App Manager v2.6.4 Stable

This patch release contains bug fixes and feature improvements for the app installer and activity interceptor. This also fixes the caching issues where the files were erroneously cached in the “files” directory instead of the “cache” directory.

- [1-Click Ops] Added “trim caches from all apps” option
- [Activity Interceptor] Added options to copy/paste intents, added fields to insert identifier (Android Q+), class and package name, allowed opening intent via root, added two new extra types: Array of URI and List of URI
- [App Details] Enabled opening non-exported activity via Activity Interceptor (via root), included “View in Settings” as a horizontal button if root/ADB is not available, improved “running apps” dialog
- [Docs] Open docs URL if Android WebView is unavailable
- [Installer] Added support for installing multiple apps at the same time via the share option in any file manager, added option to block trackers after installing an app, enabled downgrading in no-root mode, improved loading dialog, displays app info icon when installation is completed
- [Log Viewer] Fixed log recording widget and other crashes
- [Locale] Fixed punctuation issues in French
- [Main] Enabled running apps filter in non-root mode, fixed freezing issue,
- [Running Apps] Fixed detecting running apps
- [Scanner] Prevent deleting APK files which aren't cached in the scanner page, display a footnote for second degree trackers in tracker details dialog
- [Settings] Sorted app list by the app label (or app name) in the app installer selection dialog, added option to run installer always in the background, added the option to limit the number of parallel operations (useful for low-end devices)

Full list of changes: v2.6.3...v2.6.4

App Manager is participating in Hacktoberfest 2021!

Existing and new contributors are welcome to participate in this year's Hacktoberfest!

You can find the event details and rules in the official site here: https://hacktoberfest.digitalocean.com

You can register here: https://hacktoberfest.digitalocean.com/register

Our rules:
- Rules described in the contributing guidelines must be followed.
- Solve any issues marked with hacktoberfest. If you have a new idea, create an issue first. We will decide if this should be part of this event or not.
- The PR must contain a new feature, or a major fix or feature improvements. Minor fixes and/or feature improvements will be merged but they won't be part of the event. Minor fixes include fixing simple logical errors, UI, localisation or grammatical issues, and minor feature improvements include adding useless words/sentences in documentations or app strings, useless UI changes.
- Spammers will be blocked permanently.

Issue: A comprehensive list of applications that cannot be fully backed up or restored using App Manager

App Manager's backup system is designed in such as way that it can back up or restore any ordinary apps without issues. However, now and then, a few apps do not work as expected, especially the ones that utilise Android KeyStore. As a result, it might be useful to create a database of apps which cannot be backed up or restored using App Manager and even if they can, what caveats a user might look for.

Purpose
1. User can easily look for an app by either its package name (and label) to find potential problems. It is necessary that we also cover all the apps that are known to work. But this will be stored in a separate list (because we don't need it for other usage).
2. Bundle the list with App Manager in the future so that the user can be warned. By default, backing up apps with KeyStore is disabled, but in the future this could be replaced by this list so that a user may not need to be well-known about the KeyStore business.
3. Most importantly, understand the error pattern and fix them if possible.

How it will work
For portability as well as readability, each package name will have a separate JSON file with the format package-name.json. This file will contain stable version information only. The definition of stable is different here. Stable-ness of a version is defined by the following criteria (all have to be matched):
1. It's not a minor release. The definition of minor release varies from app to app, and it's left to the user to decide which is which. An example could be Poweramp v2 and Poweramp v3. Two are the major releases, and their features vary a lot. Restoring v2 is easier than restoring v3. But the restoring process is consistent on both releases i.e. the method of restoring any version of v3 is the same.
2. The method of restoring the release is the same as the previously documented version.
3. Restoring didn't work in the previous versions but it is working now.

JSON schema
Will be updated later on. In general, the JSON schema should be well structured, informative and localised (so that users of other language can understand the instructions too). In order to reduce burden on the translators, stresses shall be put on creating keywords and possibly, an optional app and version-specific summary. Another challenge would be detecting version xxx or later for an app that uses special code such as the popular Google versioning.

Location of repository and files
The repository will be located under the organisation @amcommunity and (since I cannot afford a dynamic website or a domain,) a static website will be generated based on the json files and will be available as a subdomain under GitHub.

Purpose of this issue
To discuss what the JSON would contain to plan for a JSON schema. It is also my intention to create a JSON rule generator so that novice user can easily report issues in the repository.

Any users or testers who are actively trying back up/restore feature of App Manager are welcome to comment here. Thanks.

For developers.

Many of you have tried to use FuzzyWuzzy/JavaWuzzy for fuzzy string matching which is unusable in most projects (even in GPL-3.0 ones) due to its license (GPL-2.0-only). There’s a better library written in C++ called RapidFuzz-CPP with MIT license. I am working on a new project called RapidFuzz-Android which is basically a wrapper around this project (Apache-2.0 licensed). Though I named it Android, it can be build for other platforms too (see the README file). The purpose of the project is to provide a permissive-licensed fuzzy string matching library for Java using a faster way by utilizing the efficiency of JNI as well as add fuzzy searching capabilities in App Manager’s search engine.

App Manager v2.6.5 Stable

This patch release contains new features as well as several bug fixes for Android 12.

