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<pre class="markdown-content"># Test Builds &amp; Obtainium
[Obtainium](https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium) installs and auto-updates Android apps straight from their GitHub releases — no Play Store account, no testing-track invite. This page sets it up for Meshtastic and shows how to follow the **open beta**, **closed beta**, or **snapshot** channels.
&gt; **Heads up — signatures.** Builds from GitHub are signed with the project's release key (`CN=Kevin Hester, O=Geeksville Industries`), **not** Google Play's. If you already have Meshtastic installed from the Play Store, Android will refuse to update over it: **uninstall the Play Store version first** (this clears app data), then install via Obtainium and stay on Obtainium for updates.
&gt;
&gt; **Switching between the `fdroid` and `google` flavors is fine.** Both flavors in a given release carry the *same* release key, so Obtainium can move you from one to the other in place — verified by installing the `google` APK over an installed `fdroid` build. Only the *origin* of a build (Play vs GitHub) determines whether the signatures clash.
---|---|---|
**stable** | Production | published, marked *Latest* | ✅ Yes |
**open** beta | Beta (Open) | published prerelease, tag `vX.Y.Z-open.N` | ✅ Yes |
**closed** beta | Alpha (Closed) | published prerelease, tag `vX.Y.Z-closed.N` | ✅ Yes |
**snapshot** | — (not on Play) | rolling prerelease, tag `snapshot` | ✅ Yes |
Each promotion cuts its **own** tag, and older ones stay published — a whole run of `vX.Y.Z-open.N` tags accumulates during a version cycle, each still installable with APKs attached. So a channel gathers releases rather than moving a single one forward, and the channel configs below pick the **newest** release whose title matches the channel.
Which release each channel currently resolves to is deliberately **not** listed on this page: it is archived per release tag and bundled into the app, so a live version number here would be frozen at build time and wrong within weeks. The [project README](https://github.com/meshtastic/Meshtastic-Android#get-meshtastic) carries the current state, refreshed automatically.
A channel can legitimately be empty — most often `-closed`, early in a cycle before any build has been cut to it. The number of published `fdroid` ABI splits has also changed over time (2.7.14 shipped five, 2.8.0 ships three), which is why the filter matches every split rather than naming ABIs.
**Snapshot** is different: it's an automated debug build of the latest commit on `main`, rebuilt and re-published under the single moving `snapshot` tag on every push. It never goes to Play. Because debug builds use a `.debug` application-ID suffix (`com.geeksville.mesh.fdroid.debug` / `com.geeksville.mesh.google.debug`) and the debug signing key, a snapshot installs as its **own separate app** — it sits alongside a Play/stable/beta install, so the uninstall-first warning above does **not** apply to it.
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Stable | [Add](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect.html?r=obtainium://app/%7B%22id%22%3A%22com.geeksville.mesh%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmeshtastic%2FMeshtastic-Android%22%2C%22author%22%3A%22meshtastic%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Meshtastic%22%2C%22additionalSettings%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22apkFilterRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22google-release%5C%5C%5C%5C.apk%24%5C%22%2C%5C%22appName%5C%22%3A%5C%22Meshtastic%5C%22%7D%22%7D) | [Add](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect.html?r=obtainium://app/%7B%22id%22%3A%22com.geeksville.mesh%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmeshtastic%2FMeshtastic-Android%22%2C%22author%22%3A%22meshtastic%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Meshtastic%22%2C%22additionalSettings%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22apkFilterRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22fdroid-.%2A-release%5C%5C%5C%5C.apk%24%5C%22%2C%5C%22autoApkFilterByArch%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22appName%5C%22%3A%5C%22Meshtastic%5C%22%7D%22%7D) |
Open beta | [Add](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect.html?r=obtainium://app/%7B%22id%22%3A%22com.geeksville.mesh%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmeshtastic%2FMeshtastic-Android%22%2C%22author%22%3A%22meshtastic%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Meshtastic%20Beta%22%2C%22additionalSettings%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22includePrereleases%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22filterReleaseTitlesByRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22-open%5C%22%2C%5C%22apkFilterRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22google-release%5C%5C%5C%5C.apk%24%5C%22%2C%5C%22appName%5C%22%3A%5C%22Meshtastic%20Beta%5C%22%7D%22%7D) | [Add](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect.html?r=obtainium://app/%7B%22id%22%3A%22com.geeksville.mesh%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmeshtastic%2FMeshtastic-Android%22%2C%22author%22%3A%22meshtastic%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Meshtastic%20Beta%22%2C%22additionalSettings%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22includePrereleases%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22filterReleaseTitlesByRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22-open%5C%22%2C%5C%22apkFilterRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22fdroid-.%2A-release%5C%5C%5C%5C.apk%24%5C%22%2C%5C%22autoApkFilterByArch%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22appName%5C%22%3A%5C%22Meshtastic%20Beta%5C%22%7D%22%7D) |
