Your Favorite foss Apps!
Your Favorite foss Apps!
List your most often used and favourite foss application on your Android phone.
There are quite a few of them:
- Organic Maps - maps and navigation based on openstreetmap
- NekogramX - telegram client
- Element - client for matrix
- AntennaPod - for listening to podcasts
- OpenTracks - tracker for my cycling workouts
- AnySoftKeyboard - keyboard for android
- Joplin - note taking app
- F Droid - alternative to PlayMarket for FOSS applications
- LibreTube - FOSS client for YouTube with built-in proxy
- Fedilab - client for mastodon
- StreetComplete, EveryDoor - to improve openstreetmap
- Arna Translate - translator app based on the Lingva Translate API
- Termux - terminal app
- Spotube - client for Spotify without ads
Infinity for Reddit (RIP) - client for reddit
I use Syncthing to sync my phones photo library with a Google Pixel running on my server rack. If you didn't know, the first model of Google Pixel still gets unlimited full quality photo uploads to Google Photos for free, so its a great way to keep those backed up, even if I don't particularly enjoy the company they're hosted on.
There's so many:
- Termux: terminal
- Tailscale: easily allows for setting up a mesh VPN network, completely unbothered by firewals and NAT. Sometimes I fix stuff on my homeserver from my phone with Termux.
- Tachiyomi: great manga reader, I only hope that sync gets officialy built in (I'm already using SyncYomi).
- Revolution IRC: IRC client.
- Nextcloud: backs up photos on my homeserver instead of Google Photos. Sadly uses a lot of battery, probably because I have around 50K images to scan.
- Jellyfin: streams shows and films from my homeserver.
- Fedilab: mastodon client.
- FairEmail: privacy friendly email app.
- Revanced Manager, a YouTube(+more!!!) patcher to remove, er, unwanted features.
- Bitwarden Password Manager, password manager I switched to when Lastpass went down the shitter and wanted me to pay. I even ended up paying 10/y for TOTP in bitwarden, but only because I felt they actually deserved it, unlike lastpass
- Mull, A Firefox fork with privacy enhancements, free modifications, and extension support. Mozilla, Firefox, and the Gecko engine help to fight the Chromium monopoly, which powers browsers like Chrome, Edge, Opera, Vivaldi, etc.
- Termux, terminal emulator for Android. I really only use it in conjunction with Tasker (nonfree), but still useful for one-off applications
- K-9 Mail (soon Thunderbird for Android!), the only mail client for Android Ive ever used (apart from the gmail app). Now owned by Thunderbird and excited for it's future.
- Yuito, my preferred Mastodon client. I like it.
KeepassDX, newpipe, tusky, open board, Firefox, infinity(not for long sadly), jerboa, jellyfin, si gnal, f-droid, exodus, binary eye. All that on my phone. My computer runs fedora and I'm not changing anytime soon.
edit : forgot KDE connect on the phone as well.
- Obtainium: https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium
Updater for apps released through GitHub, F-Droid, GitLab, etc.
- Revanced Manager: https://github.com/revanced/revanced-manager
Patcher for YouTube which adds AdBlock/Sponsorblock/Other various features. Also supports other apps, such as YouTube Music. This is a must if you use YouTube on your phone.
GUI for yt-dlp, which supports so many websites. It can download videos and/or audio, implement sponsorblock to skip intro/outtros, and much more.
- xManager: https://github.com/xManager-App/xManager
Installer for modded Spotify. Includes AdBlock, unlimited skips, and the ability to play any track on demand, using a free Spotify account. (The installer itself includes an ad that plays when downloading the patched APK, but this can be disabled in the settings of xManager)
- Tachiyomi: https://github.com/tachiyomiorg/tachiyomi
Feature rich manga reader that can pull from various sources. Some people may recommend using one of the various forks.
- Adaway: https://github.com/AdAway/AdAway
Non-root/root system-wide AdBlock solution
- Yet Another Call Blocker: https://gitlab.com/xynngh/YetAnotherCallBlocker
FOSS & Privacy friendly call blocker that includes support for blacklist/whitelist with wildcard support.
- SD Maid SE: https://github.com/d4rken-org/sdmaid-se
Storage utility/manager that's actually good, unlike 99.99% of cleaner apps on the play store. Pro version is free on GitHub, make sure to support the developer if you like the app.
Feature rich 4chan app
- Librera Reader: https://github.com/foobnix/LibreraReader
Feature rich ebook reader. Pro version is free on GitHub, make sure to support the developer if you like the app.
OsmAnd for maps and navigation
Antennapod, KDE Connect, ... way too many to name. F Droid (in my case Neo Store) is a great place to search. If I search for a certain use case, I check out this Github Repo that lists very good FOSS apps
On Windows:
- Bitwarden, password manager (FOSS, but paid account or contribution(s) made - support development!)
- Advanced Renamer, just what it says (FOSS, but paid account or contribution(s) made - support development!)
- FreeFileSync, terrific file sync app (FOSS, but paid account or contribution(s) made - support development!)
- VLC, media player
- WizTree, folder comparison (FOSS, but paid account or contribution(s) made - support development!)
- Notepad ++, use it everyday (FOSS, but paid account or contribution(s) made - support development!)
- Everything, ditch Windows Search!
- Plex, Emby, Jellyfin for media streaming (Jellyfin is FOSS, Plex can be free, Emby??? - have Plex and Emby Lifetime accounts)
- caddy server, easy to set up and use
Android:
- FairEmail - best email client around (FOSS, but paid account or contribution(s) made - support development!)
- nzb360 - monitor all your arr apps (FOSS, but paid account or contribution(s) made - support development!)
