In 2025, the Android development ecosystem continues to evolve at a rapid pace, offering developers powerful tools and frameworks to build high-quality apps efficiently. While Jetpack Compose has emerged as Google’s recommended toolkit for building modern Android UIs , many other open source tools play a crucial role in streamlining workflows, improving code quality, and simplifying testing and debugging processes.
For both beginners and seasoned developers, exploring tools beyond Jetpack Compose can significantly enhance productivity and app performance. Below, we take a closer look at some of the top open-source Android development tools that are making waves this year.
Android Studio: The Foundation of Android Development
No discussion about Android development tools is complete without mentioning Android Studio, the official integrated development environment (IDE) for Android. It provides a robust set of features including code editing, debugging, performance profiling, and an advanced emulator. Although it’s known for being resource-intensive , its capabilities make it indispensable for most Android developers.
Android Studio supports Kotlin, Java, and even C++ for native code integration. Its seamless integration with other tools like Firebase and GitHub makes it a cornerstone of modern Android workflows .
Kotlin Programming Language: A Modern Alternative to Java
Kotlin has become the preferred language for Android development, offering concise syntax, null safety, and full interoperability with Java. Its growing adoption is reflected in its inclusion as one of the top tools in 2025 . Whether you’re starting a new project or refactoring legacy code, Kotlin simplifies development and reduces boilerplate code.
GitHub: Collaborative Code Management
GitHub remains one of the most widely used platforms for version control and collaboration. With features like pull requests, issue tracking, and CI/CD integrations, it helps teams manage codebases efficiently. Many Android developers rely on GitHub not only for hosting their repositories but also for discovering and contributing to open-source libraries .
Dagger Hilt: Simplified Dependency Injection
Dependency injection is a key aspect of modern Android architecture, and Dagger Hilt offers a clean and efficient way to implement it. By reducing boilerplate and enforcing compile-time correctness, Hilt improves maintainability and testability of Android apps. It is listed among the top 10 Android development tools in 2025 .
LeakCanary: Memory Leak Detection Made Easy
Memory leaks can degrade app performance over time, and LeakCanary is an invaluable tool for detecting them early in the development cycle. This open-source library automatically identifies memory leaks in your app and provides actionable insights to resolve them. It’s especially useful during QA and performance optimization phases .
Espresso and Maestro: Automated Testing Tools
Testing is a critical part of any development lifecycle. Espresso, developed by Google, allows developers to write UI tests with minimal boilerplate. Meanwhile, Maestro and similar tools provide automated testing for multi-device scenarios and complex user flows. These tools help ensure apps behave consistently across different devices and Android versions .
Coil: Image Loading Library for Kotlin
Coil is a modern image-loading library built for Kotlin that uses Kotlin coroutines for asynchronous image loading. It simplifies tasks like caching, transformations, and displaying placeholder images. Given its lightweight nature and compatibility with modern Android components, it’s no surprise that Coil is featured among the top development tools .
Eclipse IDE: An Open Source Alternative
While Android Studio dominates the IDE landscape, Eclipse remains a viable open-source alternative for certain use cases. Though it requires additional plugins and configuration, Eclipse can still be used for compiling Android apps, especially in environments where lightweight or customizable IDEs are preferred .
Conclusion
Jetpack Compose may be the star of modern Android UI development, but a host of open-source tools complement it to create a well-rounded development environment. From version control with GitHub to memory leak detection with LeakCanary, these tools empower developers to build better apps faster. As the Android ecosystem matures, leveraging these resources will be key to staying competitive and efficient in 2025 and beyond.