it to your list.
- Configure your token (recommended) – Go to Settings → API Configuration and paste a GitHub Personal Access Token to avoid rate limits.
- Download – On the Apps tab, tap Download on any asset. Progress is shown in real time — pause or resume as needed.
- Install – After the download finishes, tap Tap to install (or find the APK in your Downloads folder if you're using Download Only mode).
- Manage – Use the refresh icon on any card to check for new releases, or pull down on the list to refresh everything at once. Import or export your list from the Settings screen. Reorder cards with the ▲▼ arrows.
- Liquid Glass UI: Features a modern frosted-glass aesthetic with smooth blur and transparency for a clean, premium feel.
- 16 Pastel Gradients: Instantly switch between custom background gradient palettes from the Settings menu.
- Custom Display Names: Assign custom, user-friendly names to any tracked repository or APK link.
- Theme Support: Choose between Light, Dark, or System-default themes.
| Category | Technology |
|---|---|
| Language | Kotlin |
| UI Framework | Jetpack Compose (Material 3) |
| Networking | Volley, OkHttp |
| Asynchronous | Coroutines |
| Background | WorkManager, Foreground Service |
| State & Storage | StateFlow, SharedPreferences |
- Installation Permission: The app requires the
REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGESpermission to launch the installer for downloaded APKs directly from within the app. - Notifications and Background Execution: Requires notification permissions on Android 13+ to display download progress and auto-update alerts. For reliable background checks, disabling battery optimization for this app is recommended.
- Full Backup & Restore: Export your entire setup—including repositories, custom names, tokens, display order, and settings—into a single CSV file for easy migration between devices.
- Original project: jroddev/android-oss-release-tracker — the foundation and inspiration for OSS Tracker RE.
This project is licensed under the MIT License.