Google Play covers my bank app, streaming services, and most of the polished everyday stuff Android is built around. The more interesting apps usually live off to the side, which became pretty obvious after I installed ShizuStore on my Galaxy S24 Ultra and started poking through a catalog full of debloaters, package managers, system tweakers, and other tools built around Shizuku.
ShizuStore gives that scattered corner of Android a proper home. Shizuku gives many of those apps access to deeper Android plumbing.
You have to wake Shizuku up first
Wireless Debugging is the little ritual behind the whole setup
ShizuStore doesn’t really come alive until Shizuku is running. Shizuku starts a privileged service through ADB or root, then compatible apps can ask to use that service for Android APIs they normally wouldn’t be allowed to call. On an unrooted phone running Android 11 or newer, Wireless Debugging is usually the easiest way in.
On my Galaxy, the setup went like this:
- Enable Developer options and Wireless Debugging.
- Start Shizuku and finish the pairing process.
- Approve ShizuStore when Shizuku asks for access.
If Wireless Debugging is new to you, our guide to Android Developer options worth using covers the menu itself, while the Android Debug Bridge guide explains what’s happening under the hood. You probably need to keep Shizuku’s official setup guide open too, because some manufacturer skins can make the pairing process a little finicky.
Once that’s done, ShizuStore can use Shizuku for silent installs. The important bit is that an app you install through ShizuStore doesn’t automatically get the same access. When I opened Essentials afterward, it asked for its own Shizuku permission before any of its privileged features would work.
Keep that separation in mind before you start handing out system-level access. Wireless Debugging also doesn’t make Shizuku permanent on an unrooted phone, so after a reboot you’ll usually need to restart the service.
I kept finding apps Google Play wouldn’t willingly show me
This is where Android’s odd jobs live
ShizuStore’s categories read like a checklist of jobs Android enthusiasts eventually build for themselves. You’ll find apps for software management, Quick Settings, networking, automation, file handling, power controls, task management, privacy, Samsung One UI tweaks, and plenty of more niche jobs.
Canta is a good example. It uses Shizuku to uninstall preinstalled and user apps without root, then leans on the Universal Debloat List for recommendations. Anyone who’s already tried removing Samsung’s stubborn preinstalled apps will know the general territory, except Canta keeps the whole process on the phone.
Removing the wrong package can leave you staring at a factory reset, so those recommendation labels aren’t a license for a scorched-earth cleanup spree.
Hail comes at the same problem from another angle, letting you disable, suspend, or freeze apps through several privilege modes, including Shizuku. Essentials, which I installed while testing ShizuStore, casts a wider net. Its current toolkit includes system tweaks, button remapping, app freezing, UI changes, and a bunch of other controls that can use Shizuku or root as the shell provider.
I ended up spending most of my time using ShizuStore to discover apps. The catalog pulls in projects from GitHub, GitLab, F-Droid, Codeberg, and other upstream sources, then wraps them in enough context that browsing doesn’t turn into a scavenger hunt across half a dozen websites.
I spent most of my time on the individual app pages. ShizuStore shows permissions, changelogs, screenshots, repository stats, download details, and links back to the source. A newer How Shizuku is used panel also generates an explanation from the app’s public source code. ShizuStore also checks for known advertising and tracking libraries against the Exodus Privacy tracker list. On the Essentials page, for example, it flagged Sentry as a crash-reporting tracker.
GitHub apps are easy to install and easy to forget
ShizuStore remembers where all those APKs came from
Finding an APK usually takes a few seconds. Six months later, remembering which GitHub release, F-Droid page, or random project site it came from is the irritating part.
ShizuStore avoids creating another download silo. It fetches APKs from each developer’s upstream source instead of rehosting them, then keeps the app tied to that project for future updates. You can have it check for new releases anywhere from every six hours to once a week, limit background checks to Wi-Fi, and let trusted apps update automatically. With Shizuku running, those updates can also install silently, so you aren’t tapping through Android’s installer every time an app you already trust gets a new build.
There’s still room to be more hands-on. ShizuStore can pass a project over to Obtainium, save the APK to Downloads without installing it, and show you the changelog before an update goes through. I like those options because I don’t want privileged apps to run every update on autopilot.
All that bookkeeping gets more valuable as Google tightens Android sideloading and adds an escape hatch for experienced users. A clear trail back to the original developer, the current release, and the exact APK you installed takes a lot of the guesswork out of living outside Google Play.
F-Droid already gives open-source Android apps a dedicated home, but ShizuStore is going after a narrower problem. It rounds up apps built around Shizuku and other elevated workflows, then keeps their upstream sources, updates, and install details in one spot, so you don’t have to backtrack through half a dozen repositories.
I’m keeping this side door open
Shizuku gives these apps enough reach that I don’t want installing them to become a reflex. Before I tap Allow, I want to know who maintains the app, what it plans to do with Shizuku, and whether its permissions add up. ShizuStore won’t make that call for me, and I’m fine with that. It just lays out enough evidence that I can decide without launching a mini-forensic investigation every time.
