Auto-update F-droid version of android app based on Google Play version

Hello - today i left a review of the android app for newsblur after a few months of use (have mostly been relatively pleased with the experience and planning on upgrading from the free version, but was still having one specific issue). for basic background, i mostly use newsblur on desktop, but use the android app when away from my pc - which has been a lot over the past month and a half.

i originally downloaded the google play version of newsblur, and later switched to the fdroid version when i discovered it was available. i left a review on the play store bc i assumed (oops) that the versions were the same, and fdroid doesn’t have a review system.

i received a dev response saying that the issue i was having had already been fixed in the latest version, which was puzzling because i thought i had the latest version. this prompted me to check the version numbers against each other, and i discovered that the latest fdroid version seems to be outdated.

will the fdroid version of the app be updated to the latest? i can switch to the google play version if absolutely necessary, but i prefer to get my apps from fdroid when possible.

it looks like someone added an issue to update it a week ago. here’s the place to do that.

1 Like

Good news — I tracked down the root cause and submitted a fix to F-Droid.

After version 13.8.0, the Android app’s build system was migrated to use Gradle version catalogs, which deleted the file that F-Droid’s auto-update bot was monitoring for new versions. So it simply stopped detecting new releases after that point.

I’ve submitted a merge request to the F-Droid metadata repository that fixes the auto-update detection and adds the build recipe for 13.11.4: Update com.newsblur to 13.11.4 (254) (!32875) · Merge requests · F-Droid / Data · GitLab

Once merged, F-Droid should automatically pick up future releases going forward. In the meantime, if you need the latest version you can grab it from Google Play or build from source.

:record_button: The merge request is live:

Update com.newsblur to 13.11.4 (254) (!32875) · Merge requests · F-Droid / Data · GitLab

Here’s what the MR does:

  1. Fixes auto-update detection — UpdateCheckData now points to app/build.gradle.kts instead of the deleted Config.kt. This is the
    critical fix that ensures the F-Droid checkupdates bot will automatically detect future releases from your git tags.
  2. Adds build entry for 13.11.4 — Updated prebuild sed commands for:
    • FeedItemsList.java → FeedItemsList.kt (Kotlin conversion)
    • LoginProgress.kt → viewModel/LoginRegisterViewModel.kt (replaced)
    • More precise SubscriptionSyncService removal (instead of the old broad /cancel/d)
  3. Updates CurrentVersion/CurrentVersionCode to 13.11.4 / 254

Once this MR is merged, future Android releases should be picked up automatically by F-Droid’s bot as long as:

  • You continue tagging releases with Android_X.Y.Z tags
  • The versionCode and versionName stay in app/build.gradle.kts
  • The prebuild sed patterns still match (i.e., the Google Play billing/review code structure doesn’t change drastically)

The MR also references existing issue Update newsblur to v13.11.4 (#3762) · Issues · F-Droid / Data · GitLab that someone already filed.

@andrei :backhand_index_pointing_up: FYI

Updated the MR to 13.12.0

that’s great news - thank you!

1 Like