Analysis updated 2026-05-18
Connect to the Aether network on Android through a full-device VPN tunnel or a local SOCKS5 proxy for specific apps.
Switch between MASQUE, WireGuard, and WARP-on-WARP transport protocols depending on which one a network allows through.
Build the Android app from source, including compiling the bundled Rust core, for custom or debug builds.
| zethrise/aethery | skydoves/compose-nav-graph | trooped/quickbars | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars | 232 | 228 | 289 |
| Language | Kotlin | Kotlin | Kotlin |
| Setup difficulty | moderate | — | easy |
| Complexity | 4/5 | — | 2/5 |
| Audience | general | developer | general |
Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.
Prebuilt APKs install in minutes, building from source requires Android Studio, a specific NDK/CMake version, and a Rust Android toolchain.
Aethery is an Android app that gives people a native mobile interface for the Aether network core, a separate open source project focused on private, censorship resistant connections. Aethery itself is not a networking engine. It handles the Android side, things like the app interface, the VPN and TUN system integration, connection state, a protocol picker, and live connection logs, while the actual work of finding routes, establishing tunnels, and encrypting traffic is done by the Aether core underneath it. Inside the app, a user can choose between two connection types. VPN mode routes all of the device's traffic through Android's built in VPN service, while Proxy mode exposes a local SOCKS5 proxy that other apps can be configured to use individually. Aethery supports several transport protocols through the Aether core, including MASQUE over HTTP/3 as the recommended default with an HTTP/2 fallback, WireGuard where it is reachable, and a nested WireGuard mode called WARP-on-WARP. The app also does automatic endpoint scanning with diagnostics and reconnects to a cached working gateway when needed. The README is upfront that network filtering varies by internet provider and location, and that a protocol showing as connected only means Aethery's own readiness check passed, not that every destination will actually be reachable. Prebuilt APKs for 64 bit and 32 bit ARM devices are published on the project's GitHub Releases page. Building it from source requires Android Studio, a specific Android NDK and CMake version, JDK 17, and a Rust toolchain with Android targets added, since part of the app is a compiled Rust library bridged in through JNI. The project is licensed under the GNU AGPL-3.0 license, while the underlying Aether core and its dependencies keep their own separate license terms.
Aethery is a native Android app that wraps the Aether censorship-circumvention network core, adding a VPN or SOCKS5 proxy interface with MASQUE, WireGuard, and WARP-on-WARP protocol support.
Mainly Kotlin. The stack also includes Kotlin, Rust, Android.
GNU AGPL-3.0: you can use and modify the app, but if you distribute a modified version or run it as a network service, you must release your source code too.
Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.
Mainly general.
This repo across BitVibe Labs
Verify against the repo before relying on details.