If you have been following BarburasLab, you already know the suite has been growing. What started as one or two apps built to scratch my own itch has turned into a real lineup, and keeping every one of them moving through Play Store review on top of everything else was starting to cost more time than it should. So I did the pragmatic thing: I set up a self-hosted F-Droid repository at android.barburas.com, and the apps now live there too.
This was not a grand architectural decision. It was the obvious shortcut. No Google account dance, no review queue, no waiting days for a build to clear before a bug fix reaches anyone. I build it, sign it, push it, and it is live. For a one-person suite with this many apps now in motion, that difference adds up fast.
It also fits how the apps are already built: open source, GPLv3, no ads, no tracking. A self-hosted repo is just the distribution layer catching up to the philosophy the apps already had.
Here is what is currently on the repo:
- Vinci: a personal CRM that reads your existing Android contacts and syncs the extra context (notes, history, relationships) to Nextcloud.
- Nóta: a Nextcloud Notes client, including inline handwritten sketches.
- Merk: a Nextcloud Bookmarks client.
- Blik: a screenshot manager that backs everything up to Nextcloud over WebDAV.
- Qarib: a “places I want to visit” app with maps, categories, and location-based reminders when you are nearby.
- Runa: a personal journal with photos, location, and a biometric lock, synced to Nextcloud.
One practical consequence worth knowing: because the self-hosted repo has none of Play Store’s review latency, there is a real chance updates land there before they land on Play Store. If you want the fastest path to new features and fixes, this is now it.
To add it, you need F-Droid (or a compatible client like Droid-ify) installed on your device. Then add this repository URL:
or click any of these links depending on where you are vising this page from:
From there, the BarburasLab apps currently published will show up directly, with updates delivered the same way any F-Droid repo works.
Coming soon in beta:
- Koto (a Nextcloud Tasks client)
- Tavla (a Nextcloud Deck client)
- Xin (a mail app for your own IMAP/SMTP accounts)
- Zaman (a Nextcloud Calendar/CalDAV client)
I am currently working on getting all four out of development and onto the repo, so expect that list to keep growing.
As always, AI assistance is part of how these apps get built, and that is not something I am going to pretend otherwise about.
One thing this change does not affect: issues are still tracked on GitHub, same as always. You can find the full public list of BarburasLab Android apps, with links to each repo.
