Various tools for system maintenance

Root Keeper

2025-06-20

These tools should take care your rooted device stays rooted – even if you install a system update (e.g. via OTA).

OTA RootKeeper (3.6@11) 0 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2013-01-21

Root Checker

2025-06-20

Apps to check whether the rooting process was successful.

Root Checker | BusyBox Checker (4.5@1,128) 5 3 LastUpdate: 2022-08-05
Simple Root Checker (4.4@26) 3 2 LastUpdate: 2016-03-28
Root Checker (4@31,285) Ǥ 6 3 LastUpdate: 2019-05-04
SU Root Checker (4@10,537) 3 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2016-09-13
Root Validator (3.9@4,013) Ǥ 6 1 LastUpdate: 2018-04-15 Github
Root Verifier (3.9@18) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2016-03-26 Github
Root Checker (3.8@365,073) Ǥ 10 10 LastUpdate: 2022-12-31 / Root Checker Pro (4.7@2,528; ~EUR 4.75) Ǥ 4 2
Root Checker (3.5@7,045) Ǥ 4 3 LastUpdate: 2019-01-11
Root Checker (0@0) Ǥ 7 5

With a rooted device, some apps refuse to work (mostly those using "protected" or "sensitive" material. If you still want to use those apps and keep your device rooted, you may wish to hide that fact. These apps help you with that. Also see Magisk, which provides both root and root hiding.

Hide Rooting Lite (2.6@2,200) 4 4 LastUpdate: 2016-09-09

SuperUser

2025-06-20

SuperSU (4.2@365) 5 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2017-05-29
Superuser (3.9@70) 4 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2018-11-01

Magisk

2025-06-14

If you don't know what this is, please see Root for all: Magisk in the articles section.

MMRL (4.8@302) 10 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; Magisk Module Repo Loader, supporting custom repos
Magisk (4.6@3,095) 13 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; Guide 3/2017; Video Tutorial 3/2017 (~7min) | 6/2017 (~6min) | 9/2017 (~6min); Howto 8/2017; IzzyOnDroid 5/2018; XDA Home; Magisk Wiki; Installation & Troubleshooting Guide; Universal Systemless Interface
Unified Hosts Manager (3.8@137) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2018-01-28
KernelSU (0@0) 2 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; a rooting solution comparable to Magisk
MRepo supports adding custom repositories. Here are some you can add:
- the IzzyOnDroid Magisk Modules Repo (only F/LOSS modules)
- the mirror of the Magisk Alt repo
Lygisk: a fork of Magisk
aa4mg: Android Auto 4 microG
android-auto-stub: likewise, with CalyxOS in mind
magisk_for_linux: patch boot image from your Linux PC
Magisk and MagiskHide Installation and Troubleshooting guide
Magisk Documentation
Magisk Modules Repo: here you can find many modules for Magisk
Collection of Magisk Modules
Androidacy Magisk Modules Repository
Best Magisk Modules: Call Recorder, Font Manager, 1Controller, and more, including some background and instructions (10/2021 - 3/2023)
Passing-SafetyNet-with-Magisk-Zygisk-and-DenyList
Magisk v24 has removed MagiskHide, but: A new method for hiding root in Magisk is in development (1/2022)
Also see Shamiko: Check the new method for hiding root is on the way (1/2022)
How to Uninstall a Magisk Module and Magisk zip from a Rooted Device (in case a newly installed module goes bonkers) (6/2021 - 1/2023)
10 Must-Have Magisk Modules (1/2020 - 7/2023)

Busybox

2025-06-20

BusyBox is software that provides several stripped-down Unix tools in a single executable file. (Wikipedia) Usually requires root.

BusyBox (4.3@100) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2020-07-19
BusyBox (4.2@5,480) 4 LastUpdate: 2023-05-11 Github
BusyBox Installer (4.2@156) 3 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2022-03-14 Github
BusyBox for Android (4@26,246) Ǥ 15 17 Github
BusyBox Installer Classic (4@94) Ǥ 9 3 LastUpdate: 2019-09-19
EXA Busybox Installer(no root) (2.8@239) Ǥ 10 1

Terminal Apps

2025-06-20

Command line to interact with the system, see Terminal Emulator.

