Vanadium WebView Manager (Magisk / KernelSU / APatch)

Installs and updates Vanadium WebView, Vanadium Browser and Vanadium Config from GrapheneOS, with a WebUI to manage them. Sets Vanadium as the active system WebView and includes a built-in anti-bootloop protection.

What is Vanadium?

Vanadium is the hardened, Chromium-based browser and Android System WebView developed by GrapheneOS, focused on security and privacy.

Components

Component	Package	Purpose
WebView	app.vanadium.webview	System WebView used by other apps to render web content
Browser	app.vanadium.browser	The Vanadium web browser
Config	app.vanadium.config	Configuration data for Vanadium (see below)

What does Vanadium Config do?

Vanadium Config is a data-only package: it has no code and requests no permissions. It ships the configuration that Vanadium reads:

• Feature flags applied to Vanadium.
• Content filter lists used by the built-in content blocker: EasyList + EasyPrivacy as the main list, plus EasyList Germany as a supplemental list when the German language is enabled.

If Config is not installed, or is not signed with the key Vanadium was built to trust, Vanadium falls back to the standard Chromium filter lists. Installing it is optional, but recommended if you want Vanadium's own blocking lists and flags.

Features

• Install and update WebView, Browser and Config from the WebUI.
• Check for updates button: compares the installed version of each component with the latest one on GitLab and highlights the ones that can be updated.
• Uninstall Browser and Config (with a confirmation dialog).
• Shows the installed version of each component.
• Automatically activates Vanadium as the system WebView on every boot.
• Keeps version and versionCode in module.prop in sync with the installed WebView.
• Built-in anti-bootloop protection (see below).
• Action button in the root manager opens the Telegram channel.

Requirements

• Root with Magisk, KernelSU, KernelSU Next or APatch.
• Android 14 or newer (API 34+).
• arm64 device.
• Meta Module (I recommend NoMount)
• Internet connection, both during installation and when using the WebUI (APKs are downloaded from the GrapheneOS GitLab).

Installation

1. Flash the module zip from your root manager.
2. The installer downloads Vanadium WebView from GitLab and shows the progress.
3. It installs the WebView overlay and disables the conflicting stock WebView packages (com.android.webview, com.google.android.webview and com.google.android.trichromelibrary).
4. Reboot.

On LineageOS-based ROMs the WebView is placed in system/product/app/VWV; on other ROMs in system/app/VWV.

Usage

1. Open the WebUI:
   • KernelSU / KSU Next / APatch: from the module list.
   • Magisk: use KSUWebUI or MMRL.
2. Tap Check for updates to see what is new, or tap Install / Update next to each component.
3. Use Uninstall to remove Browser or Config.

Download time depends on your internet connection and the server.

Anti-bootloop

The module includes an automatic protection, enabled by default. No setup or renaming is needed: it is already included as post-fs-data.sh.

How it works

1. On every boot, post-fs-data.sh adds 1 to a counter stored in .bootcount.
2. When the boot completes successfully, service.sh resets the counter to 0.
3. If the device fails to complete boot 3 times in a row, the module:
   • disables itself (creates the disable file),
   • re-enables the stock WebView packages,
   • uninstalls Vanadium WebView and its library.

After it triggers

1. The device boots with the stock WebView.
2. Re-enable the module from your root manager.
3. Reinstall the WebView from the WebUI.

Limitations

• It only detects boots that never reach boot_completed. If the device boots and then reboots on its own afterwards, the counter is reset and it is not detected.
• It cannot fix a bootloop caused by something unrelated to this module.

Manual recovery

If your device is stuck in a bootloop and the protection did not trigger, disable the module from recovery or ADB:

touch /data/adb/modules/VanadiumWebviewManager/disable

To enable it again, remove that file:

rm /data/adb/modules/VanadiumWebviewManager/disable

Uninstalling the module

When you remove the module from the root manager, uninstall.sh runs and:

• re-enables the stock WebView packages,
• uninstalls Vanadium WebView and its library.

Vanadium Browser and Vanadium Config are not removed automatically. Uninstall them from the WebUI before removing the module, or from Android settings afterwards.

Notes

• Vanadium is not officially supported outside GrapheneOS. On other ROMs it can't provide all of its hardening and features, and the WebView may not work on every device or ROM.
• WebView has no uninstall button in the WebUI on purpose: removing the system WebView can break apps that depend on it.
• Updating from the WebUI installs over the existing package (pm install -r). Android rejects installs with a lower version than the one already installed.
• The module version shown in the manager follows the installed WebView version and is updated after each WebView update and on every boot.

Module structure

File	Purpose
customize.sh	Installer: checks Android/arch, downloads the WebView, installs the overlay
post-fs-data.sh	Anti-bootloop counter
service.sh	Resets the counter, activates Vanadium as the WebView, syncs module.prop
syncprop.sh	Updates version and versionCode from the installed WebView
vmgr.sh	Downloads, installs and uninstalls components (called by the WebUI)
uninstall.sh	Restores the stock WebView when the module is removed
action.sh	Action button: opens the Telegram channel
webroot/	WebUI
bin/curl	Bundled curl used for downloads
overlay/	WebView overlay

Support

Telegram: @modulostk

Extras

• Donations: PayPal - LiberaPay - Ko-fi - Binance - SociaBuzz - More

Credits

• Zackptg5 for the MMT-Ex template
• Topjohnwu for making Magisk
• GrapheneOS for Vanadium.
• APKs are downloaded from the Vanadium repository.