explaingit

freeyourgadget/gadgetbridge

★ 4,519JavaAudience · generalComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

Gadgetbridge is a privacy-first Android app that connects your smartwatch or fitness tracker directly to your phone, keeping all health data on your device instead of sending it to manufacturer servers. No account required.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    Privacy
      No account needed
      Data stays local
      No vendor servers
    Supported Devices
      Pebble watches
      Mi Band Amazfit
      Casio Fossil
      HPlus devices
    Distribution
      F-Droid store
      Nightly builds
      Codeberg hosted
    Contributing
      Code patches
      Translations Weblate
      Bug reports
      New device research
    Community
      Matrix chat
      Issue tracking
      Documentation
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Code map

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Use your smartwatch or fitness tracker without giving the manufacturer access to your health data

USE CASE 2

Sync step counts, sleep data, and notifications from wearables entirely offline and privately

USE CASE 3

Replace a manufacturer app that requires an account or sends data to the cloud

USE CASE 4

Contribute translations or device support to help more people use their gadgets privately

Tech stack

JavaAndroidF-DroidWeblate

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 30min

Install via F-Droid (not Google Play), enable Bluetooth, and pair your device through the app. Android 5.0 or later required. Active development is on Codeberg, not GitHub.

AGPLv3, free to use, modify, and share, but if you distribute a modified version (including as a hosted service), you must also share your source code under the same license.

In plain English

Gadgetbridge is an Android app that lets you connect to smartwatches and fitness trackers without using the device manufacturer's official application. The main appeal is privacy: it works without requiring you to create an account and without sending any of your activity or health data to the vendor's servers. You pair your wearable directly with the app on your phone, and all data stays on the device. The app supports a wide range of devices, including Pebble smartwatches, Mi Band and Amazfit fitness trackers, HPlus devices, Casio and Fossil watches, and many others. The full list of supported devices is on the project's website. Features vary by device and are documented there as well. The Android requirement is version 5.0 or later. Gadgetbridge is free and open source, licensed under the AGPLv3. It is distributed through F-Droid, a repository of free Android apps, rather than the Google Play Store. Nightly builds are also available through the project's own F-Droid repository for users who want more frequent updates, though those may be less stable. The project is now primarily hosted on Codeberg rather than GitHub. The GitHub repository still exists but directs users to Codeberg for active development, issue tracking, and downloads. Contributions are welcomed in many forms: code, documentation, translations via Weblate, bug reports, and research into adding support for new devices. Community discussion happens on Matrix. The README includes clear guidance for filing bug reports, including how to enable logging, reproduce the problem, and attach the resulting log file when something goes wrong.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
My Mi Band is paired with Gadgetbridge but step count isn't syncing. Walk me through the most common reasons and how to fix each one.
Prompt 2
How do I enable debug logging in Gadgetbridge so I can attach a log file to a bug report?
Prompt 3
I want to add support for a new fitness tracker to Gadgetbridge. What parts of the codebase should I look at first, and what does a minimal device implementation require?
Prompt 4
Explain how Gadgetbridge stores health data on the phone and whether I can export it to another app or format.
Prompt 5
What Android permissions does Gadgetbridge need and why does it need each one?
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