head to head · open source
android vs linux-android
android has 3,912 GitHub stars, 1,068 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped yesterday. linux-android has 3,545 stars, 264 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped 27 days ago. android leads on adoption by 10% (3,912 vs 3,545 stars). android is written in Kotlin under Apache-2.0; linux-android is written in Shell under MIT. android has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, linux-android 7%. android was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (android, home-assistant), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| android | linux-android | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.9K | ★ 3.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Kotlin | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-21 | 2026-08-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 264 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick android if
- You weight community size — 3.9K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick linux-android if
- You want the linux-android feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and linux-android fits your workflow better
About android
The Home Assistant Companion for Android is the official Android application for Home Assistant, an open source home automation platform. It is written in Kotlin, released under the Apache 2.0 license, and distributed as an open source app for Android devices. The project sits inside the Home Assistant ecosystem and connects a mobile client to a user's Home Assistant instance.
read the full android overview →
About linux-android
linux android is a collection of Shell scripts that turns an old 64 bit Android phone into either a GPU accelerated Linux desktop or a Home Assistant smart home server using Termux — with no root, no PC and no cloud — and it is aimed at people who want to reuse spare hardware instead of buying new machines or renting cloud capacity.
read the full linux-android overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is android or linux-android more popular?
android has 3,912 GitHub stars and linux-android has 3,545. android has the larger community by that measure.
Are android and linux-android free?
Both are open source. android is licensed under Apache-2.0 and linux-android under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between android and linux-android?
android is written in Kotlin and linux-android in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, android or linux-android?
Choose android if you want the larger community (3,912 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose linux-android if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.