What is activeandroid?

pardom-zz/activeandroid — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-26

★ 4,658JavaAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Save records with save()
      Delete with delete()
      Query without SQL
    Tech Stack
      Java
      Android
      SQLite
      Gradle or Maven
    Features
      Schema migrations
      Custom type support
      Content providers
      Pre-populated DB
    Audience
      Android developers
      Mobile app builders
    License
      Apache 2.0
      Commercial allowed

mindmap root((repo)) What it does Save records with save() Delete with delete() Query without SQL Tech Stack Java Android SQLite Gradle or Maven Features Schema migrations Custom type support Content providers Pre-populated DB Audience Android developers Mobile app builders License Apache 2.0 Commercial allowed

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Build an Android app that saves user data locally without writing any SQL code

USE CASE 2

Manage a local database in an Android app with automatic schema migration when the data structure changes

USE CASE 3

Ship an Android app with a pre-filled database of content that loads on first run

USE CASE 4

Replace Android's verbose SQLite setup code with simple Java objects that save and delete themselves

What is it built with?

JavaAndroidSQLiteGradleMaven

How does it compare?

	pardom-zz/activeandroid	discord-jda/jda	zongzibinbin/mallchat
Stars	4,658	4,659	4,646
Language	Java	Java	Java
Setup difficulty	easy	moderate	hard
Complexity	2/5	3/5	4/5
Audience	developer	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 30min

Add the Gradle or Maven dependency, initialize in your Application class, and annotate your model classes. No SQL setup needed.

Apache 2.0, free to use in personal and commercial projects. You can modify and distribute it as long as you include the license notice.

So what is it?

ActiveAndroid is a Java library for Android apps that handles storing and retrieving data from a local database without requiring you to write SQL. It follows a pattern called Active Record, where each row in a database table is represented as a Java object. You call methods like save() and delete() directly on those objects, and the library translates those calls into the correct database operations for you. The library is aimed at Android developers who find working with SQLite directly to be cumbersome. Android's built-in database tools require a fair amount of setup code, and raw SQL can be error-prone to write and maintain. ActiveAndroid handles the configuration and low-level details so that the application code stays focused on the data itself rather than on how to store it. Features described in the wiki include creating database models, saving and querying records, handling custom data types through type serializers, using Android's content provider system, managing schema migrations as the database structure changes over time, and loading a pre-populated database that ships with the app. The library is added to an Android project through Maven or Gradle using the package com.michaelpardo:activeandroid. It is released under the Apache 2.0 open-source license, which allows use in both personal and commercial projects. The project was created by Michael Pardo, and contributions in the form of pull requests are accepted after review.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

I'm using the ActiveAndroid library (com.michaelpardo:activeandroid) in my Android app. Show me how to create a Model class for a Task with a title and due date, then save and query tasks.

Prompt 2

Using ActiveAndroid for Android, how do I write a query to find all records where a field matches a value, without writing raw SQL?

Prompt 3

I need to add a new column to an existing ActiveAndroid table in my Android app without losing user data. How do I write a migration for this schema change?

Prompt 4

How do I set up a pre-populated SQLite database with ActiveAndroid so my Android app ships with existing data on first install?

Prompt 5

Using ActiveAndroid, how do I create a custom TypeSerializer to store and retrieve a Java enum in the SQLite database?

Frequently asked questions