OctoLab Alternative: GitAlchemy vs OctoLab on Android

OctoLab Alternative: GitAlchemy vs OctoLab on Android

Verdict: Both are free, open source GitLab clients on F-Droid, and both sign in with a personal access token. OctoLab is the more established name and is actively released. GitAlchemy is the one to pick if merge request review, to-do notifications without Firebase and an offline copy of recent items matter most to you. We make GitAlchemy, so check our claims against the listings linked below.

We read OctoLab's F-Droid page in October 2026 and did not install it for this page. Where we did not verify something, we say so.

OctoLab

According to its F-Droid listing, OctoLab is a GitLab client for Android that supports gitlab.com and self-hosted Community or Enterprise Edition instances. It is licensed Apache 2.0, and its source is on GitHub. The newest version listed is 1.4.0, added on 12 October 2026, so it is current.

The listing says it signs in with a personal access token and supports several accounts at once, mixing self-hosted and gitlab.com. You can browse, create and comment on issues, review merge request diffs and pipeline status, filter your to-do list, view activity, and browse files, branches, tags, commits and releases. It began as a GitLab focused fork of Octodroid, an open source GitHub client, and is maintained by SecNinjaz.

Two points from the listing are worth knowing. It carries the F-Droid anti-feature label Non-Free Network Services, because it defaults to gitlab.com. And it requests the install packages permission so you can install release APKs from a project's Releases page inside the app. The permission list for 1.4.0 also includes a foreground service, notifications and running at startup. We did not test how its notifications behave.

GitAlchemy

GitAlchemy is a free GitLab client for Android under the MIT licence, available on F-Droid. It signs in with a personal access token and works with gitlab.com and self-hosted instances, with several accounts signed in at once.

What it focuses on:

• Merge request review. Read the diff inline or side by side, comment on any line, and answer and resolve threads.
• Writing. A full-screen editor saves GitLab Markdown and suggests people, issues, merge requests, labels, milestones and emoji as you type.
• Editing. Assignees, labels, milestones and target branch can be changed in the app.
• Notifications. Each to-do on every signed-in account triggers a notification with a Mark done button. They come from polling the GitLab Todos API, not from Firebase.
• Offline reading. Recently viewed issues, merge requests, lists and files stay readable with no signal.
• App lock. An optional lock asks for your fingerprint or screen lock.

The honest downside is size. It has a smaller community and less written material than older clients.

Head to head

Which should you pick?

Pick OctoLab if you want an established open source client with a long release history and you are happy with its feature set. Pick GitAlchemy if you review merge requests on your phone, want Mark done notifications that work without Google services, or want recent items available offline.

Both are fine installs, and trying one costs nothing. For other options, see the Android client comparison, the GitAlchemy vs LabNex page and our roundup of the best GitLab clients.