How much of F-Droid is LLM generated?

I love F-Droid. I love what F-Droid stands for and I like the freedom that it gives its users. As a FOSS app maintainer I also have nothing but good things to say about the people behind the project. Maybe they’re even a bit too nice, considering how many times repro has failed due to me forgetting to commit before building 😅.

But my god is it hard to find human-written software now.

Intro The problem Sometimes I open F-Droid just to browse. You know, maybe I’ll find an app that solves a problem I didn’t know I had, or maybe I’ll find a better alternative to something I already use.

And one day, while browsing, I noticed an app with an obvious and ugly AI generated icon. It’s not on the list and I will not shame it, but it got me thinking. How much of F-Droid is AI?

As someone who does programming for fun and is only a student, untarnished by honest work, I get my knowledge of what the coding world is like mostly from clickbaity YT videos and Reddit posts of CS professionals. They either describe LLMs as god reincarnate or as glorified autocomplete.

Both are, obviously, wrong, but that’s not really helpful in determining what I want to know. What is the actual state of programming nowadays? Whenever I use FOSS software, how likely it is that it has been vibe-coded by a rando in an afternoon?

How to know if an app is vibe-coded? That’s the trick—you can’t. Text just doesn’t carry enough meta information for any kind of assessments to be even close to accurate. However, just as that em-dash I used in the first sentence probably triggered an alarm in your brain, there are signs.

While that does make the task at hand sound fickle and dependent on happenstance, the signs, especially concerning LLM code repositories, are never too hard to find.

You see, the main allure of LLMs is that they allow the developer to be more lazy. That’s kind of the whole point! You just prompt, sit back and relax. So it should not surprise you to hear that this attitude is then reflected in everything the vibe-coder touches.

Why write a README from scratch? Lol, just let the LLM do it.

Do code-review? Naw, just let the LLM review its own changes and then also give it access to the repo so you don’t even need to press the commit button.

If a project was concerned with looking legitimate, it would be trivial to do such things by hand. But it’s low effort all the way down.

My biases This part can be skipped if you don’t care about my stance on LLMs, but I need to make my position clear to avoid contributing to the circlejerk too much.

To begin with, I’d like to acknowledge that LLMs are incredibly useful and capable. As 2026 has progressed, this has become more and more visible, but people being able to one-shot medium scale games and software in half an hour is ridiculously impressive, even if the end product is usually not very good.

I also am very much in favor of software getting faster and more secure. The story of the Linux kernel development has shown that LLMs are capable of finding and sometimes even solving many types of code issues.

With the pleasantries out of the way though, I have to admit I really hate LLMs and what they have done to programming, related engineering fields, and society as a whole.

Their mere existence makes educating yourself and going on fun side projects much less rewarding. Like yeah, I did something, but with an LLM I could have done this in a quarter of the time. And when you do take the black pill and vibe-code, it’s even worse. It’s not like you did anything. The machine did that.

Then there’s the atrophying effects on human brains, their unfathomable capability for serving plausibly sounding misinformation and the climate disaster that we’re just kinda ignoring. All very fun things to think about.

Criteria / The experiment As mentioned before, there’s no way to effectively detect slop, so I propose a rough 3 tier system based on the aesthetics of the repo:

Mostly AI This is mostly for projects that have significant LLM smells and means I expect >50% of the code is LLM authored. Any kind of agentic infrastructure automatically lands an app in this tier as I do not believe it is possible to use AI responsibly from within a coding harness. Hard to say / Mostly human / Other Occasional LLM commits either by maintainers or contributors, but mostly looks human. May have an LLM policy which permits certain uses. This tag means I expect <50% of the code is LLM authored. No signs of AI Could not find anything suspicious/Has a strict LLM policy. Note that my rating will still be quite superficial and the tiers quite loose. I did not build a “slop detector” or anything like that, so my decisions are based on looking at recent commits and their content along with the project’s branding.

Also note that since I have no way of knowing for sure, there may be errors. I still believe most of my findings to be accurate however.

