ARK-Store

A look inside

One list tells what is installed, what has a newer version and what there is to get.

What you get

• One list for everything

  Updates, installed apps and apps to install in one list. One tap downloads an app or its update, and Download all takes every update that waits.

• Five places, one store

  Apps from GitHub, Codeberg and GitLab, and the IzzyOnDroid and F-Droid catalogues behind a switch. An app offered by several places is listed once.

• Know before you install

  The details tell the version, the size, the Android version an app needs and the permissions it asks for. What an update would add is told first.

• No account

  Nothing to sign in to. The list comes from the store's own index, and a fresh install asks GitHub for nothing.

• You install, or root does

  The store checks each file and saves it in Download/ARK-Store for you to install from the Files app. On a rooted device it installs and updates by itself.

• Updates you hear about

  A check in the background about every four hours and a notification when a new version is out. An update can be skipped, or an app held back altogether.

• Made to be read

  Five palettes, the colours of the wallpaper on Android 12 and later, and a pure black dark theme. Contrast of at least 7:1 and labels for a screen reader.

• Backups

  Sources, bookmarks and settings export to a file. Apps installed from outside Google Play can be backed up as their APK files and restored.

Publish your app in four steps

For developers: no account, no submission form, no review queue, no fees.

1. Make the repository public.
2. Give it an open-source licence that GitHub recognises.
3. Create a release and attach the APK.
4. Add the topic arkstore to the repository.

The app appears for every user at the next index run, usually within an hour, and new versions follow every release. To take it out of the store, remove the topic. The same steps work on Codeberg and GitLab. The full instructions are in the README.

Questions