TTerm (5@44) 5 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2018-04-22
Another Term (4.7@160) 10 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ / Another Term (0@0) 11 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ / Another Term Shell Plugin - Android 10 Essentials (0@0) $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2023-06-23 Github / Github
Termux (4.4@163,718) 18 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ / Termux:API (4.7@8,976) 35 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ / Termux:Style (4.5@596; ~EUR 2.00) 0 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; Repository for additional packages; Anleitung 12/2019; Howto 12/2020; includes apt to install a lot of packages like aapt, busybox, git, mc, python, rsync and more
Material Terminal (4.4@6,466) Ǥ 6 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2016-04-04
Remote ADB Shell (4.2@1,004) 3 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2022-06-29 connect to one Android device from another Android device
Terminal Emulator for Android (4.1@18) 8 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2017-07-18 Github
Terminal (4@172) 4 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2023-03-01
Qute: Terminal emulator (3.9@10,049) Ǥ 25 9
TermOne Plus (3.5@851) 10 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ GitLab
Shell Terminal Emulator (3.2@2,875) 4 1 LastUpdate: 2021-03-20
ReTerminal (0@0) 8 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github

Custom Recovery & Flashing

2025-06-06

TWRP Manager (Requires ROOT) (4.9@14) Ǥ 11 4 LastUpdate: 2017-07-02 Live Nandroid Backup for TWRP
Treble Info (4.8@1,563) Ǥ 4 LastUpdate: 2023-08-24 GitLab; check Project Treble, A/B and Architecture for GSI installation
ROM Manager (4.8@32) Ǥ 12 2 LastUpdate: 2018-10-30
ZIPme (4.4@19) 3 1 LastUpdate: 2017-04-11 create update ZIP packages to install in recovery
ROM Toolbox Lite (4.3@59,090) Ǥ 27 17 / ROM Toolbox Pro (3.3@25,143; ~EUR 10.00) Ǥ 26 13
ROM Installer (4.3@43,386) Ǥ 19 17
Flasher (4.2@93) 7 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2020-06-05
Auto Flasher ROM flash utility (4.1@1,976) Ǥ 6 2 LastUpdate: 2017-03-24
Flashify (for root users) (4.1@27) Ǥ 7 2 LastUpdate: 2015-12-12 maintains your recovery partition
[ROOT] CRAB - Custom Recovery (4@31) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2018-10-22
Official TWRP App (3.3@41,271) Ǥ 14 1 LastUpdate: 2020-08-14 Intro 12/2016
DD GUI (0@0) $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2020-05-23 Github; GUI for the good-old dd tool
Kernel Flasher (0@0) 2 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github
Payload Dumper Android (0@0) 4 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; extract boot.img or any other images without PC on Android
DSU Sideloader (0@0) 6 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2023-07-10 Github
Horizon Kernel Flasher (0@0) $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2021-10-31 Github; flash AnyKernel flashable zips
Free-Droid: Linux/Mac/Win tool to make flashing easy
Anarchy-Droid: Successor of Free-Droid. Finds matching ROMs for your device, apply special adjustments and more. Linux, Mac, Windows.
PixelFlasher: Pixel™ phone flashing GUI utility
openandroidinstaller: makes installing alternative Android distributions nice and easy
otadump: extracts partitions from OTA-files
android-ota-payload-extractor: OTA payload extractor
Thor & Thor_GUI: alternative to Odin/Heidall fr Samsung devices
List of ROMs and Custom Recoveries
Comparison of Android ROMs

init.d

2025-06-18

init.d scripts support (3.1@448) Ǥ 11 2 select a folder to place scripts which shall run at boot time
Init.d Light (0@0) 4 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2017-12-24 Github

Sandbox (isolate) apps

2025-06-17

Island (4.7@6) Ǥ 20 3 Vorstellung 3/2018; XDA; like Greenify, but more: freeze, isolate (sandbox) apps, clone (for parallel usage), hide …
Shelter (3.8@1,870) 12 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; Vorstellung 9/2018 | 1/2019; Vorstellung & Howto 7/2019; Intro 9/2019; Howto 11/2020; Anleitung 12/2020 | 3/2020-2/2021; FOSS alternative to Island
App Cloner- Clone App for Dual (1.4@1,055) Ǥ 104 4 LastUpdate: 2022-10-22 not "sandboxing", but allows multiple instances of an app by cloning and re-installing with different package names; random Android ID, IMEI, IMSI & more at runtime
Insular (0@0) 18 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; FOSS variant of Island