I will also not look at the history of the app. If it has existed since 2014 but recent commits are LLM authored it will be categorized as “mostly AI”

The apps chosen were the batch of updates pushed to F-Droid on September 12, 2026. That amounted to 102 apps, which was quite a lot of work for me to go through.😅

If you just want the results, feel free to skip to the results

Apps Amber Description: Nostr event signer for Android

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: All recent commits were done with LLM, PRs accepted from agents, Claude Code and Codex infrastructure present.

Aria for Misskey Description: Dive into the interplanetary microblogging platform 🚀

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI Justification: This is a hard one as commit naming and structure felt a bit suspicious, but I did not see anything else and decided to err on the side of caution

Atmo Engine Description: Animated wallpapers with Atmosphere, Glass, Canvas Sketch and playlists.

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI Justification: Heavy emoji usage in the README, but otherwise nothing looks suspicious.

Aves Libre Description: Gallery and metadata explorer

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI Justification: Nothing looked suspicious

Balance Description: Private offline bank balance dashboard

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI Justification: Code and commits exhibit various AI smells.

Baly Groceries Tracker Description: Track your groceries, without worrying about running out.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI Justification: Code and commits exhibit various AI smells.

Bati: Fitness RPG Description: Turn workouts into quests, boss fights and a village built by your training.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: AI disclosure in README (Thanks for making it easy :D)

BayesianBahn Description: Empirical arrival-time distributions for Deutsche Bahn trains

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: All commits are Claude co-authored. Though it’s really funny how Deutsche Bahn sucks so hard it has enticed people to vibe-code unofficial timetables.

BeatBridge: Bluetooth Music Description: Auto-play music when your Bluetooth car, headphones, or speakers connect.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Includes Claude Code contributions, quite a lot of the commits look to be at least AI

Binary Eye Description: QR code and barcode scanner with no ads

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI

Justification: Nothing suspicious

BlockDrop: Block Puzzle Description: Free and open source block-stacking puzzle game. Arrange falling shapes to clear

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Has infrastructure for LLMs, Claude co-authored commits.

Braincup - Brain Training Description: Train your focus, memory and math skills.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: All recent commits are Claude co-authored

BVD Description: bilibili video resource downloader

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: All recent commits look LLM authored

CaptureCap Description: Record and Stream Audio and/or Screen

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Has an AI disclosure listing files written with LLM help

Casio G-Shock Smart Sync Description: Add smart functions to your Casio square BT G-Shock Watch.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: AI artifacts such as planning .md files pushed to repo.

Chompass - Calorie Tracker Description: Ad-free AI calorie tracker. Snap, speak, or type meals. Open source.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Recent commits look AI authored. Note that this repository is hosted on Codeberg and likely violates their terms of use.

DeltaSync Description: Encrypted KeePass sync — requires your own self-hosted server.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: All recent commits co-authored by Claude Opus 5

DuressKeyboard Description: Keyboard that reacts to triggers and performs security actions

Repository:

Rating: ???

Justification: This may be the most confusing repo I’ve ever seen lol. Has been in development since November of 2025, but the owner doesn’t seem to know how to use git??? All the commits have seemingly been done by copy pasting the change code by hand through the GitHub web file editor. Quite bizarre!

eQuran Description: Read, listen, choose from 5 reciters, and track your Quran journey.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Has infrastructure for agents; most recent commit looks LLM generated.

evcc - solar charging Description: charge your EV when the sun is shining or electricity is cheap and clean

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Agent infrastructure; Claude co-authorship of commits; even commits without explict co-authorship look largely LLM generated.

Fechtkarte Description: Warm-up drill card generator using notation credited to Joachim Meyer

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Agent infrastructure; commits and code look LLM generated

Feeder Description: An awesome Libre and Open Source RSS feed reader

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent code commits look LLM generated, accepted PRs from agents. Quite unfortunate, as this is the first app in this list that I actually use, but it works.

Felicity Music Player Description: Advance audiophile grade offline music player.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Several commits I checked exhibit signs of heavy LLM use.

