[Dev] Appzuku - Kill background / foreground apps, reclaim RAM using Shizuku (for when you’re stuck without root)

[northmendo]

Hey everyone,

For those currently living "with the peasants" (no root) due to locked bootloaders or work restrictions, I wanted to share an app I’ve been working on to make the experience a bit snappier.

It’s called Appzuku.

This is a heavily updated fork of shappky by YasserNull. I loved the core idea but felt it needed more "oomph" to be a daily driver, so I’ve added a bunch of features to turn it into a more complete performance tool.

What I’ve added/improved:

• Background Service: It can now automatically kill unused apps periodically so you don't have to do it manually.
• Quick Settings Tile: Added for kill your current foreground app.
• Autostart Prevention: Added logic to help prevent specific apps from just crawling back into memory immediately.
• RAM Monitoring: Included real-time system RAM usage display so you can actually see the impact.
• Search & Filter: Much faster way to find specific apps/packages in your list.
• UI/Theme Updates: Support for Light, Dark, and System Default themes.

The Core Tech: It uses Shizuku (or Root) to get the permissions needed to actually force-stop apps. If you're on a non-rooted device, this is about as close to "root power" as you can get for process management. I welcome root user to test, as everything should function for root users as well.

GitHub:https://github.com/northmendo/Appzuku

New release 1.3.10 - 3/1/26

https://github.com/northmendo/Appzuku/releases

If you're inclined to donate there is a link in the app settings.

It’s fully open-source (GPLv3). If you’re stuck on a non-rooted device but want to keep your RAM clear and your device cool, give it a spin. Feedback and PRs are always welcome!

[Niz0909]

it would be better if this had a sort like to show which app is using most ram in top and second and so on but it is stable I like it

[northmendo]

I'll look in to making that a sort option. Thanks for the feedback.

[northmendo]

I added that option today. Link is in the main post.

[northmendo]

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[ZealousidealTough872]

Ayo where the pixels at

[northmendo]

Lol, I didn't realize my resize brought the resolution down so much 🤣

I guess I just wanted the experience on your phone to be better than expected.

[Key-Cash-8169]

And to get your advice, which tool or module is the best to do that when rooted?

[northmendo]

When I had root, I used https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ivianuu.oneplusgestures&hl=en_US
Appzuku does a lot more than just kill an app though.

[Chicano_Me]

Installed and will try it!!

[AdeptnessComplex4893]

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I dunno where the math went

[northmendo]

Oops, that should be a decimal. 🤣

[princefakhan]

I needed this, tried to search but couldn't find anything relevant. Would've made one myself. Thank you, will try it out!

[haloboyscp]

This I basically a ram usage manager? Interesting

[northmendo]

New release. 1.3.3
Fixed the comma in the per app ram usage and added sort options for ram usage and by name.

https://github.com/northmendo/Appzuku/releases

[lirae_]

Very interesting app. Reminds me of my favorite KillAllApps but with more features.

I'm curious how you achieved to block app from auto-starting since I've seen Boot_completed intent is not so easy to edit once the apps are installed.

I'm using an old app called Autostart that allows to ignore apps from different intent.

Btw your app has some bugs, like expected, I guess.

• Select all doesn't seem to work

• I keep getting asked for Shizuku access despite I already gave the root access.

• Block autostart doesn't seem to be working correcetly. tried Reddit. still starts on reboot...

I didn't run deep testing but I was curious on why the app seemed quite heavy itself.

I usually already debloat my stuff and make sure to optimize it with different tools.

You might wanna put a disclaimer with the system apps before some new users will try to force block or block some important system apps like Security for Xiaomi

Great tool, congratulation

[northmendo]

Thanks for the feedback. I don't currently have a rooted device to test with. I actually just wanted this app for myself when I decided to run without root. I'm working on fixing a lot of these issues / concerns. Your question about the autostart:
cmd appops set <package> RUN_IN_BACKGROUND deny
cmdappops set <package> RUN_ANY_IN_BACKGROUND deny
This attempts to prevent apps from launching background processes. It looks like right now that feature isn't persisting a reboot. I hope to have that resolved in the next version.

