A public repository clones anonymously — that path ran on two cloud phones on 2 November 2026. A private one needs you signed in, and FoldRender offers two ways: Sign in with GitHub in the browser, or Use a code, GitHub's OAuth device flow. Use a code signed in on an emulator the same day, on an account whose repository list came up empty; the browser path was not part of that run, and no private repository was cloned. This page says so where it matters rather than at the bottom in small print.
FoldRender is on the Play Store as FoldRender: Git Repo Reader, package id dev.foldrender.app, free and distributed worldwide. Install it the ordinary way — no allow installs from this source prompt to approve, and updates arrive on their own. The app declares minSdk 30, so it needs Android 11 or newer; Play will tell you if a device is below that rather than letting you install a build that cannot run.
Open the git panel
Open the git panel and tap the gear. Sign-in sits at the top of Settings under Account, because it is the thing you do before the clone rather than after it.
Path A — Sign in with GitHub
Tap Sign in with GitHub and authorize in GitHub; the app reopens by itself. The exchange finishes on foldrender.dev, which briefly handles the token, because GitHub requires a client secret for it and an app that ships to devices cannot hold one. When it lands, Account lists your login with a Sign out button. The build on Google Play has an OAuth client id compiled in, so you get the button rather than a request to paste a client id.
Path B — Use a code
Use a code, beside the sign-in button, talks only to GitHub. The app copies a short code and opens github.com/login/device, with Open GitHub and Copy code to get back to it; you paste the code, authorize, and the token arrives on its own — the panel polls rather than making you come back. It is also what to fall back on when the exchange on foldrender.dev fails.
Set a commit identity while you are in there
On the same screen, Edit beside Commit identity opens Name and Email fields. They are written into a .gitconfig inside the app's private storage, because Android's user.home is / and is not writable — without a real home directory JGit's config loading differs between ROMs. Setting the identity is only relevant if you later commit; pushing a commit is not a verified path.
Clone the private repository
Back on the panel, tap the title. Once you are signed in your repositories are listed there, under Yours, Shared with you and each organization. Pick one, or type owner/repo into Filter, or type owner/repo and tap Open owner/repo, then tap Get the code. Credentials are looked up by host, so the same stored token serves every repository on that host. HTTPS only, because shipping a key agent is a cost the app deliberately does not pay.
Read it
From here it is identical to a public clone: the repository opens as the workspace, the tree lists (slowly on a large repository, behind a spinner with no progress indicator), and every file renders in the right-hand pane. Nothing about a private repository changes how it is read.
How FoldRender handles it
Tokens are write-only from the UI
A saved token is encrypted with an AES-GCM key held in the Android hardware keystore, and it is never read back into a field. The screen that took it clears itself, and no screen in the app displays a stored token — so a screenshot or a shoulder-surfer recovers nothing.
Why sign-in passes through foldrender.dev
GitHub documents client_secret as required on the access-token endpoint for the browser flow, and treats code_verifier as an addition to it rather than a replacement. An app that ships to devices cannot hold a secret, so a small relay on foldrender.dev holds it and finishes the exchange, and briefly handles the token. Use a code needs nothing but GitHub, if you would rather it did not.
A client id is not a secret
The identifier a GitHub OAuth app is issued is public by design; it is compiled into the build rather than being asked for. A build shipped without one falls back to a one-time field for pasting a client id, and if neither is present the panel says plainly that GitHub sign-in is not configured in that build.
What does FoldRender not do?
The honest list — shipped-but-unverified behaviour included, so you can tell before installing whether this build does the thing you came for.
What this page says about the current app was read from its source on 2 November 2026. The same day, the then-current release, built from its tag, was walked signed out on two cloud phones (Galaxy S26 on Android 16, Pixel 9 on Android 15): it cloned a public repository, edited and saved a file, made a local commit with push off, and opened 16 file types, none of them source code. Not part of that run, among other things: push, Sign in with GitHub in the browser, cloning a private repository, PDF search and passwords, HTML find, export, deleting a clone, the diff viewer, and fold and unfold on real hardware. Clean-device results on this page are from an earlier pass, on an earlier build.
No private clone has been verified end to end. The device runs cloned a public repository anonymously. Use a code signed in on an emulator on 2 November 2026, on an account whose repository list came up empty; Sign in with GitHub in the browser was not part of that run. The rest of this page is described from the shipped code and the app's own UI.
HTTPS only. There is no SSH support and no key agent.
Credentials are stored per host, so one token per host rather than per repository. Other Git hosts in the panel's settings stores a token for HTTPS remotes that aren't GitHub, but Get the code fetches from github.com only, so it does not get another host's repository onto the phone.