FixupXer - URL Enhancer Description: Clean URL tracking, fix embeds (X, IG, FB, TikTok, Bluesky), catch link leaks

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: AI generated icon + all recent commits look LLM generated.

Flexify: Gym Workout Log Description: Log workouts, reps, cardio, and rest timers. Track strength offline.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Lot of LLM infrastructure; code looks almost entirely AI.

Forkyz Description: Crossword puzzles application, download and play.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

Gem Wallet: Bitcoin, USDT, BNB Description: Secure crypto wallet for 100+ blockchains: Bitcoin, USDT, ETH, Solana, and more.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

GeoWeather Description: Modern weather app with 16-day forecast for multiple cities

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look LLM generated.

GitHub Trending & Hacker News Description: Daily AI picks from GitHub Trending, Hacker News & Product Hunt.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: All recent commits Claude co-authored.

GPTMobile Description: Your all in one chat assistant - Chat with multiple LLMs at once!

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look LLM generated.

GymMane Description: Dark, offline gym log. Tap the muscle, log your sets, watch your numbers move.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: README got that LLM emoji vomit; recent commits look AI

Harp Description: Private on-device Personal Health Record Application

Repository:

Rating: Not sure Justification: My browser could not get through the sourcehut bot-detection test for some reason, so I was unable to check code. Saw one commit co-authored by Claude, status of others remains unknown.

Hue Spill Description: Fill the entire board with a single color.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Very new, only few commits. UI looks vibe-coded though and UI is all this game has.

invoice, quote, delivery note Description: Invoice in 10 seconds — bundle quotes and delivery notes into invoices!

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: All recent commits look entirely AI generated

KeyStoreViewer Description: Quickly view MD5, SHA1, and Public Keys for App Signatures.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI Justification: Most recent commits look entirely AI generated.

kitshn (for Tandoor) Description: An unofficial client for the self-hosted Tandoor recipe management software.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look entirely AI generated.

Klick'r - Smart AutoClicker Description: Automating clicks based on what is displayed

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI

Justification: Nothing looks suspicious

Lens HRV Description: Measure heart-rate variability with your phone camera, no extra sensors

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Born from one +10k LOC “init” commit. 2 remaining commits look LLM authored

Léon – The URL Cleaner Description: Removes tracking & other redundant parameters from web links for sharing

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

LetterBox Description: LetterBox is a simple kids game for learning letters

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look entirely AI generated.

Libre Contacts Backup Description: Offline and encrypted contact backups

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: All recent commits look entirely AI generated.

Lissen: Audiobookshelf client Description: Clean Audiobookshelf Player

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look entirely AI generated.

MainTask Description: Reminders for your recurring tasks: filters, plants, backups, car checks…

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: All recent commits co-authored by Claude Sonnet 5. Note that this repository is hosted on Codeberg and likely violates their terms of use.

Mako Description: Privacy-first Android launcher designed for focus, speed, and simplicity.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly Human

Justification: I see some commits that look LLM generated, but others look human. Let’s err on the side of caution.

MarketMonk: Stock Tracker Description: Track stocks, build a portfolio, and view performance charts.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

Markleaf Description: Local-first Markdown notes with tags, search, and file export

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

MateDroid Description: View Tesla vehicle data from your self-hosted Teslamate instance

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

Materialious Description: Modern material design for YouTube and Invidious.

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI Justification: Only a brief look, but nothing jumped out as suspicious.

MetaGer: Search & Browser Description: Anonymous search and tab groups, private browsing with tracker and ad blocking.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

Mihrab: Prayer Times & Quran Description: Adhan alarms, qibla compass, the Madinah mushaf, widgets. No trackers.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

Minesweeper Description: Beautiful Minesweeper. No ads, no trackers, no permissions.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look entirely AI generated. So does the UI.

MinkLauncher OpenSource Description: A minimal, keyboard-first Android home-screen launcher

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI Justification: Was suspicious about the incredibly verbose README, but could not find anything else.

motd Description: Native IRC client with a modern chat interface

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

N-Zik Description: A modern, multilingual YouTube Music client for Android with offline support.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

neutriNote CE Description: A hub of written thoughts in fast searchable plain text

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI Justification: Found nothing.

