CircuitVerse
Publish app in F-Droid app store
FDroid is a app store for open source applications. We should try to get the app listed there.
Documentation: https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroiddata/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
Sure
On Fri, 21 Mar, 2025, 11:22 am Aditya Singh, @.***> wrote:
Can I take up this task ?
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Can I take up this task ?
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I was looking at the pubspec.yaml and google_sign_in and flutter_facebook_auth connect to non-free services.
would this be a problem or create conflict...
F-Droid typically flags usage of Google Play Services or the Facebook SDK as “Promotes Non-Free Services.”
They don’t forbid from distributing the app in F-Droid, but it might show an “Anti-Feature” label or require to provide a flavor that doesn’t rely on these proprietary bits.
We can either :
-
If we want to avoid Anti-Features in F-Droid or to comply with strictly open setups, we would need to build a separate “fdroidRelease” flavor that excludes these sign-in methods.
-
Alternatively, we can keep them but accept an Anti-Feature label.
What should we be doing ?
I was verifying licensing, dependencies, and our build process to confirm this app can be published in F-Droid.
CC : @tachyons @hardik17771 @realaashil
@salmoneatenbybear Hey, I looked into it as far I understand these libraries are directly making a request to the google/ facebook servers, It is not using any google proprietary “Play Services” or facebook sdk. Still I am not sure about it.
@realaashil Thanks for looking into this...
From F-Droid’s standpoint, even if we’re not bundling the official “Play Services” or Facebook SDK binaries, the fact that users must sign in via Google or Facebook can trigger the “Promotes Non-Free Services” anti-feature.
In other words, the policy isn’t just about shipping closed-source libraries—it’s also about relying on proprietary platforms (like Google or Facebook) for core app functionality. So even direct requests to those servers may cause the F-Droid listing to include a warning label.
We can still publish on F-Droid as-is, but we’d either:
Accept the “Non-Free Services” label and proceed, or Provide a separate “fdroid” flavor that disables those login methods so there’s a completely open build. Either approach is valid; it just depends on whether we want a label or prefer a “pure FOSS” flavor.
also @realaashil would you like to collaborate on this effort to get our Circuitverse mobile app listed ? would be happy to collaborate with you
Sure @salmoneatenbybear , So there is no way possible to get oauth running in f-droid build basically. Read here So we need to disable oauth for f-droid builds as these are signed by f-droid.
Sure @salmoneatenbybear , So there is no way possible to get oauth running in f-droid build basically. Read here So we need to disable oauth for f-droid builds as these are signed by f-droid.
So we need to make a fdroid specific flavour right excluding these libs?
Should I create a sub issue to create a flavour for fdroid ? @tachyons
Only if that is essential, if we can ship with "Non free services", then that is preferable
@tachyons thing is, f-droid compiles build on their own infrastructure so you will need to share oauth keys with them and I dont think they support it either.
It is oauth public key, and there is nor harm in publishing it. it is not a secret, we can't keep secrets inside the app as it is not difficult to de compile the app to obtain it.
Okay so if non free service / Anti feature label is not a problem, then we can list current app as is no need for new flavour
@tachyons @realaashil
Now next step would be:
To decide How to Submit: RFP or Direct Merge Request
A) RFP (Request for Packaging)
This is ideally for first-time F-Droid contributor, currently fdroid probably has no metadata on circuitverse if I am not wrong...we can open an RFP issue here: https://gitlab.com/fdroid/rfp/-/issues
Then F-Droid team or contributors will help guide the packaging as needed.
B) Direct Merge Request
We can skip RFP and directly create a Merge Request. Faster method ( within 7 days listing if everything goes smoothly )
What do you think we should go for @tachyons ?
@realaashil if we decide B) we would need to do some R&D on how to setup the metadata
@realaashil option B chosen let's figure how to setup the metadata, can u provide me ur slack ?
Sure search for @.*** in the slack
On Fri, 21 Mar, 2025, 10:08 pm Aditya Singh, @.***> wrote:
@realaashil https://github.com/realaashil option B chosen let's figure how to setup the metadata, can u provide me ur slack ?
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@realaashil https://github.com/realaashil option B chosen let's figure how to setup the metadata, can u provide me ur slack ?
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Before we finalize the F-Droid .yml file and open the merge request, I wanted some input on a couple decisions:
Release Tag: We have a stable v1.3.0-prod tag and a newer v1.4.0-beta. Which would we prefer to publish first on F-Droid?
Version Code: For v1.3.0-prod, we could use versionName: 1.3.0 and versionCode: 103 (or 1300). For v1.4.0-beta, maybe versionName: 1.4.0-beta and versionCode: 1400. Any preference?
Non-Free Services: Because the app uses Google/Facebook sign-in, it will have the “NonFreeNet” Anti-Feature. Are we okay with that? ( confirming again )
Let me know, and I’ll finalize the .yml accordingly. Thanks!
CC : @tachyons @realaashil
@salmoneatenbybear Hey, I think we should wait for v1.4.0 prod, beta not worth releasing and v1.3.0 is too old.
@salmoneatenbybear Hey, I think we should wait for v1.4.0 prod, beta not worth releasing and v1.3.0 is too old.
understood... @tachyons let me know what you think till then I am going through contributing.md, and based on what choice we make I will start making the metadata
Going ahead with
will be submitting the merge request in next 1-2 days, will keep you guys updated.
CC : @tachyons @realaashil
https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroiddata/-/merge_requests/20969
CC : @tachyons @realaashil