fix(app): pin AboutLibraries license JSON so F-Droid reproduces - #90
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F-Droid's reproducible-build verification failed for v2026.07.10.218: the only differing file was res/M7.json — the AboutLibraries-generated license list (res/raw/aboutlibraries.json, renamed by resource shrinking). Its library set is not reproducible because the plugin's build-time collector scans whatever dependency configurations happen to be resolvable in a given build: debug/test artifacts (ui-tooling, ui-test-manifest) leaked into our published APK (55+ libs) while F-Droid's isolated builder under-collected (31 libs, missing even release transitives like androidx.core). A clean local build produced a third set (175). excludeFields=["generated"] fixed the timestamp but not this membership drift. Fix: stop generating the resource at build time (registerAndroidTasks = false) and check in a pre-generated, release-only JSON. Every builder now packages byte-identical bytes. Verified: three consecutive exports are byte-identical (sha 3053e3b1), and the release APK's res/M7.json matches the committed source exactly. filterVariants=["release"] keeps the regenerated file release-scoped; a CI drift check fails if it goes stale. The already-published v218 APK is immutable, so this makes the next release reproducible, not that one.
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Problem
F-Droid's reproducible-build verification failed for v2026.07.10.218. The build itself succeeded — only the copied-signature integrity check failed, and the sole differing file was:
Root cause
The AboutLibraries build-time collector scans whatever dependency configurations happen to be resolvable in a given build, so the embedded library set is not reproducible:
ui-tooling,ui-test-manifest)androidx.coreThe existing
excludeFields = arrayOf("generated")fixed the build-timestamp but not this membership drift.Fix
Stop generating the resource at build time and check in a pre-generated, release-only JSON, so every builder (dev, CI, F-Droid) packages byte-identical bytes:
registerAndroidTasks = false— plugin no longer generates into the APKfilterVariants = arrayOf("release")— keeps the regenerated file release-scopedapp/src/main/res/raw/aboutlibraries.json(178 libs) →R.raw.aboutlibraries, whichLibrariesContainerinLicensesScreenalready reads (in-app Licenses screen unchanged)Regenerate with:
Verification
3053e3b1) — deterministicres/M7.jsonmatches the committed source exactly (sha3053e3b1)ui-tooling/ui-test-manifest/ unit-test libs; timestamp-freeNote
v218 is already published and immutable — F-Droid won't verify it retroactively. This makes the next release reproducible; that's the first tag where the check should pass.