cross-posted from: https://lemdro.id/post/46516699
Opens PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, photos, video, audio, Markdown and code, all rendered on the device. About 5 MB, one build for every processor, Android 8.0 and up.
Search works in every document type. PDF text selects, copies and reads aloud to a screen reader, and there is a night mode that turns the paper black and leaves most photographs alone.
Its permissions page is empty and the manifest has no INTERNET so it can’t open a network connection. Files reach it through the system picker, an Open-with intent, or a folder you grant once. The About screen asks Android what the app requests and shows you the result.
Not an editor. Legacy .ppt does not open. Complex PowerPoint renders approximately.
I will be in the comments today, so ask away, including why it isn’t on F-Droid yet.
lmaoo
Any vibe-coded parts?
A lot of it was written with AI, yes, under my direction, and every push runs the test suite in CI.
The no-permissions part doesn’t rest on trusting the code, though. The build fails if a permission is added, the About screen shows what Android says the app requests, and it’s MIT, so the code is there to read.
If anything in it looks wrong, open an issue and I’ll look into it: https://github.com/mokshablr/gander/issues
Would you consider adding it to f-droid?
Yes! I opened a request with F-Droid in July and it’s waiting for a reviewer: https://gitlab.com/fdroid/rfp/-/work_items/4138
Until then, the GitHub releases work with Obtainium.
Thank you!
Obtainium
TIL
It’s a good one. It installs apps straight from their GitHub releases and keeps them updated. Gander’s README has a one-tap link to add it.
this whole time i’ve been doing the hard way – manually sideloading. :p
well no more of that now, glad i got to share 😄
it’s sort of too bad that the side loading i’ve done so far wasn’t difficult; because if it had been difficult, i would have gone out looking for something like obtainium. lol
Well, it opened a pptx with embedded videos without a problem. That’s nice!
What Gander name means?
edit: Also, I’m not informed in the very least what security measures may apply here, I mean against random files users may open. It would not hurt to consult with an expert.
Glad the pptx worked!
The name is from “take a gander” which is like slang for “take a look”. A gander is also a male goose hence the icon. 😛
Gander treats every file as untrusted. Documents render in a WebView that runs only Gander’s own scripts and loads nothing except Gander’s own code and the file you opened. With no internet permission, a file that got past that still couldn’t reach the network.
Nobody outside has audited it yet, and you’re right that it wouldn’t hurt.
SECURITY.mdlists what a file should never be able to do, and how to report one privately: https://github.com/mokshablr/gander/blob/main/SECURITY.md