Closed beta | [Add](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect.html?r=obtainium://app/%7B%22id%22%3A%22com.geeksville.mesh%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmeshtastic%2FMeshtastic-Android%22%2C%22author%22%3A%22meshtastic%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Meshtastic%20Alpha%22%2C%22additionalSettings%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22includePrereleases%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22filterReleaseTitlesByRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22-closed%5C%22%2C%5C%22apkFilterRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22google-release%5C%5C%5C%5C.apk%24%5C%22%2C%5C%22appName%5C%22%3A%5C%22Meshtastic%20Alpha%5C%22%7D%22%7D) | [Add](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect.html?r=obtainium://app/%7B%22id%22%3A%22com.geeksville.mesh%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmeshtastic%2FMeshtastic-Android%22%2C%22author%22%3A%22meshtastic%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Meshtastic%20Alpha%22%2C%22additionalSettings%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22includePrereleases%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22filterReleaseTitlesByRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22-closed%5C%22%2C%5C%22apkFilterRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22fdroid-.%2A-release%5C%5C%5C%5C.apk%24%5C%22%2C%5C%22autoApkFilterByArch%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22appName%5C%22%3A%5C%22Meshtastic%20Alpha%5C%22%7D%22%7D) |
Bleeding edge (newest promoted test build) | [Add](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect.html?r=obtainium://app/%7B%22id%22%3A%22com.geeksville.mesh%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmeshtastic%2FMeshtastic-Android%22%2C%22author%22%3A%22meshtastic%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Meshtastic%20Beta%22%2C%22additionalSettings%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22includePrereleases%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22filterReleaseTitlesByRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22-%28closed%7Copen%29%5C%22%2C%5C%22apkFilterRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22google-release%5C%5C%5C%5C.apk%24%5C%22%2C%5C%22appName%5C%22%3A%5C%22Meshtastic%20Beta%5C%22%7D%22%7D) | [Add](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect.html?r=obtainium://app/%7B%22id%22%3A%22com.geeksville.mesh%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmeshtastic%2FMeshtastic-Android%22%2C%22author%22%3A%22meshtastic%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Meshtastic%20Beta%22%2C%22additionalSettings%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22includePrereleases%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22filterReleaseTitlesByRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22-%28closed%7Copen%29%5C%22%2C%5C%22apkFilterRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22fdroid-.%2A-release%5C%5C%5C%5C.apk%24%5C%22%2C%5C%22autoApkFilterByArch%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22appName%5C%22%3A%5C%22Meshtastic%20Beta%5C%22%7D%22%7D) |
Snapshot (latest commit on `main`) | [Add](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect.html?r=obtainium://app/%7B%22id%22%3A%22com.geeksville.mesh.google.debug%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmeshtastic%2FMeshtastic-Android%22%2C%22author%22%3A%22meshtastic%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Meshtastic%20Snapshot%20%28google%29%22%2C%22additionalSettings%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22includePrereleases%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22filterReleaseTitlesByRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22%5ESnapshot%5C%22%2C%5C%22useLatestAssetDateAsReleaseDate%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22versionDetection%5C%22%3Afalse%2C%5C%22releaseDateAsVersion%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22apkFilterRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22google-.%2A-debug-%5C%5C%5C%5Cd%2B%5C%5C%5C%5C.apk%24%5C%22%2C%5C%22autoApkFilterByArch%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22appName%5C%22%3A%5C%22Meshtastic%20Snapshot%20%28google%29%5C%22%7D%22%7D) | [Add](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect.html?r=obtainium://app/%7B%22id%22%3A%22com.geeksville.mesh.fdroid.debug%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmeshtastic%2FMeshtastic-Android%22%2C%22author%22%3A%22meshtastic%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Meshtastic%20Snapshot%20%28fdroid%29%22%2C%22additionalSettings%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22includePrereleases%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22filterReleaseTitlesByRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22%5ESnapshot%5C%22%2C%5C%22useLatestAssetDateAsReleaseDate%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22versionDetection%5C%22%3Afalse%2C%5C%22releaseDateAsVersion%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22apkFilterRegEx%5C%22%3A%5C%22fdroid-.%2A-debug-%5C%5C%5C%5Cd%2B%5C%5C%5C%5C.apk%24%5C%22%2C%5C%22autoApkFilterByArch%5C%22%3Atrue%2C%5C%22appName%5C%22%3A%5C%22Meshtastic%20Snapshot%20%28fdroid%29%5C%22%7D%22%7D) |
&lt;!-- END GENERATED LINKS --&gt;
Prefer a file? Import one of these via **Import/Export → Obtainium import**. Pick the one matching the flavor you want for the *release* build; each also sets up **both** snapshot flavors, which can coexist:
- [`meshtastic-obtainium-export-google.json`](https://github.com/meshtastic/Meshtastic-Android/blob/main/obtainium/meshtastic-obtainium-export-google.json) — `google` stable + both snapshots
- [`meshtastic-obtainium-export-fdroid.json`](https://github.com/meshtastic/Meshtastic-Android/blob/main/obtainium/meshtastic-obtainium-export-fdroid.json) — `fdroid` stable + both snapshots
### How many entries can you have at once?
Obtainium keys apps by application ID, so the rule follows from ours:
| Application ID | Can coexist? |
---|---|---|
Release builds — stable, open, closed, bleeding edge, either flavor | `com.geeksville.mesh` | **No** — pick exactly one |
Snapshot, `google` | `com.geeksville.mesh.google.debug` | Yes |
Snapshot, `fdroid` | `com.geeksville.mesh.fdroid.debug` | Yes |
So one release entry, plus up to both snapshots, is the maximum. Tapping a second *release* link switches that single entry to the new channel or flavor instead of adding one, and importing both files in turn leaves you with whichever flavor's release entry came last. The snapshots are unaffected either way.
