When Should You Install Apps With Obtainium?

The short answer

When should you install apps with Obtainium? It is a concrete option when an app’s active GitHub repository publishes stable APK files on a release page, and the release pattern is clear enough to identify the correct file. Our app directory contains 99 apps, but only 42 directory apps met those conditions when checked on October 10, 2026.

That smaller number matters. Each qualifying repository was confirmed as not archived, and its releases had to include a non-prerelease release with an APK asset. Obtainium is therefore not a universal route for every app that happens to have source code on GitHub.

If an app does not meet that standard, use its verified F-Droid or Google Play listing when one is available. Those listings were checked by confirming that the relevant package page existed. A project website was also accepted only after it returned a successful response, but a website alone does not put an app in the verified Obtainium table.

The three practical options

The useful choice is between these routes:

• Obtainium suits an app with a verified, active GitHub repository, a stable release, and an identifiable APK. It is especially appropriate for one of the 42 apps already included in the guide’s data-driven table.
• F-Droid suits apps whose package page was verified there. It also avoids relying on a GitHub release page when that page mixes several apps or release types. For example, DAVx⁵ is free on F-Droid and paid on Play.
• Google Play suits apps with a verified Play package page, including cases where the GitHub route would be ambiguous. Several apps were deliberately linked through F-Droid or Play instead of being presented as simple Obtainium additions.

Not every app appears in every channel. Etar, FlorisBoard, Thumb-Key, RTranslator, Transportr, and OpenTasks had no verified Play listing. Session did not have a listing in the main F-Droid repository because it uses its own repository. IronFox is also distributed through its own F-Droid repository. These differences are why the right route must be chosen app by app.

Where GitHub releases become risky

A GitHub repository can be active and still be a poor one-click Obtainium source. Some projects use monorepos or shared release pages. On those pages, the newest release may belong to a different app. A plain addition could therefore select the wrong thing.

That is why ente Photos and Auth, Bitwarden Authenticator, Tuta, and Element classic were left out of the simple Obtainium list. They remain linked through F-Droid or Play instead. A release-title filter may help distinguish apps on a shared page, but it must match the project’s actual release structure.

Other exclusions had different causes. Standard Notes offered only prerelease APKs on GitHub. Tubular’s repository was archived. Filen’s archived GitHub repository was not linked, although the app remained listed through Play and its website. NotallyX had only a beta on GitHub, while OpenTasks was absent from Play and its repository had not been updated since 2022.

APK filenames can also change as projects adjust flavours or release patterns. The directory registry therefore includes an APK filter hint where useful, and those patterns are scheduled for periodic re-checking.

What to do before adding an app

Use this short process:

1. Check whether the app appears among the 42 verified stable GitHub APK entries in the full guide.
2. Prefer its verified F-Droid or Play route if the guide warns that the GitHub page is shared, archived, prerelease-only, beta-only, or otherwise misleading.
3. If several APK assets appear, use “Filter APKs by regular expression” to narrow the selection according to the app’s verified filter hint.
4. Leave “Include prereleases” off when you want the stable release pattern used by the verification method.
5. For a shared release page, inspect whether “Filter release titles by regular expression” can isolate the intended app. Do not treat a mixed page as a plain addition when its newest release may be for something else.
6. Choose the desired “Background update checking interval” and review “Enable background updates.” If GitHub rate limits become relevant, Obtainium also provides “GitHub personal access token (increases rate limit).”

Release patterns drift, so a working filter is not permanent proof that every later release will use the same flavour name. For the verified app table, exclusions, filter guidance, and complete decision context, read the full guide to installing GitHub apps with Obtainium.