feat(root): refactor root access by researchxxl · Pull Request #107 · researchxxl/syncthing-android

researchxxl · 2026-01-10T13:59:43Z

restore outdated and buggy old root code
migrate settings screen to kotlin
use a maintained libsuperuser dependency instead of the old unmaintained one
add code conflict detection works with root

step 1 restore outdated and buggy old root code

vale981 · 2026-01-26T15:14:28Z

Currently running the debug build :). Can confirm that this works. Thanks :)

vale981 · 2026-01-26T19:11:18Z

Currently the "Run Script" feature does not work as the scripts ion ".stfolder" are likely not accessible due to permission issues. Would it be possible to fix this?

researchxxl · 2026-02-15T02:22:09Z

@vale981

Currently the "Run Script" feature does not work as the scripts ion ".stfolder" are likely not accessible due to permission issues. Would it be possible to fix this?

pls look at util.runScriptSet and runShellCommandGetOutput(command, false).. if you set true you will get root exec of the scripts

needs secure and proper implementation tbh for being accepted here and file permissions should be checked before

researchxxl · 2026-02-20T12:55:14Z

@dbhavsar76 may i kindly ask if you like to have fun with this?? it is also ok for me if you dont take the challenge

dbhavsar76 · 2026-02-20T18:01:00Z

I'll see what i can do. No promises. Meanwhile, I have the drawer ready.

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR refactors the app’s “run Syncthing as root” support by introducing a root capability check, adding a user-facing root toggle in settings, and updating service/runtime behavior to execute process management and permission-repair steps with root where appropriate.

Changes:

Add RootAccess helper and a new “Run Syncthing as Superuser” preference, wiring it into the settings UI and runtime startup logic.
Adjust shell-command helpers and Syncthing process management to optionally execute via su, including environment setup when launching Syncthing under root.
Attempt to repair app data permissions/SELinux contexts when config read/write fails (to recover from prior root-owned files).

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 11 out of 11 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
gradle/libs.versions.toml	Adds `libsuperuser` version + catalog entry for root availability checks.
app/build.gradle.kts	Adds the `libsuperuser` dependency to the app module.
app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml	Adds user-facing strings for root toggle + root denial toast.
app/src/main/java/com/nutomic/syncthingandroid/util/Util.java	Adds permission-fix helper and root-capable shell execution helpers.
app/src/main/java/com/nutomic/syncthingandroid/util/ConfigXml.java	Attempts permission repair before failing config parse/save due to access issues.
app/src/main/java/com/nutomic/syncthingandroid/settings/SettingsBehaviorScreen.kt	Adds UI switch to enable/disable root mode and restarts service on change.
app/src/main/java/com/nutomic/syncthingandroid/service/SyncthingService.java	Stops treating `use_root` as deprecated during pref import.
app/src/main/java/com/nutomic/syncthingandroid/service/SyncthingRunnable.java	Runs process discovery/kill and syncthing launch via root when enabled.
app/src/main/java/com/nutomic/syncthingandroid/service/Constants.java	Introduces `PREF_USE_ROOT` constant.
app/src/main/java/com/nutomic/syncthingandroid/root/RootAccess.java	New helper for blocking root availability check via libsuperuser.
app/src/main/java/com/nutomic/syncthingandroid/receiver/BootReceiver.java	Kills leftover SyncthingNative after app update when running in root mode.

Suppressed comments (1)

app/src/main/java/com/nutomic/syncthingandroid/util/ConfigXml.java:1267

Same pattern as in parseConfig(): after attempting fixAppDataPermissions(), re-check writability before proceeding, otherwise the method may continue and fail later when trying to write the temp file/rename, while the log suggests the permission issue was handled.

        if (!mConfigFile.canWrite() && !Util.fixAppDataPermissions(mContext)) {
            Log.w(TAG, "Failed to save updated config. Cannot change the owner of the config file.");
            return;
        }

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Signed-off-by: Jonas <244199422+researchxxl@users.noreply.github.com>

feat(root): refactor root access

802ae36

step 1 restore outdated and buggy old root code

researchxxl added the enhancement New feature or request label Jan 10, 2026

This was linked to issues Jan 10, 2026

[root] Updating shows error : "failed to read the configuration" #49

Closed

[root] Add Full Device Storage Access #60

Closed

readd imports dropped in e778efb

5d03d39

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researchxxl mentioned this pull request Jan 10, 2026

build(nel0x): add bundleRelease #97

Closed

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researchxxl requested a lite review from Copilot August 4, 2026 07:18

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Copilot AI reviewed Aug 4, 2026

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Comment thread app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml

Comment thread app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml Outdated

Comment thread app/src/main/java/com/nutomic/syncthingandroid/service/SyncthingRunnable.java

Comment thread app/src/main/java/com/nutomic/syncthingandroid/util/ConfigXml.java

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researchxxl force-pushed the refactorRoot branch from 2debb5a to fb0b138 Compare August 4, 2026 08:01

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researchxxl added 7 commits August 4, 2026 10:06

Merge branch 'main' into refactorRoot

ee19dac

fix bootreceiver

be5253e

util: add useroot to new funcs

db3f0b9

fix restapi

08a7d37

add preference.java

40788a7

fix syncthingservice

8ec299e

fix conflict detector not working in root mode

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preference into appprefs

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simplify util

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feat(root): refactor root access - #107

feat(root): refactor root access#107
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researchxxl commented Jan 10, 2026 •

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