Android vendors, don't kill my app!
1.7k
Stars
10k
Forks
204
Open issues
30
Contributors
AI Analysis
Don't Kill My App is a documentation and API resource that catalogs how Android device manufacturers aggressively kill background processes, and documents workarounds for app developers and end users. It serves a specialized audience: indie Android developers (especially those building persistent background services like the Sleep as Android app) who need to understand vendor-specific battery optimization behaviors that break standard Android app lifecycle expectations. Not useful for general...
Inferred from signals mentioned in the README (tests, CI, type safety) — not a review of the actual code.
AI's overall editorial judgment — not an average of the bars above, can weigh other factors too.
Knowledge base documenting how Android vendors kill background apps—API for developers and education tool for users
Don't Kill My App is a curated, crowdsourced documentation project that explains which Android vendors aggressively terminate background processes, why they do it, and what workarounds exist for users and developers. Built by Urbandroid Team (Sleep as Android) and maintained as a libre website with public APIs, it serves indie developers struggling with vendor-specific app-killing behavior, device manufacturers researching their own practices, and end users seeking technical explanations. The project does not build software solutions—it aggregates and publishes institutional knowledge about a real Android ecosystem problem.
Started December 2018 by Urbandroid Team in response to their own Sleep as Android app being terminated on various devices. The team accumulated workarounds and technical details and decided to open-source the knowledge as a community resource rather than keep it proprietary. Has evolved into a reference site with structured API endpoints.
Project gained significant early traction (9,941 forks) because it addresses a widespread, recurring pain point for indie Android developers and end users alike. Growth appears driven by word-of-mouth within developer communities and inclusion in indie app troubleshooting guides rather than traditional marketing. Recent activity (4 stars in last 7 days, last push June 2026) suggests steady, modest maintenance rather than viral expansion—consistent with a reference resource that solves an evergreen problem.
API is publicly available and documented with usage instructions. README explicitly requests users notify the team if they use the API and provide credit, suggesting real consumption. However, no quantified evidence of adoption (e.g., published list of downstream consumers, API call statistics, or documented integrations) is visible in README. Adoption not verified at scale, but plausible given the project's utility and explicit API interface.
Appears to be a Jekyll-based static website (based on README mentioning _vendor folder and markdown templates, suggesting Jekyll/Hugo workflow). Content is structured as YAML frontmatter + markdown files per vendor, compiled to HTML and served with JSON APIs (v1 and v2) for machine consumption. Likely simple, low-complexity architecture appropriate for a reference database.
Not documented in README. No mention of CI/CD, automated testing, or validation workflows.
Last push 2026-06-09 (23 days before evaluation date). Indicates active but not frequent maintenance. Issue/PR activity not visible in provided metadata, making velocity assessment uncertain. Low fork count (9 vs. 1,659 stars) suggests forks are primarily end-user clones rather than active development branches. Project appears maintained at a sustainable pace rather than abandoned, but not actively developed with new features.
ADOPT IF: you are an indie Android developer troubleshooting app termination on specific devices, need vendor-specific workaround documentation, or want to integrate curated background-killing behavior data into your app or website via public API. AVOID IF: you need automated enforcement, real-time vendor data feeds, or code libraries for app-survival logic—this is a reference database, not a runtime solution. MONITOR IF: you are a device manufacturer or OEM wanting to understand community perception of your app-killing practices, or an Android framework team designing background process policies.
Independent dimensions
Mainstream potential
3/10
Technical importance
6/10
Adoption evidence
4/10
- Knowledge base is only as current as community contributions—vendor policies and Android OS changes may outpace documentation without active curation.
- No automatic validation of submitted workarounds; community-driven content may contain outdated or incorrect technical advice.
- API stability and versioning not explicitly addressed in README; no SLA or breaking-change policy documented.
- Adoption of the API may be lower than star count suggests; stars often reflect awareness rather than active integration.
- Dependency on Urbandroid Team's capacity to moderate, verify, and merge contributions; no visible governance structure or backup maintainers.
Likely to remain a stable, slowly-evolving reference resource that solves a permanent Android ecosystem fragmentation problem. Unlikely to see major feature expansion unless significant contributor base emerges. Will persist as long as vendors continue aggressive background app termination—a problem unlikely to disappear given battery/RAM constraints on low-end devices.
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Languages
Information
- Language
- JavaScript
- License
- CC-BY-4.0
- Last updated
- 1mo ago
- Created
- 92mo ago
- Analyzed with
- anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5
Stars over time
Contributors over time
Top 100 contributors only — repos with more will plateau at 100.
Open issues
Top contributors
Recent releases
No releases published yet.
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Tool-focused: removes bloatware and system apps to mitigate aggressive vendor behavior. Don't Kill My App is knowledge-focused: documents why vendors kill apps and how to work around it. Different problems—debloater removes apps, this project helps apps survive.
App-centric: freezes or unfreezes apps to manage system resources and privacy. Don't Kill My App is reference material for why freezing/killing happens and what developers can do. Hail is a tactical solution; this is documentation of the landscape.