Stroke Input Method (筆畫輸入法)
Stroke Input Method (筆畫輸入法) is a free, open-source keyboard for Android. A minimalist Chinese keyboard. It has 117 GitHub stars and is released under the GPL-3.0-only license, and you can install it from F-Droid and Google Play.
github.com/stroke-input/stroke-input-android (opens in a new tab)
- Android
- Java
- Keyboards
- Actively maintained
About Stroke Input Method (筆畫輸入法)
This keyboard app lets you input Chinese characters by typing stroke sequences (e.g. 天 is ㇐㇐㇒㇔). It is a minimalist implementation with the following features: * Good character support (over 28k characters) including vernacular Cantonese * User preference for traditional or simplified characters * No ads * No permissions * No tracking or telemetry * Deterministic candidate generation which doesn't learn user input After installing the app, launch and follow the prompts to enable Stroke Input Method in your system settings. There will be a default warning shown — this is normal. This app is free and open-source software, licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0-only).
Privacy and F-Droid
F-Droid builds Stroke Input Method (筆畫輸入法) from its published source code and flags anti-features such as ads, tracking or reliance on non-free services.
No anti-features flagged on the latest F-Droid build.
Screenshots
Screenshots from the app's F-Droid listing.
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What is Stroke Input Method (筆畫輸入法)?
Stroke Input Method (筆畫輸入法) is a free, open-source keyboard for Android. A minimalist Chinese keyboard. It has 117 GitHub stars and is released under the GPL-3.0-only license, and you can install it from F-Droid and Google Play.
Is Stroke Input Method (筆畫輸入法) free and open source?
Yes. Stroke Input Method (筆畫輸入法)'s source code is public on GitHub under the GPL-3.0-only license, which is OSI-approved or FSF-free. F-Droid, which builds it from source, flags no anti-features such as ads or tracking on its latest build.
How do I install Stroke Input Method (筆畫輸入法)?
You can install Stroke Input Method (筆畫輸入法) from F-Droid (package io.github.yawnoc.strokeinput) and from Google Play; the links are on this page. Its GitHub repository also publishes releases (latest: v1.7.0).
Is Stroke Input Method (筆畫輸入法) still maintained?
The repository's most recent commit was on Sep 26, 2026. Its F-Droid listing was last updated on Sep 28, 2026. appsgit only lists apps whose repository had a commit in the last six months.