Nextcloud Description: Synchronization client

Repository:

Rating: Mostly Human

Justification: Has LLM infrastructure, but most commits look human.

Nextcloud Pantry Description: Shared household lists, photos & notes on your own server — and on your watch.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI Justification: Most recent commits look entirely AI generated. So does the UI.

NFC Alarm Clock Description: Customizable and feature-rich alarm clock app.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

NouTube Description: YouTube and YouTube Music in a single app. No ads, plays in the background.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

NovaDial Description: Unlock a secure, open-source calling experience with NovaDialer

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI

Justification: Nothing looks off at a quick glance.

Offline Translator Description: On-device translation of text, images and pdf/odt files, with TTS

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI

Justification: Nothing looks off at a quick glance.

OPNsense Manager Description: Manage OPNsense firewall: monitor, configure rules, view logs & services

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

PCAPdroid Description: No-root network monitor, firewall and PCAP dumper for Android

Repository:

Rating: Almost no signs of AI Justification: Some commits include LLM created translations, however they are disclosed and few and far between

Personal Stuff Description: App used to track, manage and remind you of your own stuff.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

Phylax Description: Viewer for Frigate NVR with smart URL switching and notifications

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

PingOff Description: Silence your phone automatically when using selected apps.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; most commits look entirely LLM generated.

PipePipe Description: A FLOSS Android app to let you browse YouTube, NicoNico and BiliBili freely.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

PlainApp: Phone Web Portal Description: Manage your phone on the web! Access files, contacts, videos, music & more.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

Privacy Flip Description: Manage your device privacy based on lock/unlock state

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

Queens Description: Challenging crown-placement logic puzzle. Infinite levels. No tracking & ads.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

ReadBear Description: A cute&chill CBZ, PDF, EPUB reader that’s ridiculously configurable!

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI

Justification: Some commits look a bit suspicious, but at a glance I did not see any obvious signs of explicit LLM usage.

Relatrix Description: An active knowledge-management and multi-modal note-taking platform.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

ReteClock Description: Full-screen digital clock and dock screensaver for old Android phones.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: All recent commits are AI generated.

ReteKey Description: Hangul keyboard with Esc, Tab, Ctrl and F-keys. 470 KB, one permission.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: All recent commits are AI generated.

Share To InputStick Description: Send text to your InputStick straight from the Share menu

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI

Justification: Nothing suspicious

Shattered Pixel Dungeon Description: A roguelike game based on Pixel Dungeon

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI Justification: Some stuff looks a bit sus, but found nothing serious.

ShelfDroid Description: Audiobookshelf Android client with playback, downloads, and server management

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

ShizuWall Description: Lightweight no root, no vpn firewall solution powered by Shizuku

Repository:

Rating: Mostly Human

Justification: Found some evidence of AI usage, however nothing that looks too widespread.

Simple Notes Sync Description: Offline notes & checklists, self-hosted sync. Under 5 MB, no ads, no tracking.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

Sky Map Description: Sky Map turns your phone into a window on the night sky.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

Snowdrop Description: Multiplatform Mastodon API client using Compose

Repository:

Rating: Mostly Human

Justification: Some evidence of AI use, but it looks limited.

Suntimes Calendars Description: A calendar provider add-on for Suntimes.

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI

Justification: Nothing looks suspicious

TacticMaster Description: Chess tactic trainer based on

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI

Justification: Nothing looks suspicious

Tallybook Description: Private, offline-first expense and budget tracker, no account required

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

: Open-source To-Do Lists & Reminders Description: Private, ad-free task lists! Optional sync with Google Tasks, CalDAV or EteSync!

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI

Justification: Nothing looks suspicious

Terminator Description: Multi-session terminal emulator with Material UI theming and root support

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

TigerDuck Description: NTUST campus assistant for courses, assignments, and more

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look entirely LLM generated.

