Re: grapheneOS app store - how to get a list of available apps ?

On Wed, 21 May 2025 21:41:18 +0200, R.Wieser wrote :

I've got a pixel6 with GrapheneOS. I would like to install an text-to-speech
app (which isn't provided with the OS), and am therefore trying to get to
the GrapheneOS app store.
 
Opening the "app store" app itself is easy enough, but I can't seem to find
how get a list of the available apps.
 
remark: I found https://discuss.grapheneos.org/t/grapheneos-app-store , but
somehow I'm unable to spot what needs to be done. :-(

I hope someone else helps the OP directly answering his question, since I
can't even spell GrapheneOS, so I know absolutely nothing about it.

Nor the Pixel. So this is going to be a rambling response as I learn things
trying to help the OP (but without knowing a thing of what I'm doing).

However, in the spirit of being purposefully helpful, I googled how to use
the GrapheneOS app store where I find out for myself that GrapheneOS
apparently aims to be a minimal and secure OS, so it doesn't come with a
built-in TTS engine by default.

Hence the "App Store" app Rudy is seeing on GrapheneOS is likely the
official GrapheneOS app repository, which apparently contains only a
limited number of GrapheneOS-specific apps and a few trusted third-party
ones like Accrescent. It's not a general-purpose app store like Google Play
or F-Droid.

From my googling, apparently Accrescent is a security & privacy-focused app
store that GrapheneOS is actively collaborating with and recommending.
https://accrescent.app/

The OP's GrapheneOS device may have a "FakeStore" installed though, which
is apparently a small, empty stub app that has the same package name
(com.android.vending) as the Google Play Store. Its sole purpose is to
"trick" those apps into thinking the Play Store is present, allowing them
to function. If the OP needs apps that require a Play Store presence, the
primary method on GrapheneOS is, apparently, to install Sandboxed Google
Play (from the GrapheneOS App Store). When a user installs Sandboxed Google
Play, it handles the necessary compatibility layer for apps that rely on
GMS, which would implicitly address the "Play Store presence" checks that
FakeStore was designed for.

Googling what TTS apps people use with GrapheneOS, the apps installed
apparently MUST work without Google Play Services, which means you can get
the apps from elsewhere as long as that requirement is fulfilled.

Fundamentally, for GrapheneOS, apparently one wants no GApps (which require
Google Play Services, aka GMS), which most (all?) F-droid apps would be
since GApps is proprietary (AFAIK). 

Given that requirement of not using Google Play Services, apparently
RHVoice is a free & open-source TTS engine popular with GrapheneOS owners.
https://rhvoice.com/android_support

Apparently SherpaTTS is also popular with GrapheneOS owners, and it too
doesn't need to use Google Play Services to integrate with reading apps
like Librera. It's in Accrescent or the OP can get it from the source.
https://github.com/woheller69/ttsEngine



In summary, I apologize to the OP for such a rambling post as all of this
is new to me but I am trying to help where I can, and where I myself
learned something as I was previously unaware of Accrescent until now.

GrapheneOS actively promotes and mirrors Accrescent within its own official
App Store where, apparently one of Accrescent's core design principles is
to be a privacy and security-focused alternative to the Google Play Store
that does not require Google Play Services or a Google account to function.

For my normal Android 13 device without a Google Account set up on it,
I installed Accrescent to test it out for the OP (to see what it can do).
https://github.com/accrescent/accrescent/releases
https://github.com/accrescent/accrescent/releases/download/0.25.0/accrescent-0.25.0.apk
Name: accrescent-0.25.0.apk
Size: 4771428 bytes (4659 KiB)
SHA256: 22BC8C10F88F01B5AD8F74A2ECEF75679032857E0089C4B91A1AB4359DF2E682

Accrescent installed without issue on my Android 13 Galaxy but
unfortunately, when I searched for TTS for the OP, nothing showed up.
Nothing showed up when I searched specifically for SherpaTTS & RHVoice.

Bummer. There aren't many apps in Accrescent but given its privacy goals,
I'm sure we'll be hearing more about it in the future. But back to the OP's
problem set... I can't help much... but I tried.

I hope someone else who actually has GrapheneOS can help the OP better.
--
Apologies for the rambling ad hoc response as I'm learning as I help.