About Obtainium
Obtainium is an Android app that lets you install and update other apps directly from the source where their developers publish them, rather than through a central app store. You add an app by its release page, and Obtainium tracks new releases, notifies you when one appears and handles the update.
The list of supported sources is long. Open-source hosts include GitHub, GitLab, Forgejo and Codeberg, F-Droid and third-party F-Droid repositories, IzzyOnDroid and SourceHut. Other sources include APKPure, Aptoide, Uptodown, itch.io, Huawei AppGallery, Samsung Galaxy Store, SourceForge and Jenkins jobs, with some tracked in a track-only mode. The project also offers deep links for importing apps, crowdsourced app configurations, a verification tool for checking app signatures and an RSS-feed option.
Obtainium is written in Dart with Flutter and licensed under GPL-3.0. Installing APKs from third-party sources carries risk, so the maintainers recommend verifying apps, and it is aimed at people comfortable managing their own Android software. It appeals to privacy-minded users who want updates from developers without store accounts.
Key features
- Installs and updates apps from release pages
- Update notifications for new releases
- GitHub, GitLab, F-Droid and many store sources
- Deep links for importing app configurations
- Crowdsourced app configuration repository
- Companion app verification tool
Good fit for
- →Keeping open-source Android apps current
- →Avoiding dependence on a single app store
- →Tracking apps that publish only on GitHub
- Built with
- Dart
- Tags
- android
- app-updater
- apk
- foss
- github
- f-droid
- privacy
- flutter
Obtainium: questions and answers
- What is Obtainium used for?
- Obtainium is an Android app that installs and updates apps straight from their release pages on GitHub, GitLab, F-Droid and many other sources, with update notifications. It is a good fit for keeping open-source Android apps current, avoiding dependence on a single app store and tracking apps that publish only on GitHub.
- Is Obtainium open source?
- Yes. Obtainium is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at ImranR98/Obtainium and is written mainly in Dart.
- Is Obtainium free?
- Yes. Obtainium is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
- Can I self-host Obtainium?
- Yes. Obtainium can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
- What are some alternatives to Obtainium?
- Similar open-source tools in the Productivity category include F-Droid, Zen Browser and Ungoogled Chromium. SaaS products in the same category include 1% Better, AirSpell and Arazio For Mac.
- Is Obtainium actively maintained?
- Yes. The most recent commit to Obtainium was on 13 September 2026, and the latest release is v1.6.17, published on 13 September 2026. The project has 20k stars on GitHub.
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