Run Linux on Android

2025-06-09

UserLAnd - Linux on Android (4.4@15,991) Ǥ 10 1 Github; Anleitung 1/2019; Video Howto 5/2019; Howto 6/2019 | 11/2019; run GNU/Linux on Android (no root required)
Linux Deploy (3.9@15,618) 7 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2020-03-02 Github; Howto 9/2017 | 8/2018; Anleitung 4/2020-7/2021; Install and run GNU/Linux on Android
AnLinux - Run Linux on Android (3.5@2,458) Ǥ 7 2 Github; Video Howto 4/2020

SafetyNet / Play Integrity

2025-06-21

SPIC - Play Integrity Checker (4.8@348) 2 1 LastUpdate: 2023-02-09
Play Integrity API Checker (4.7@805) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$
YASNAC - SafetyNet Checker (4.6@2,010) 0 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github
MobiShield: SafetyNet, Verify Apps & Root Check (4.6@88) Ǥ 4 2 LastUpdate: 2022-02-11
SafetyNet Helper Sample (4.5@999) 1 1 LastUpdate: 2022-01-27 Github; find out whether your device passes the SafetyNet test
SafetyNet Test (4.1@1,857) Ǥ 5 3 LastUpdate: 2018-10-03 find out whether your device passes the SafetyNet test
SafetyNet Device Check (4.1@143) Ǥ 8 4 LastUpdate: 2023-09-02
TB Checker - Play Integrity (4@1,879) Ǥ 8 8
SafetyNet | Integrity Checker (3.6@907) Ǥ 4 2 / SafetyNet Checker Pro (4.2@50; ~EUR 1.00) Ǥ 4 1

Other tools

2025-06-23

Power App | Simple Power Menu [Root only] (5@87) 2 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2020-11-09 Github; power options menu (reboot, recovery etc.)
SELinuxModeChanger (4.7@17) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2018-04-10 Github; Set SELinux mode on boot
Prevent Running (4.5@673) 7 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2019-05-15 prevent force-stopped apps from auto-restarting
DontKillMyApp: Make apps work (4.4@11,850) 4 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2023-09-07 Github; benchmark (how aggressively is your phone killing background apps) and more
Simple Reboot (root) (4.4@5,003) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; boot menu (requires root)
[ROOT] KTweak — Universal Kern (4.4@514) 3 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2020-12-02 Github
Shizuku (4.3@27,824) 6 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; using system APIs directly with adb/root privileges from normal apps
Brevent (4.2@12,710) Ǥ 11 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; prevent apps from auto-(re)starting; no root required
Sysctl GUI - Kernel parameters (4.1@62) 8 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github
[root] LiveBoot (4@7,078) Ǥ 5 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$
Kernel Profiler (3.9@17) 4 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2021-06-20 Github; manage your kernel settings
Bash (3.2@9) 4 1 LastUpdate: 2017-04-19
Timezone Updater (1@128) 5 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2023-05-16 Github
Magic (0@0) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2019-11-08 Github; file type guesser
P7Zip (0@0) 2 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2021-04-21 Github; (un)compress files and directories
PS-Aux (0@0) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2020-01-15 Github; task manager and automated background service killer
CommandClick (0@0) 15 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; change shellscript to Gui App
SmartPack-Kernel Manager (0@0) 15 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github
PhantomProcessesSavior (0@0) $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2023-12-12 Github; xposed module to keep Android 12 from killing subprocesses
Content Provider Helper (0@0) 14 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2017-05-14 Github; find available content provider URIs; add & delete your own
PI (0@0) 3 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; a package installer
FakeGapps (0@0) $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; signature spoofing for MicroG as an Xposed module
KnoxPatch (0@0) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; get Samsung apps/features working again in your rooted Galaxy device
APatch (0@0) 5 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; a Kernel-based root solution
Switch My Slot (0@0) $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2021-05-09 Github; switch between A & B Slots easily

Further Readings:

rooting tag-wiki at Android.SE including a rooting index with hints for specific devices
Magisk for "systemless modding" (incl. root); also see this guide at AndroidPolice
The 4 Best Alternatives to TWRP Recovery on Android (4/2023)
10 Mistakes to Avoid When Installing Custom ROMs on Your Android Phone (3/2023)
10 Must-Have Magisk Modules for Your Android Device (3/2022 - 7/2023)
How to Trick Apps Into Thinking Your Android Is Not Rooted (3/2022)
Ist Rooten ein Sicherheitsrisiko bzw. gefährlich? (10/2018)
Was ist Rooten und Jailbreak? (5/2016 - 12/2020)
5 reasons you should learn how to root your phone today (and how to do it) (2/2015 - 9/2021)

2025-06-23

IzzyOnDroid