- Tautulli - Plex stats on steroids (Android, plus also on Windows)
- Nova, great launcher (FOSS, but paid account or contribution(s) made - support development!)
- Standard Notes FOSS, but paid account or contribution(s) made - support development!)
- Authy
- Boost, soon to be gone thanks to reddit CEO
- Sports Alert (FOSS, but paid account or contribution(s) made - support development!)
Probably missed some, but the above are essential to my everyday use.
Almost everything what I use is already listed here (Termux, NewPipe, Joplin, etc), so, here's a few small apps that no one has mentioned yet:
ViMusic - a tiny accountless app to stream music from YouTube music.
HTTP Shortcuts - an app that allows you to create home screen shortcuts that execute arbitrary http requests, it supports JavaScript, so, you can write even something pretty complicated.
I won’t be using Android for a few years till my Apple device dies (best phone is the one you have, right?). However, there is one app that you can use cross platform that I endorse completely: KeePassium .
Has a simple interface, supports password sharing between self hosted servers via standardized KeePass libraries, and has TOTP which eliminates the need for a second app. I use keepassXC on Fedora and it syncs wonderfully. Took a second to setup, but it’s the best password experience I’ve had thus far.
RedReader - a fantastic Reddit app, that hopefully will support Lemmy in the future.
- AntennaPod (podcast player)
- Authenticator Pro (2FA)
- Aves (gallery)
- Bitwarden
- Catima (for stores' reward cards)
- Etar (calendar)
- Geometric Weather
- Infinity for Reddit... as long as it works
- Joplin (note-taking software, synced with the desktop client)
- K-9 Mail
- Kvæsitso (launcher)
- Mull (Firefox fork)
- NetGuard (works in the background as a VPN to block network access to certain apps, for example I use it to block every network connection by Gboard)
- NewPipe
- Simple File Manager
- Tasks.org
This is going to be a long list.
VLC, for playing videos and other media.
Auxio, for playing music and organizing playlists and such.
ConnectBot, for SSH.
Shizuku, for apps that support it.
RootlessJamesDSP, for audio stuff. Powered by Shizuku.
aShell, for stuff that requires root permission.
Aurora Store, for the few apps I need from the playstore.
KISS Launcher.
Droidify, for everything I need from F-Droid. Also powered by Shizuku.
Feeder, for RSS feeds.
FTPClient, for SFTP connections.
LibreTorrent, for torrenting and such.
Mull, for web browsing.
Kubernetes / OKD. Since, via OpenShift, it pays my bills.
screen. Rather helpful for long running stuff if I drop VPN form work.I like Voice for my audiobooks. Also Newpipe and of course Signal :).
Antennapod for podcasts.
Analyser and display of phone storage space. Extremely useful for me as I tend to take a lot of stuff with me everywhere.
Many of my favourite apps are already listed here, so I won't repeat them
I have lawnchair and the Papirus icons and I also have some of the Simple App suite to replace the propietary file manager, camera, etc.
I also have a reminders app called Habits as well as Revanced, Infinity for Reddit (RIP), and Jerboa.
And for games I have Lichess, Mindustry and Shattered Pixel Dungeon
My Expenses: pretty much the best expense tracking and budgeting android application I've had the pleasure of finding, It has some paid plans to enable cloud hosting, a local web server, among others, but the free one was more than enough to me for years.
- Aegis Authenticator (2FA)
- AntennaPod (podcasts)
- F-Droid (app store)
- FitoTrack (fitness)
- Forecastie (weather)
- Fritter (for twitter, no login or posting)
- Jerboa (lemmy)
- KeePassDX (password manager)
- Linphone (for my voip numbers)
- Loyalty Card Keychain (scan my reward cards into one place)
- Material Files (file/network browser)
- NewPipe (ad-free youtube)
- OsmAnd~ (GPS/maps/directions)
- ProtonVPN
- Syncthing (syncs phone folders with desktop folders, i use for keepass and photos)
My most useful is probably ntfy & my matrix client, Element. I self-host ntfy & a matrix dendrite server with some bridges. I am able to receive notifications from all of my chats without Google services installed, as well as notifications from Tusky thanks to Element and Tusky's support for UnifiedPush.
Right now, Infinity for Reddit, but with the Reddit API debacle, I guess it's either Jerboa for Lemmy or Firefox Focus.
The one I am using and not already mentioned :
-
qBitController to remote manage qBittorrent
-
Transistor a very basic app to listen to radio over internet. Previously I was using RadioDroid which is more advanced but for what I do a simple app is largely enough and better
-
- Feeder: a pretty rss reader
- Thumbkey: A keybord with a vastly different layout designed for ergonomy. I'm realy happy about this one because the only atlernative was closed source.
- syncthings-fork to backup my files
- SD contacts on fdroid to export my contacts on change in a folder for syncthings to backup. ( I changed the code of this one to use only one file instead of several ones)
- kde-connect: allows sharing notifications, files, and much more between your phone and pc
- libretube: a youtube piped client
On my Android tablet, my most used app has got to be either Mull (web browser, based on Firefox), NewPipe (YouTube client), or Tusky (Mastodon client).
My favourite app, however, is probably UntrackMe.
Probably Open Note Scanner OsmAnd and Password Store.
Android
- Waistline calorie counter
- Verifit workout diary
They're both pretty basic but honestly upon switching I realized how many superfluous features I didn't use in my old apps.
AdAway for Android via fDroid
My most used is probably Lawnchair, but I don't really use it as much as see its work. Also Notally for notes.
Nextcloud Notes for notes
Simple Gallery (and the Simple Mobile apps in general), AdAway, SDMaid, Magisk, Firefox.