GmsCore
rattlesnakeos-stack
GmsCore | rattlesnakeos-stack | |
---|---|---|
432 | 16 | |
7,160 | 556 | |
7.4% | - | |
9.6 | 5.3 | |
7 days ago | about 2 years ago | |
Java | Go | |
Apache License 2.0 | MIT License |
Stars - the number of stars that a project has on GitHub. Growth - month over month growth in stars.
Activity is a relative number indicating how actively a project is being developed. Recent commits have higher weight than older ones.
For example, an activity of 9.0 indicates that a project is amongst the top 10% of the most actively developed projects that we are tracking.
GmsCore
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Apple Introduces M4 Chip
I, an engineer, am not doing this myself, too. There is a middle ground though: just use a privacy-oriented Android build, like DivestOS. [1]
There are a couple caveats:
1. It is still a bit tricky for a non-technical person to install. Should not be a problem if they know somebody who can help, though. There's been some progress making the process more user friendly recently (e.g. WebUSB-based GrapheneOS installer).
2. There are some papercuts if you don't install Google services on your phone. microG [2] helps with most but some still remain. My main concern with this setup is that I can't use Google Pay this way, but having to bring my card with me every time seems like an acceptable trade off to me.
[1]: https://divestos.org/
[2]: https://microg.org/
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Google Fit APIs get shut down in 2025, might break fitness devices
I have been running de-googled LineageOS since before it renamed/reformed from CyanogenMod, so since somewhere around 2013/14. That has looked rather different depending on what exactly I need from my phone but I'll share what my current set up looks like.
First, I have don't use any kind of Google/Samsung/Apple Pay wallets so if you do, this may not be helpful; I've never looked into trying to get any of those working. Also, by "de-googled" I mean that I don't have GApps installed on my phone. I do have microG[0] installed as a Magisk[1]/LSPosed[2] module; this allows a few apps to believe I have GApps while most apps do not see/have access. I do not turn on microG for any apps (i.e. no connection to the Google servers/services via microG).
Most of my apps come from F-Droid[3], a few from Aurora Store[4] (a 3rd-part frontend for the Play Store that does not require either an account or GApps installed), a very few from FFupdater[5], and have played with using Obtanium[6] but currently only have one (weather) app updating via it. I have several different repositories configured in F-Droid but I don't generally keep mental track of which repository I am dependent on for which apps; the default, IzzyOnDroid[7], Bitwarden[8], NewPipe[9], microG[10], and Collabora[11] are some of them.
I have two banking apps installed via Aurora Store, one of which requires microG and root-hiding (via Magisk module) while the other doesn't require either. My browsers (Firefox, Firefox Klar, Brave) come from FFupdater and none require microG. My texting (QUIK SMS), email (K-9 Mail), TOTP authenticator (Aegis), password manager (Bitwarden), GPS/Maps (OsmAnd), file syncing (Nextcloud), notes (Nextcloud Notes), HN reader (HN), and Contacts/Calendar sync (DAVx5, ICSx5) apps all come via F-Droid (either the main repo or others). I have many others apps which come from F-Droid or Aurora Store but the above are my most used.
For file, calendar, notes, photo, & contact syncing, I have a Nextcloud server set up and find it to work quite well; the Nextcloud apps are also quite good. Someone who doesn't want to run their own could use a hosted account[12]. Contacts & calendars are synced to Nextcloud via DAVx5 & ICSx5.
The primary challenges I am aware of at this point are hardware (it is increasingly difficult to install LineageOS on most hardware due to bootloader locks), and navigation (OpenStreetMap data usually doesn't include addresses in the USA). For hardware, the solution is essentially just to properly research the phone you want to buy; I always make sure the model is well supported by LineageOS before purchasing and then tend to hang on to it for several years. For navigation, I usually find the address on my desktop or mobile browser (via DuckDuckGo) and then manually input the location into OsmAnd before the trip but I also keep WeGo Here maps installed in case I don't have time for that (it usually takes <2 minutes and rarely more than 5 to manually find & enter the address). Additionally, getting the one banking app to work without GApps was a pain in the butt initially (requiring testing several Magisk & LSPosed modules), but now it just works and I don't really think about it.
Overall, I don't find my version of de-googled to be a detriment; my phone is useful and I have more control over my data and over annoyances (such as unnecessary notifications) than I would otherwise.
