GitHub - sklndev/Service-Keeper: Android app that monitors and automatically restarts background services, accessibility services, and notification listeners killed by the system, using Shizuku for privileged access.

Features • Screenshots • Installation • Setup • FAQ • Contributing

An Android app that monitors and automatically restarts background services killed by the system. Built with Flutter and powered by Shizuku for privileged shell access.

AI Disclosure: This project was built with significant AI assistance (Claude). All code has been reviewed and tested on a physical device (Android 16, API 36).

✨ Features

Auto Restart Services _{Detects and restarts killed background services automatically}	Flexible Scheduling _{Configurable intervals from 5 min to 4+ hours per service}	Complete Audit Log _{Full timestamped history of every action and outcome}
Accessibility Monitoring _{Re-enables accessibility services when revoked}	Notification Listeners _{Monitors and re-enables notification listeners}	Boot Persistence _{Auto-reschedules all monitors after reboot}
Smart App Relaunch _{Restores your previous app after restart, with idle detection}	100% Private _{No network permissions, no analytics, no ads, fully offline}	Free & Open Source _{GPLv3 licensed, audit the code yourself}

Key Capabilities

🔄 Monitors background services — detects when a selected service is killed and restarts it automatically
♿ Monitors accessibility services — re-enables them if Android revokes access in the background
🔔 Monitors notification listeners — re-enables if disabled by the system
⏱️ Scheduled checks — configurable per-service interval (5 min to 4+ hours)
📝 Audit log — full timestamped history of every detected stop, restart attempt, and outcome
🔁 Boot persistence — reschedules all monitors after device reboot
📢 Per-app notifications — toggle restart alerts per service
🎯 Smart app relaunch — when a service can only be recovered by relaunching its whole app, Service Keeper switches back to whatever you were doing afterward, and lets you control when that's allowed to happen (always, only when idle, only when locked, etc.)

📸 Screenshots

📥 Installation

Service Keeper is free and open source software, and is 100% offline (no network permissions, no analytics, no ads).

Download Options

Method	Details	Status
📦 GitHub Releases	Download APK directly (universal or ABI-specific)	✅ Available
🔄 Obtainium	Add `https://github.com/sklndev/service_keeper` as source	✅ Available
🤖 F-Droid	Official F-Droid repository	🔜 Pending submission
📋 IzzyOnDroid	IzzyOnDroid F-Droid repo	🔜 Pending submission

Note: Metadata for F-Droid/IzzyOnDroid submission is available in fastlane/metadata/android.

⚙️ Requirements

Requirement	Details
Android	8.0+ (API 26), tested on API 36
Shizuku	Must be installed and running
ADB / Wireless Debugging	Required to start Shizuku

Shizuku is a mandatory dependency. Without it, the app cannot execute privileged shell commands to restart services.

🚀 Setup

1. Install Shizuku

Install Shizuku from the Play Store
Enable Developer Options on your device
Enable Wireless Debugging under Developer Options
Open Shizuku → tap Pair using Wireless Debugging and follow the prompts
Shizuku should now show as Running

2. Install Service Keeper

Install from a release APK or build from source (see below). On first launch, grant Shizuku permission when prompted. The app displays a status banner at the top when Shizuku is inactive.

3. Add services to monitor

Tap + on the Services tab → browse running services by app → select what you want to keep alive.

🔧 Building from Source

# Prerequisites: Flutter 3.x, Android SDK (minSdk 26, targetSdk 35)

git clone https://github.com/sklndev/service_keeper.git
cd service_keeper
flutter pub get
flutter run                          # debug on connected device
flutter build apk --release          # release APK
flutter build appbundle --release    # Play Store bundle

🔐 Permissions

Permission	Reason
`FOREGROUND_SERVICE`	Background monitoring service
`QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES`	Enumerate installed services for the picker
`POST_NOTIFICATIONS`	Restart event alerts
`RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED`	Restore monitors after reboot
`WAKE_LOCK` + `REQUEST_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATIONS`	Prevent Doze from deferring checks

🛠️ How it Works

Shizuku bridge All privileged operations go through a single MethodChannel (com.shaunkleyn.service_keeper/shizuku). Kotlin receives calls, spawns a Shizuku process, runs the shell command, and returns stdout to Dart.

Shell commands used:

dumpsys activity services [pkg] — detect running services
am start-foreground-service -n pkg/.Class — restart a service
am force-stop pkg — hard stop before restart

Scheduling

Interval ≥ 15 min → WorkManager periodic task (battery-efficient)
Interval < 15 min → self-chaining one-off tasks (re-schedules itself after each run)
BootReceiver restores all schedules from SharedPreferences on BOOT_COMPLETED

Service detection Parses dumpsys activity services output with a regex that handles both standard and Android 16 output format (which appends c:<caller> before }).

App relaunch and idle detection When a service can only be recovered by relaunching its whole app, Service Keeper captures the currently foregrounded app first, launches the target, waits briefly, then switches back to what you were on. Whether that's allowed to happen right away depends on the configured mode:

No app open: compares the foreground app against the resolved launcher/home package
No activity for a while: reads PowerManager's activity timer straight from dumpsys power, since taps and scrolls reset that timer directly, unlike UsageEvents, which doesn't fire reliably during ongoing scrolling
When locked: checks KeyguardManager.isKeyguardLocked, and defers via a small queue that drains on the next ACTION_USER_PRESENT broadcast

A blocked relaunch is queued and retried automatically once the device becomes idle, so nothing silently gets skipped.