Description: Flexibly limit the usage duration

Repository:

Rating: No signs of AI

Justification: Nothing looks suspicious

Timety Description: Offline-first productivity, focus, and habit tracking.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

trale Description: privacy-respecting body weight-diary

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look mostly LLM generated.

Tuisku Description: A simple and lightweight encrypted notes app

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look mostly LLM generated.

Unciv Description: Open source 4X civilization-building game

Repository:

Rating: Mostly Human

Justification: Some commits co-authored by Claude, but a bunch of others look human.

Universal Installer Description: APK/XAPK installer with silent installs via Shizuku, Root or Dhizuku.

Repository: style='color:yellowgreen;'>high-score/universal-installer

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look mostly LLM generated.

UnlicenseLauncher Description: Simple and secure FOSS launcher with fully FREE🐍 license

Repository:

Rating: ???

Justification: Looks to be a repeat of “DuressKeyboard”. Quite a bizarre repo, but it looks like the accounts are different.

Victoria Launcher Description: A minimal, list-based home screen and open source Niagara Launcher alternative

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

Voxscribe - Offline Voice Input Description: Voxscribe is an offline voice keyboard that transcribes speech on-device.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated. Note that this repository is hosted on Codeberg and likely violates their terms of use.

Water Sort Description: Relaxing color-sorting puzzle. Infinite levels. Zero tracking. No ads.

Repository:

Rating: Not sure

Justification: README shows lots of AI signs, but I did not see anything too suspicious in code.

WaveUp Description: Turn on the display by waving

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; most commits look entirely LLM generated.

Wikipedia Description: The official app for Wikipedia, the world’s largest source of information.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly Human

Justification: Most commits look human made, but there’s quite a lot of claude infrastructure. I know! I thought Wikipedia would be an easy pass too!

Wristotle Companion Description: Voice control for Pebble watches — on-device by default, no account.

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated. Note that this repository is hosted on Codeberg and likely violates their terms of use.

Xime IME Description: A Rime-based Chinese IME for Wubi and Pinyin input

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI

Justification: LLM infrastructure; recent commits look mostly LLM generated.

Yubico Authenticator Description: Generate OATH codes with YubiKey NEO over NFC

Repository:

Rating: Mostly AI Justification: Most recent commits look AI generated.

Some interesting observations brandonp2412 While going through the apps I noticed one user named brandonp2412 maintaining quite a few in this update cycle. Of course, all entirely vibe-coded.

That wouldn’t be that much of a surprise, however they all seem to be under widely different namespaces. Some are just the app name, but some are quite confusing: “.*” or “.*”.

Either they’re just a very avid vibe-coder, or they’re one of those agents that have been given a GitHub account for some reason.

Codeberg Out of the 5 apps hosted on Codeberg, 4 are mostly AI generated and thus likely violate Codeberg’s AI policy.

The “Don’t tread on me” apps I also noticed a pair of very bizarre apps, both branded with the yellow “Don’t tread on me” flag.

DuressKeyboard & UnlicenseLauncher

What’s most curious is that they have been in development for quite some time, yet all the changes are done not with git but through the GitHub web file editor!

Someone go find that person and teach them to use git😭😭.

Statistics & Conclusion Out of 102 apps:

74 were largely written by AI (72.5%) 10 were hard to categorize one way or another (9.8%) 18 showed little to no signs of AI involvement (17.6%) Really not sure how to cope with these numbers though.

On one hand, some seem to have quite a few users. And if people are having their lives improved by using said software, who am I to say “no”?

On the other hand, I’m really concerned about what the data means for the FOSS community as a whole.

I explicitly did not do any code quality analysis as that would have taken much more time and would have probably been out of my skill level anyway, but I am curious about the robustness and maintainability of the 72%.

Just for fun I also checked a few of the FOSS apps I actually use and quite a few showed signs of heavy LLM usage.

I’ll still use them, as I find them useful, but this whole experiment has left me feeling quite conflicted.

I know how to fix this though:

Hey Claude, make a load-bearing time machine set to 2016 – a time when I was a happy kid, nothing bad ever happened and all was good in FOSS-land.

Make no mistakes