[0] https://microg.org
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LineageOS is currently installed on 1.5M Android devices
Is anyone here daily-driving microg and can share their experiences? https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/wiki/Implementation-Status does not exactly inspire confidence.
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Google Update Reveals AI Will Read All Your Private Messages
...will need to be rewritten to avoid Google Play Services.
Not true.
All that needs to happen is for open source developers to "re-implement Google’s proprietary Android user space apps and libraries".
https://microg.org/
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A closer look at e/OS: Murena's privacy-first 'deGoogled' Android alternative
microG itself connects directly to Google: https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/wiki/Google-Network-Connec...
No shit, of course they do.
>In general, we obviously try to minimize the connections to Google, but some services strictly rely on them and would just not work without.
What exactly do you think they should do instead?
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I need a help
MicroG
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Plans to update to 0.3 in microg's lineage builds?
In release notes for GmsCore v0.2.29.233013 (https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/releases/tag/v0.2.29.233013), I also see:
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[Help] Is there a module I can install that enables push notifications on a device without google services?
Yes, the Xposed module is one way. There are also other ways
- Firefox for Android is adding support for 400 add-ons
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Which MicroG fork and version should I use?
Which one should I use? Is this MicroG's official website right? (https://microg.org/)
rattlesnakeos-stack
- 6.5” Missouri Timber Back
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Pixel 3a - v10.0.10 - update process?
download 11.0.15 (https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack/releases/tag/v11.0.15) and use this binary to 'deploy' and then kick off a 11.0 build and update your phone
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Release 20211112: Breaking APV changes and Pixel 5a fix
I'm not interested in the current android-prepare-vendor drama, so until an alternative is built, I've made a change that requires you to specify an android-prepare-vendor to use in your local config file. This release will require that you update to 12.0.3 and add three new config entries for specifying details of android-prepare-vendor. Here is an example of what that might look like (do not copy as is - it will not build):
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November 2021 Update
There is a new stack version 12.0.2 required for this update. The 12.0.2 update fixes an issue with new stacks on 12.0 that was causing a build failure; thanks u/caasi-dev for reporting the issue.
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12.0 Update
First release of 12.0. You'll need updated stack release 12.0.1. Highly recommend backing up your device before attempting upgrade.
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October 2021 Update
This release is still 11.x and next release with 12.x will depend on how long it takes to get everything up and working. It requires a stack update this month to 11.0.14, as there were two minor build issues with Chromium 94.x.
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September 2021 Update and Pixel 5a support
There were no stack changes required this month, unless you need support for Pixel 5a and then you should be on 11.0.13.
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New Pixel 5a
Adding support for it in rattlesnakeos-stack, which is very minor, an example of adding Pixel 5 is here: https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack/pull/178
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Add Android Auto to Calyx OS before flashing ROM
There are some tools already which support automated builds such as https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack and https://github.com/danielfullmer/robotnix - however they'll need work to support both CalyxOS and also Android Auto.
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CalyxOS – De-Googled Android Alternative
CalyxOS is an awesome project. I have worked with the lead developer a bit over the past few years and it's been such a pleasure. We share some bits of code between our projects here: https://github.com/AOSPAlliance.
If anyone is interested in building their own custom android OS in the cloud (AWS) with same ability to lock your bootloader like CalyxOS, you can checkout my project I've been maintaining for a few years now called RattlesnakeOS: https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack.
And if you prefer to not build in the cloud, there is also a really great project called robotnix (https://github.com/danielfullmer/robotnix) which provides a way to build many flavors of OS (AOSP, GrapheneOS, LineageOS, etc).
What are some alternatives?
MinMicroG - Sources and scripts for MinMicroG installers. You shall find no prebuilt releases here.
calyxos
FakeGApps - A better approach for microg
opengapps - The main repository of the Open GApps Project
openauto - AndroidAuto headunit emulator
android-prepare-vendor - Set of scripts to automate AOSP compatible vendor blobs generation from factory images
UnifiedNlp - Alternative network location provider for Android, with plugin interface to easily integrate third-party location providers.
NewPipe - A libre lightweight streaming front-end for Android.
aquatone - A Tool for Domain Flyovers
anbox - Anbox is a container-based approach to boot a full Android system on a regular GNU/Linux system
robotnix - Build Android (AOSP) using Nix [maintainer=@danielfullmer,@Atemu]