ObsidianBackup

A free and open-source Android backup and restore app for rooted devices.

ObsidianBackup gives you full control over your device data: back up apps, app data, SMS/MMS, call logs, contacts, media, and system settings — then restore them locally or sync to any cloud provider you choose. No ads. No telemetry. No paywalls. All features are unlocked for every user.

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What it does

• App + data backup and restore — Full APK + data backup using root or Shizuku, with incremental and scheduled backup support.
• Cloud sync — Send backups to Google Drive, Dropbox, WebDAV, Backblaze B2, AWS S3 (and S3-compatible endpoints), Azure Blob Storage, Alibaba OSS, Oracle Cloud, or local storage.
• SMS / MMS backup — Full message thread backup and restore via root.
• Call log backup — Back up and restore your call history.
• Contacts backup — Export and restore contacts in standard formats.
• Health Connect sync — Back up Health Connect data.
• Gaming backup — Save state backup for Android emulators (RetroArch, Dolphin, etc.).
• Scheduled backups — WorkManager-powered schedules: nightly, on charge, weekly, on WiFi.
• Tasker / MacroDroid integration — Trigger backups from automation apps using signature-protected intents.
• Wear OS companion — Status and controls on your watch.
• Merkle-tree integrity verification — Cryptographic verification of backup archives.
• Encrypted database — All local backup metadata is stored in a SQLCipher-encrypted Room database.
• Biometric lock — Optional biometric authentication to open the app.
• Plugin system — Extensible plugin framework for adding custom cloud providers and automation workflows.

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Root permissions — what is required and why

ObsidianBackup requests elevated privileges only for operations that genuinely require them. Standard Android APIs are used where possible.

Permission / Capability	Why it is needed
Root shell (su)	Required to read app private data directories (/data/data/<pkg>/) that are inaccessible to other apps without root. Without this, only APKs (not app data) can be backed up.
Shizuku (alternative to root)	Shizuku provides adb-level access without a full root shell. Used for app data backup on rooted devices where ADB shell is preferred over su.
READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE / WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE	Required on Android ≤ 9 to read/write backup archives on external storage.
MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE	Required on Android 11+ for advanced operations (e.g., backup of files outside app-private storage). Prompted at runtime — not granted silently.
READ_MEDIA_IMAGES / READ_MEDIA_VIDEO / READ_MEDIA_AUDIO	Android 13+ granular media permissions. Used only if the user opts into media backup.
READ_SMS	SMS/MMS backup. On rooted devices root auto-grants this; on non-root devices it is requested at runtime.
READ_CALL_LOG / WRITE_CALL_LOG	Call log backup and restore.
READ_CONTACTS / WRITE_CONTACTS	Contacts backup and restore.
SET_WALLPAPER	Wallpaper restore.
QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES	Required to enumerate installed apps so the user can select which apps to back up.
INTERNET / ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE	Cloud sync to user-configured providers. No data is sent without explicit user action.
WAKE_LOCK	Keeps the CPU awake during long backup operations running in a WorkManager foreground service.
RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED	Re-arms backup schedules after device reboot.
FOREGROUND_SERVICE / FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DATA_SYNC	Required to run backup operations in the background as a foreground service with a persistent notification.
POST_NOTIFICATIONS	Shows backup progress and completion notifications (Android 13+).
SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM	Required on Android 12+ to schedule backups at exact times.
CAMERA	QR code scanning — used for WiFi Direct pairing and for scanning cloud provider configuration codes.
USE_BIOMETRIC	Optional biometric lock for the app.
VIBRATE	Haptic feedback on backup completion.

No permissions are used for tracking, advertising, or any purpose unrelated to backup and restore operations.

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Building from source

Prerequisites

• Android Studio Hedgehog or later (or command-line tools)
• JDK 17
• Android SDK with compileSdk 35
• A release keystore (for signed builds — optional for debug)

Clone and build

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/ObsidianBackup.git
cd ObsidianBackup

Debug build (no signing required)

./gradlew assembleDebug --no-daemon --stacktrace

Output: app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

Release build (requires keystore)

1. Copy local.properties.template to local.properties and fill in your SDK path and any optional cloud API keys.
2. Create keystore.properties with your signing credentials:

storePassword=YOUR_STORE_PASSWORD
keyAlias=YOUR_KEY_ALIAS
keyPassword=YOUR_KEY_PASSWORD

3. Place your keystore at obsidianbackup.jks in the project root.

./gradlew bundleRelease assembleRelease --no-daemon --stacktrace

Output:

• AAB (Play Store): app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab
• APK (sideload): app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk

Install to connected device

adb install -r --streaming app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk

Optional: Firebase Crashlytics

The app/google-services.json in this repo is a placeholder template with YOUR_* values. Crashlytics will not function with the template — this is intentional.

If you want crash reporting in your own builds:

1. Create a Firebase project at console.firebase.google.com
2. Add your google-services.json (replace the placeholder)
3. To avoid accidentally committing real credentials: git update-index --assume-unchanged app/google-services.json

If you do not want Crashlytics at all, leave the placeholder as-is — Firebase initialization will fail silently and the app will function normally.

Running tests

# Unit tests
./gradlew testDebugUnitTest --no-daemon

# Static analysis
./gradlew detekt

# Code coverage
./gradlew jacocoTestReport

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Architecture

Clean Architecture with MVVM:

• Domain layer (domain/) — Use cases and repository interfaces. No Android dependencies.
• Data layer (data/) — Room + SQLCipher encrypted database, DataStore preferences, repository implementations.
• Engine layer (engine/) — BackupEngine and RestoreEngine. Root shell and Shizuku integration.
• Presentation layer (presentation/, ui/) — Jetpack Compose screens with Hilt-injected ViewModels.
• Cloud layer (cloud/) — Provider integrations using Rclone and native SDKs.
• Plugin system (plugins/) — Sandboxed plugin framework for third-party extensions.

Dependency injection: Hilt throughout.

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Privacy

• Zero analytics — AnalyticsManager is a no-op stub. No user behaviour data is collected or transmitted.
• No ads — No ad SDKs are present.
• No paywalls — All features are unlocked. FeatureGateService always returns true for every feature.
• Crashlytics is opt-in for builders — The shipped google-services.json is a non-functional placeholder. Builders who want crash reports supply their own Firebase project.
• No PII in crash reports — CrashlyticsManager strips emails, phone numbers, and tokens before logging.
• Local root operations only — Root detection uses only local heuristics. No data leaves the device during root/Shizuku setup.
• Encrypted local storage — All backup metadata is stored in a SQLCipher-encrypted database.
• Signature-protected integrations — Tasker/MacroDroid and Wear OS integrations require matching app signature, preventing unauthorized access.

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Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

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License

ObsidianBackup is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

See LICENSE for the full text.

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.