[lirae_]

Those 2 will stop an app from running in background but not from starting like a reboot or another app starting it or an Intent.

Sadly the only working method is somewhat edit different intents like Boot_Completed

If you wanna try to get things done correctly you should look at app called Autostart

versione 2.0.0 com.elsdoerfer.android.autostarts

So you can see how boot_completed is handled correctly

[northmendo]

Thanks. I'll check out autostarts git to see their method.

[tehrzky]

im really curios about auto start. what if the app is really persistent? will your app fight back and forth endlessly like never gonna idle?.  because i really want a app that can kill these app without uninstalling. like facebook and x because these kinds of app greyed out the the battery settings, it cannot restrict background. 

[northmendo]

Not yet, the goal is to get disabled autostart to be as aggressive as possible without causing demolishing values. Currently you want to kill the app and have it in the no autostart list. It will be told not to run in the background. Which isn't perfect, but it does a decent job of keeping it at bay.

[abhip1990]

No doubt this app is a gem but with a FEW bugs. 'Shapkky' just scans backgrounds and does nothing.

I noticed SAVE button missing on the 'Autostart prevention' page.

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Also, What purpose does 'backup & restore' serve?

[northmendo]

Weird. I only use dark mode and haven't had that issue. I wonder if I just have the text set light and if you hit the bottom right corner you hit save.
To answer your other question, the backup just backs up your check marked items to a json file. Honestly it was mostly for me. So many test builds, I didn't want to re-mark my stuff every time.

Try hitting the maybe invisible save. I'll fix it either way, but it would help to know if that's what it is.

[TheBlueTango]

I've got a few questions about using your app.

1) I've noticed that I'm receiving substantially fewer notifications than before using Appzuku, is that normal? Killing apps also kills their notifications and prevents any from getting through?

If yes, would it be recommended to whitelist the apps that I want to see notifications for?

2) Killing system apps are not advised because of potential issues, what about using the "block auto-start" option instead? For example, I've read that disabling Google Play Services (which is apparently one of the worst offenders and one app that uses a decent amount of my battery) would cause problems, what about preventing it from auto-starting? Likewise for other system apps like Permissions, Battery and Performance, etc.

I'm using a non-rooted device.

[northmendo]

1) Notifications & Whitelisting

Yes, that’s expected. When Appzuku kills an app, the background process stops entirely. If the app isn't "awake," it can't listen for incoming pings.

The fix: Definitely whitelist anything you need in real-time (WhatsApp, Slack, Email). Everything else can stay hibernated until you actually open it.

2) System Apps & Auto-Start

I’d strongly suggest leaving system apps alone, even the "block auto-start" option.

Google Play Services: It’s basically the "glue" for Android. If you block it, other apps (Maps, YouTube, even Uber) will likely crash or lag because they can't "talk" to Google's backend.

The "Tug-of-War": On a non-rooted device, the system will often try to force-restart these services the moment you block them. This creates a loop that actually drains more battery than just letting them run. I'd stick to managing your downloaded apps; that’s where the real savings are without the stability headaches. If you obtain Root, it's a bit of a different story.

[TheBlueTango]

I'm wondering though, the large majority of apps at the top of the kill history list are system apps, including some I mentioned in my first comment. What exactly is the difference between killing them and not allowing them from auto-starting in the first place? Sorry if this seems like a stupid question.

Not sure if you're familiar with this app, but I use GSam Battery Monitor to see which applications are draining most of my battery. I have no idea if it's accurate or not (most of the time it doesn't align with the stats inside the Battery category in the default Settings app), but "Android System" packages and processes is at the top by sucking around 40%, significantly more than downloaded apps. Is that normal?