💻 Tech Stack

Flutter — UI and app logic
Kotlin — Android native bridge (Shizuku, WorkManager, icon/name lookup)
Shizuku — Privileged shell execution without root
WorkManager — Background task scheduling
sqflite — Audit event persistence
flutter_local_notifications — Restart alerts
palette_generator — Dynamic app colors extracted from icons

❓ FAQ

Does this app require root access?

No! Service Keeper uses Shizuku for privileged access, which doesn't require root. Shizuku can be started via wireless debugging (ADB) on any Android device.

Will this drain my battery?

Battery usage is minimal. Service Keeper uses WorkManager for efficient background scheduling and only performs lightweight checks at configurable intervals (5min-4hrs). The app respects Android's Doze mode while preventing check deferrals with wake locks.

Why do I need Shizuku?

Android's security model prevents regular apps from restarting services or re-enabling accessibility services. Shizuku provides a bridge to execute these privileged operations without requiring root access.

Does this collect any data?

No. Service Keeper has zero network permissions and operates 100% offline. All data stays on your device. You can verify this in the source code or by checking the app's permissions.

Can I monitor system services?

Service Keeper focuses on third-party app services. System services are managed by Android itself and generally shouldn't need external monitoring.

What happens if Shizuku stops running?

The app will display a banner notification and won't be able to restart services until Shizuku is restarted. Scheduled checks continue running and will resume operations once Shizuku is available.

Does this work with all apps?

Most apps work fine, but some apps with aggressive self-protection or special system configurations may not respond to standard restart commands. The audit log will show any failures.

🐛 Troubleshooting

Shizuku won't stay running

Solution: Enable Start on Boot in Shizuku settings. If your device has aggressive battery optimization, add Shizuku to the battery optimization whitelist.

Services aren't being restarted

Check Shizuku status — ensure it's running (green banner in Service Keeper)
Review audit log — check for error messages explaining why restart failed
Verify service is actually stopped — use Settings → Developer Options → Running Services
Try manual restart — tap the refresh button in Service Keeper to force a check
Increase check interval — some services may need time to stabilize before monitoring

App keeps crashing

Update to latest version — check Releases
Clear app data — Settings → Apps → Service Keeper → Storage → Clear Data
Check Android version — minimum API 26 (Android 8.0) required
Report the issue — open a GitHub issue with crash details

Battery optimization warnings

Service Keeper needs to run in the background. If your device aggressively kills background apps:

Disable battery optimization for Service Keeper (Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization)
Add to auto-start whitelist (varies by manufacturer)
Lock app in recents (available on some devices)

Wireless debugging disconnects frequently

Some devices disconnect wireless debugging when the screen is off. Solutions:

Use USB debugging instead of wireless (requires cable to start Shizuku each boot)
Root and use Shizuku in root mode (if you prefer root)
Enable "Stay awake" in Developer Options when starting Shizuku

🗺️ Roadmap

Planned features and improvements:

Have a feature request? Open an issue with the enhancement label!

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

Ways to Contribute

🐛 Report bugs — open an issue with detailed steps to reproduce
💡 Suggest features — share your ideas in the issues
📝 Improve documentation — fix typos, clarify instructions, add examples
🌍 Translate — help localize the app (currently English only)
💻 Submit code — fork, make changes, and open a pull request

Development Setup

Fork the repository
Clone your fork: git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/Service-Keeper.git
Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
Make your changes and test thoroughly on a physical device
Commit with clear messages: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
Push to your fork: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
Open a Pull Request

Code Style

Follow existing Dart/Kotlin conventions
Add comments for complex logic
Test on physical devices (emulators don't support Shizuku)
Update documentation if needed

Testing

All changes should be tested on a real Android device with Shizuku before submitting.

💖 Support

If you find Service Keeper useful, please consider:

⭐ Star the repository — helps others discover the project
🐛 Report bugs — help improve stability
💡 Share feature ideas — guide future development
📢 Spread the word — tell others who might benefit
🤝 Contribute code — PRs are always welcome!

Acknowledgments

Shizuku — for making privileged operations possible without root
Claude (Anthropic) — AI pair programming assistant used during development
Flutter & Kotlin communities — for excellent frameworks and tools

🤖 AI Disclosure

This project was prototyped and developed with heavy use of Claude (Anthropic). The development approach is commonly called "vibe coding" — iterating rapidly with an AI pair programmer. All generated code was tested on a physical device before shipping. If you find bugs, open an issue.

📄 License

GNU General Public License v3.0 or later

Copyright © 2025 Shaun Kleyn

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

Made with ❤️ and 🤖 • Report Bug • Request Feature

_{Built with Flutter • Powered by Shizuku • Enhanced by Claude}

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
android		android
assets		assets
fastlane/metadata/android/en-US		fastlane/metadata/android/en-US
lib		lib
screenshots		screenshots
test		test
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
pubspec.lock		pubspec.lock
pubspec.yaml		pubspec.yaml
shizu_store.json		shizu_store.json

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