Once a private repository is cloned, it is readable and its text files can be edited — but push remains unverified, so we are not telling you an authenticated clone gives you a way to change the repository.
The clone lives in app-private storage. No other app can read it; uninstalling the app deletes it.
How does FoldRender compare with the other ways to read a repo on Android?
Four apps people actually reach for, and the one axis that separates them: whether the repository ends up on the phone, and whether anything renders it once it is there.
Prices are for the download. GitHub Mobile’s capabilities follow your GitHub plan; Termux and MGit are both free software. MGit’s version and date are from its F-Droid listing.
What are the numbers behind FoldRender?
Every figure here is read out of the shipping build or off a primary source listed at the foot of this page — nothing is rounded up for effect.
Price: US$0 on Google Play, distributed worldwide. There is no billing library in the build, no subscription and no paid tier to upgrade to.
Current release: the version the Google Play listing shows. This page does not repeat the number, which would be wrong between a release and the next site update. The app's figures here were last checked against its source on 2 November 2026.
Android floor:minSdk 30 — the API level Android 11 shipped with in 2020 — compiled and targeted against API 36.
Highlighting: 65 languages recognised across 89 file extensions, applied lexically to the whole file.
Reading limits: a single file is read up to 32 MB and then flagged truncated; workspace grep skips files over 1.5 MB and stops after 500 matches rather than flooding the pane.
Reference device: the Galaxy Z Fold 7, launched in 2025 — an 8-inch inner screen, 8.9 mm folded, and a 4,400 mAh battery Samsung rates at up to 24 hours of video playback.
The lineage: Git has been public since 2005, so the on-disk format this app reads is 21 years old; Samsung shipped the first Galaxy Fold in 2019, giving Android 7 years of real foldable hardware to target.
The toolkit: the UI is Jetpack Compose, whose 1.0 shipped in 2021, on an OS that has had split-screen multi-window since 2016.
FAQ
Can I clone a private repository on Android?
The app has two sign-in paths for it — Sign in with GitHub in the browser, and Use a code, GitHub's OAuth device flow — and both are in the shipped build. No private clone has been verified end to end: Use a code signed in on an emulator on 2 November 2026, on an account whose repository list came up empty, and the browser path was not part of that run. The verified path is anonymous cloning of a public repository.
How does the GitHub sign-in work?
Tap Sign in with GitHub and authorize in GitHub; the exchange finishes on foldrender.dev, which briefly handles the token, and the app reopens. Use a code talks only to GitHub: you enter a short code at github.com/login/device and the token arrives on its own while the panel polls. Either way the panel then shows the account you signed in as.
Why does browser sign-in go through foldrender.dev?
Because GitHub requires client_secret on the token exchange for the browser flow, and an app that ships to devices cannot hold one. A relay on foldrender.dev holds the secret and finishes the exchange, so it briefly handles the token. Use a code skips it and talks only to GitHub.
Can I use GitLab, Bitbucket or a self-hosted host?
Not to clone from. Get the code fetches from github.com only, and there is no field for another host's address. Other Git hosts, in the git panel's settings, stores a token for HTTPS remotes that aren't GitHub, but it does not get such a repository onto the phone.
What happens to the token I paste in?
It is encrypted with an AES-GCM key in the Android hardware keystore and never read back into the UI. The field is cleared after saving and there is no screen that displays a stored token.
Does signing in let me push?
Signing in stores a credential. Push itself ships in the build but is unverified, so we are not telling you it works. Treat authentication as what gets a private repository onto the device to read.
How much does FoldRender cost?
US$0. It is free on Google Play, distributed worldwide, with no billing library in the build, no subscription and no paid tier.
Which Android versions does FoldRender run on?
Android 11 and newer. The app declares minSdk 30 — the API level Android 11 shipped with in 2020 — and is compiled and targeted against API 36. It is developed and tested on a Galaxy Z Fold 7, which launched in 2025.
Does FoldRender work offline?
Yes, once a repository is on the device. Cloning needs the network; reading, searching, and rendering Markdown, source, PDFs and notebooks out of a clone or a picked folder do not. Signing in to GitHub is optional and only matters for private repositories.
How is this different from GitHub Mobile, Termux or MGit?
GitHub Mobile reads repositories hosted on GitHub and does not clone to the phone. Termux and MGit both clone and then leave rendering to you — Termux gives you a shell, MGit ships no text editor at all. FoldRender clones over HTTPS and renders what it clones, on the inner screen.
Where can I check these claims?
The primary documents behind the figures above, so you can confirm any of them without taking our word for it.