- [1-Click Ops] Fixed displaying apps from other users.
- [App Details] Enabled advanced options for disabling components in the components tabs. The options will be displayed if you long click on the block/unblock button.
- [App Details] Fixed displaying the details of an app without a valid signature.
- [App Usage] Display usage for all the configured apps.
- [Android 12] Fixed crash while installing apps.
- [Android 12] Fixed displaying SSAID, app ops.
- [Backup] Fixed crash if the backup filename contains colons.
- [Device Info] Display user ID alongside user name.
- [Help Page] Fixed crash if no WebView is available.
- [Main] Replaced check boxes and radio buttons with chips in the list options.
- [Profile] Fixed displaying apps from other users.
- [Remote Server] Fixed crash if IPv6 addresses are disabled.
- [Scanner] Detect native libraries and trackers.
- [Scanner] Fixed scanning split APK files.
- [Settings] Added an option to select default blocking method. Located at Settings > Rules > Default blocking method.

Full list of changes: v2.6.4...v2.6.5

Apologies for the late release. I was very ill this month and was unable to even look at my laptop’s screen.

App Manager v2.6.5.1 Stable

This update provides fixes for a few critical errors or crashes happened due to porting issues in v2.6.5.

- [App Details] Fixed crash on clicking on the scanner button.
- [Installer] Display detailed error or status message after trying to install the app (if available).
- [Installer] Fixed crash if the installer activity is closed forcefully with an on-going foreground installation.
- [Manifest Viewer] Fixed crash on opening any APK files.

For developers and ADB users.

I’ve separated App Manager’s ADB library to another library which can be found here: https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/libadb-android. This is a very easy to use library based on my one and half a year of understanding of ADB through App Manager. It supports Wireless Debugging as well as TLS 1.3.

You can find a working version of ADB Shell created using this library in the debug channel.

For F-Droid users.

App Manager v2.6.5.1 is now available on F-Droid. Depending on the repos you have, you may have to find and update it manually.

Short denoscription of each item content on the main page, in addition to the docs.

Funding App Manager, 2022

Background
All the projects I work on are hobby projects. However, with a growing number of users and requests since its release in May 2020, App Manager has become more than a hobby project. It currently has 181,000 lines of code and roughly 4,400 commits among which some 2,100 commits are my own. It is packed with so many features that one cannot count all of them, but at the same time, it is designed in such a way that most features are invisible to the users unless they look carefully. This design makes App Manager complex yet free from clutter. Most importantly, it offers a modern user interface based on latest technologies such as Material Design, and supports a wide range of devices (from Android Lollipop to Android S) including Android tablets and TV. It also provides an extensive documentation (in a website and within the app) with support for a few languages. This is why, within the 1.5 years of its existence, it has been downloaded over 27,000 times from GitHub (in addition to how many times it has been downloaded from F-Droid, IzzyOnDroid, or other unofficial channels) despite it being completely absent from the mainstream app stores such as Google Play Store, and no advertisements. Thanks to the translators, it has also been translated or is actively being translated into 30 languages. 
 
With more users, comes more responsibilities as the number of crash and issue reports is ever on the increase. Those who are following the project from the start know that there used to be a support group on Telegram which was discontinued, as it quickly grew to be unmanageable for me. Besides, with such a large codebase, more capable hardware are required to develop, emulate and test the application in various ways to ensure it functions properly. As I have mentioned in the README page in GitHub or the donation section elsewhere, App Manager does not support donation, it only supports funding. This is due to fact that short-term donations do not ensure the longevity of a project. With that in mind, I have since been looking for long-term funding by contacting institutes and foundations, but so far (and considering the fact that we’re living in a difficult situation due to COVID-19), I have yet to secure any long-term funding, which is becoming increasingly necessary to sustain the project. So, I have decided to run a funding campaign for App Manager. The purpose of the campaign is to ensure the longevity of the project by ensuring a fixed funding.
 
The campaign will last from 1 February 2022 to 30 April 2022 (3 months). This is different from the regular donations in the sense that I expect people to donate however much they can within this time frame. Since this campaign runs for 3 months, recurring donations are also possible for at least two months. The campaign will run on Open Collective where you can contribute using PayPal, bank accounts, credit/debit cards or cryptocurrencies. See the FAQ below for details.

Summary
Campaign duration: 1 February 2022 to 30 April 2022 (3 months)
Target amount: $6,000
Campaign website: https://opencollective.com/muntashir/projects/app-manager
Available payment methods: PayPal, Bank accounts, credit/debit cards, cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH, BCH, LTC and many more)
Direct links: Normal Donation - Cryptocurrency Donation
Contact:
- Email: muntashirakon [at] riseup [dot] net
- GitHub: https://github.com/MuntashirAkon
- Twitter: @Muntashir
 
Please convey this information to others who might be interested in funding App Manager.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Why is the campaign being run only on the Open Collective? Open Collective is built for open source projects like App Manager. Unlike other popular alternatives such as Patreon, it is also privacy friendly. However, I have decided against multiple platforms because it would cause confusion and might attract fraudsters.
2. Can I donate anonymously? Open Source Collective supports guest donations where you can use a temporary email address in the email section.
3. Where will the funding be spent? The funding will be spent on buying new hardware, a domain, increasing my focus on open source projects in general by getting rid of other commitments, sending small gifts to the contributors and so on. Open Collective has an updates section where you will be able to see how the funding are being spent.
4. Would you accept recurring donations after the campaign? If the campaign goes well, I will accept any donations for App Manager. In any case, you can still donate me via my page on Open Collective.
5. I want to provide funding from my organisation. Can I contribute here? Yes, you can. However, if you are willing to contribute a large sum of money, you might want to contact me first.
6. Does App Manager support bounties? No. App Manager only accepts donations. Features are prioritised according to the developer’s current state of mind.

Regarding the next release of App Manager: The next release will be v3.0.0, and it will be released in April just like last year.

App Manager v3.0.0-alpha01

You have to restart your device after updating the app.

Full list of changes: v2.6.0...v3.0.0-alpha01