Get Installed Apps

Summary

• Internal name: GetInstalledApps
• Category: Package Manager
• Purpose: List all applications installed on the device as a JSON array. Each entry contains the package name, label, version, and system/enabled flags.
• Task type: Normal

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Compatibility

• Minimum AndroMate version: 1.1.0

• Maximum AndroMate version: 1.1.0

• Minimum Android: Android 13 (API 33)

• Maximum Android tested: Android 16 (API 36)

• Required permissions: QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES

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Detailed description

The Get Installed Apps task enumerates every package on the device via PackageManager.getInstalledPackages() and produces a JSON array. System apps are excluded by default; enable include_system to include them.

The output is lightweight — it does not read the APK size per app (which would require file-system access for every package), keeping the task fast even on devices with hundreds of apps.

Since Android 11 (API 30), apps cannot enumerate other packages by default (package visibility filtering). AndroMate declares the QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES permission so the full list is visible.

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Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Possible values / Rules	Android Compatibility	AndroMate Compatibility	Default
include_system	Boolean	No	true to include pre-installed system apps	Android 13 (API 33) → Android 16 (API 36)	1.1.0 → 1.1.0	false

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Output parameters

Field	Type	Trigger condition	Android Compatibility	AndroMate Compatibility	Default
json_array_output	JSON Array	Always on success — array of installed app objects	Android 13 (API 33) → Android 16 (API 36)	1.1.0 → 1.1.0	<ANDROMATE_NULL_VALUE>

Array element structure

Each element of json_array_output has the following shape:

{
  "packageName": "com.whatsapp",
  "appName": "WhatsApp",
  "versionName": "2.24.1",
  "versionCode": 24001,
  "isSystemApp": false,
  "isEnabled": true
}

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Exceptions

This task does not throw exceptions. If no apps match, an empty JSON array is returned.

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Execution flowchart

flowchart TD
    Start([▶ GetInstalledApps]) --> List[📦 getInstalledPackages]

    List --> Loop[🔁 For each package]

    Loop --> SystemCheck{System app and\ninclude_system = false ?}

    SystemCheck -->|Skip| Loop
    SystemCheck -->|Keep| Build[🧩 Build JSON object\npackage, name, version, flags]

    Build --> Loop

    Loop --> Store[💾 Set json_array_output\nJsonArrayTaskResult]

    Store --> Success([✅ JsonArrayTaskResult])

    style Start fill:#e3f2fd
    style Success fill:#c8e6c9
    style List fill:#fff9c4
    style Build fill:#f3e5f5
    style Store fill:#c8e6c9

How it works:

1. List: getInstalledPackages() returns all packages
2. Filter: system apps are skipped unless include_system is true
3. Build: a JSON object is built for each app (package, label, version, flags)
4. Store: the JSON array is written to json_array_output
5. Result: returns JsonArrayTaskResult

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Code examples

Example 1 — List user apps only

{
  "GetInstalledApps": [
    {
      "id": "1",
      "title": "List user apps",
      "include_system": false,
      "json_array_output": "$apps"
    }
  ]
}

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Example 2 — Include system apps

{
  "GetInstalledApps": [
    {
      "id": "2",
      "title": "List all apps",
      "include_system": true,
      "json_array_output": "$all_apps"
    }
  ]
}

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Input parameter details

include_system — Include system apps

Controls whether pre-installed system apps appear in the result.

• false (default): only user-installed apps are listed
• true: system apps (those with FLAG_SYSTEM) are also included
• Supports variable interpolation (e.g. $with_system)

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Output parameter details

json_array_output — Installed apps list

Stores the full list of installed apps as a JSON array in the specified workflow variable. Each element is an object:

Key	Type	Description
packageName	String	Package identifier (e.g. com.whatsapp)
appName	String	Display label (e.g. "WhatsApp")
versionName	String	Human-readable version (e.g. "2.24.1")
versionCode	Number	Integer version code (e.g. 24001)
isSystemApp	Boolean	true if a pre-installed system app
isEnabled	Boolean	true if the app is enabled

The array can be further processed with the JSON Object Operation task (e.g. read its size, iterate, extract a field).

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Complete JSON example

{
  "GetInstalledApps": [
    {
      "id": "1",
      "title": "Get Installed Apps",
      "include_system": false,
      "json_array_output": "$INSTALLED_APPS"
    }
  ]
}