To set things up by hand instead, follow the rest of this page.
---|
`google` flavor, most phones (arm64) | `google-arm64-v8a-debug-\d+\.apk` |
`fdroid` flavor, most phones (arm64) | `fdroid-arm64-v8a-debug-\d+\.apk` |
`fdroid` flavor, one-size-fits-all | `fdroid-universal-debug-\d+\.apk` |
Snapshot releases attach only the debug APKs — no `.aab` or desktop installers.
&gt; **If you build debug locally, uninstall your local build first.** CI signs snapshots with *its own* debug keystore, not yours (`07c16b98…` from CI versus `88914c61…` from a local machine, for example). Since both produce the same `com.geeksville.mesh.&lt;flavor&gt;.debug` package name, Android refuses the swap with `INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE`. The "installs as a separate app" note above holds against *release* builds, not against your own debug builds.
Two more things about release selection apply to every channel above, not just snapshot:
&gt; **Leave "Fallback to older releases" ON.** It is not a channel-strictness setting, and turning it off breaks every channel config here. Obtainium's release loop breaks out after the first candidate when fallback is off, so a title filter never gets to skip past releases that don't match — a config pinned to `-open` or `^Snapshot` then fails with "Could not find a suitable release" because production `v2.7.14` sits at the head of the list. The title filter is what pins the channel; fallback is what lets Obtainium walk down to the newest release that matches it.
&gt;
&gt; **If your channel filter still finds nothing:** that channel has no published release yet — common early in a version cycle. Check the [project README](https://github.com/meshtastic/Meshtastic-Android#get-meshtastic) for what is live, or use the *Bleeding edge* form to follow whichever of open/closed is newest.
---|
**Recommended for testing — `google` flavor** | `google-release\.apk` |
`fdroid` flavor, most phones (arm64) | `fdroid-arm64-v8a-release\.apk` |
`fdroid` flavor, one-size-fits-all | `fdroid-universal-release\.apk` |
`fdroid` flavor, let Obtainium pick the ABI | `fdroid-.*-release\.apk` with **Auto-select by architecture** on |
**Use the `google` flavor while testing.** It ships Firebase Crashlytics and Datadog RUM, so the crashes and errors you hit get reported back to the team — which is the whole point of a test phase. It also has Google push (FCM) and Google Maps. Pick an `fdroid` flavor only if you'd rather not send that telemetry. You can change your mind later: both flavors share the release key, so Obtainium updates across the flavor boundary without an uninstall. Expect the `google` flavor to show its analytics-consent screen the first time it starts.
## The config format
An Obtainium app configuration is a flat JSON object. Four keys are required — `id` (Android package name), `url` (the GitHub repo, which is what selects the source), `author`, and `name`. Everything else goes in `additionalSettings`, a **JSON string nested inside the JSON**, so its quotes and backslashes are escaped one extra level. Any key you omit takes its default.
The same object travels in three shapes:
Shape | Format | Used for |
---|---|---|
Import/export file | `{"apps":[…],"settings":null}` | **Import/Export → Obtainium import** |
Deep link | `obtainium://app/&lt;percent-encoded JSON&gt;` | one-tap add with settings baked in |
Config-site entry | `{"configs":[…],"icon","categories","description"}` | PRs to [apps.obtainium.imranr.dev](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev) |
`obtainium://add/&lt;url&gt;` only prefills the Add-App page; `obtainium://app/…` is what carries settings. Wrapping a link as `https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect.html?r=obtainium://app/…` keeps it clickable where a custom scheme wouldn't linkify.
Obtainium keys apps by package name, so the two stable flavors cannot coexist as separate entries — the config-site submission expresses them as alternate `configs` with an `altLabel` each. See [`obtainium/README.md`](https://github.com/meshtastic/Meshtastic-Android/blob/main/obtainium/README.md) for the full key reference and the submission checklist.
---
## Notes
- **Play Protect may interrupt the install** with "App scan recommended — Play Protect hasn't seen this app before," offering *Scan app* or *Don't install app*. *Scan app* uploads the APK to Google. Declining cancels the install, so on a device with Play Services you'll need to allow the scan, or install with `adb install` instead. This showed up for a debug-signed snapshot but not for a release-signed build.
- **Obtainium's first launch shows two full-screen dialogs** (a welcome note and a Play-certification note). They swallow an incoming `obtainium://` link, so dismiss them before using a one-tap link.
- **Track without installing:** turn on **Track-only** to get update notifications without Obtainium downloading anything.
- **Snapshot filenames carry the versionCode** so that a moving tag, which reuses the same release and asset URLs forever, still produces a distinguishable asset on every build.
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