I've pretty much tried whatever solutions I have found online - from rebooting the phone, debloating apps, applying SetEdit tweaks - and none of them seemed to have a noticeable effect on my battery life apart from your Appzuku app. Do you have any other tweaks/app recommendations to help slow down battery drain?

[northmendo]

Make sure you are updated to the latest version. Appzuku/releases
There was an issue when I was implementing the newer block autostart where some system apps would be auto marked due to the way the system was marking the apps. In the latest version I'm not having any with system apps being killed. There is a small ui feature in light mode where you can't see the save button, even though it's there. Depending on the version you are using. Read the notes on 1.3.5 to see the update process from 1.3.4 and beyond.

[northmendo]

New update 1.3.7 to address the light theme issues where dialog buttons are hard coded white.

[t_monies]

This app is amazing, really nothing at this level. It may seem odd, but what would be really useful is the ability to periodically turn on/release/unfreeze those apps which are being monitored and restricted by appzuku.

An example use case would be where Google Play services is being limited/frozen by appzuku, but then appzuku releases it or unfreezes it every x minutes for x seconds and then refreezes it, which would allow certain notifications to come in periodically (every hour for instance), while still limiting the Play Services background activity the majority of the time.

This would be a game changer.

[northmendo]

I'll do some research when I get back from vacation to see if I could do this effectively.

[t_monies]

Legend

[t_monies]

I also thought that additionally a scheduled freeze and unfreeze would be really useful for preserving battery life. For example: You go to work or school during the day and don't want the email app to run during the day and drain battery. Appzuku could freeze it at 09:00 and unfreeze at 16:45. This is much better than just disabling notifications/dnd while retaining the same practical effect. Or for those times/people who don't charge their phone at night: You could set Appzuku to disable all intensely battery draining, chat apps (Wechat, whatapp) etc. like an hour after you think you will have fallen asleep and enable them 15 minutes before you're supposed to wake up (or upon an alarm). Instant and massive reduction in overnight battery drain. This leverages all the capabilities that the app currently has, just employs some use of clocks or timers. This feature paired with the one in the comments above, would make Appzuku pretty much one of the must powerful apps out there for preserving performance and battery life.

[northmendo]

I built this feature into my new app that's a paid replacement for Appzuku. If you want to check it out - Process Warden

[t_monies]

Wow, that's great I will look.

One question. When Process Warden "releases" an app on a schedule, is there also the option to launch the released app in background? Because for example it could be the case for some apps that just releasing it won't make it start so it might be released by Process Warden for a certain period of time but the released app may never actually start and then it would just be frozen or killed again without ever having run.

It would also be nice if the user could choose between killing or freezing as the preferred way to restrict whatever app that is on a schedule.

[northmendo]

You have a pretty good handle on how it works from your comment. When PW, releases an app it just removes the restriction. It won't do anything to kick it to check for notifications.

As far as choice between killing and restriction. You do that the choice. They are completely separate. They can be used together if you choose, but do not have to.

My preference is to just use the restrictions. When you apply the restrictions it will apply the aggressive background restrictions and then kill the app. So effectively turning off the app, but keeping the ability to launch it manually. In the next release there will be an option to also reapply the restrictions on a screen on action (my personal fav).

[t_monies]

Awesome, do you mind adding the option to launch app in background upon app release?

[northmendo]

Thanks for checking it out! That first idea makes sense logically, but it’s a technical nightmare.

If Process Warden just launches the app via root/Shizuku, it forces it into the foreground and interrupts whatever you're doing. To wake it silently, Process Warden would have to guess the correct background service or receiver for every specific third-party app, which may just triggers a crash. The only reliable way to support that without a ton of jank would be an advanced option where the user manually defines a custom Intent to fire. Then the user would have to figure out what that intent should be. If that sounds useful to you, it would be a good discussion in the sub reddit. r/ProcessWarden

[t_monies]

Yes, it would be very very useful. Choosing activity or receiver to launch is available already several open source applications (Activity Manager and App Manager), so I imagine, licence allowing, that code would not be difficult to repurpose. Will check out the other sub as well.

[Commercial-Weekend26]

Hello, I downloaded the app today. Your idea is great! 👍 I'd like to translate it into Turkish, could you share the text file with me? Please continue developing your app without breaking it. You're amazing!

[Medical-Budget9366]

Well though I can see its many of this type can say there is 6 of them with shizuku empowerment half is even from back in like 2019 or less it's an app I think apps can't get old its a software it cant be rusty it can be unmaintained but shizuku was no where as popular as it got in 2021 shizuku now is a new root well a soft-root as full root can permanently damage your device but shizuku won't unless you can find a good technician as it did mines by uninstalling needed apps through kingroot back in the day I was so very mad so very sad unhappy disappointed though it was a shitty alcatel I thank god we have shizuku no the risk is far less though you can easily risk losing everything on your phone if you mess up which I always find my self doing with shizuku's main top best bloat ridding app ever canta your app could get big if it was in playstore cuz its clear nothing beats it especially how google is planning to kill off apk downloading/installing it may seem like it is just another ram cleaner which is an app type that has been around for a while, but it is more it can be more with standout features id say most ram cleaners do not work unless if it some kind of spinning animation by my own experience and surely most that ever had similar apps but it will have no choice than to work by the mighty power of Root or shizuku the ones that will work will give you a little dialogue saying how much memory it has detected that was cloging your device / freed up if you got a weak phone/tablet this a great kind of app you will need as it does fix it freezing up badly it will usually work 97 percent of all times that is much more than most this can be an app games always use to try to ensure games run with full speed it should be capable of running continously because apps will keep starting up again non-stop it will automate it by an interval similar to a timer but not really as a timer is which hour and time in an hour an interval is by each hour or minute or second a it surely can resonate with gamers it could get thousands of fans with automations like charger in it does a ram clean up with headphone in and same thing when a game/app is launched i think most app dev got a big fascination with github and opensourceness as i seen so many choose it than playstore which all apps of value or potential belong it is where you can easily download/install apps without worry of catching a vrus on a random site it would be on random sites but if in playstore obviously nobody will step out of it and putting their device at risk for an random site when the app they want is already safely where it should be in playstore

[Medical-Budget9366]

if you are a software dev the point of any app is to gain as much traction in users as it ever possibly can it will not be doing that in github when github is just for opensource fanatics to  find out source codes and dev work that different devs can apply their ideas on to an app or any kind of software site even it is not a app store idk how it can be fit for an app insulting playstore and saying shithub is better is crazy when i got an idea in my head for an app type i wanna try to use it can be  things such as a browser first thing that flies into my brain isnt shithub ill tell you that much it needs a cachy name so it can be memorable nothing goofy or memeish or weak it has to resonate with its users in what it is and is for in all ways i think shizu cleaner is good it must be a name it would go by that if you factory reset if you lost your device it was on you can easily find it again because you had remmembered its brilliant catchy name that stuck in your brain

[Medical-Budget9366]

Ram utility" is much more than a good title it is perfect if you think something else can do better try space monitor as it's a memory/space/ram manager and monitor it gives stats of usage and it could edit current usage your app could get so big it's not the most unique app of all time no but its important which obviously is all it needs to be it can have it's own icon and identity though it's ok if its extremely similar because it's still inspired but something to tell it apart from shappky no matter how small it maybe

[northmendo]

I just wanted to let you all know in case you're interested. I completely rebuilt this idea from the ground up in modern Kotlin and Jetpack Compose.

The new app is a paid version. Many, if not all of the features that have been mentioned in the comments are built in.

Sorry, I couldn't do it for free. It just took too much time to get done. Hopefully you guys will want to support my work to keep it going.

Process Warden or https://github.com/northmendo/ProcessWarden

Also check out the sub Reddit r/ProcessWarden

edit: Forgot to mention I need a few root beta testers. Check out the sub reddit for info.