A native Android app for searching and exploring chemical compounds.
Built for students, researchers, and anyone curious about chemistry.
- Grab the latest APK from GitHub Releases.
- Or build from source (see below).
- Search by common name, IUPAC name, CAS number, or CID via PubChem PUG REST
- Real-time autocomplete suggestions as you type, with a scrollable dropdown (toggleable)
- Recent searches tab to access recently searched compounds.
- Favorites tab with filtering, A-Z and atom-count sorting, and manual reordering.
- Compound header showing name, smart-rendered molecular formula, molecular weight, CID and CAS at a glance
- Full identifiers card: IUPAC name, SMILES (full and connectivity), InChI, InChIKey, empirical formula, atom count, bond count, and formal charge (tap any value to copy).
- Info tooltips on each card explaining what each identifier or data type means
- Expanded structural metadata sourced from PubChem, with older cached entries automatically backfilled when needed
- Up to 8 synonyms displayed as tap-to-copy chips
- Elemental analysis with mass percentage bars for each element
- Tap the formula to copy it, or use the inline action to jump into the Isomer Finder
- 2D structure via PubChem PNG images with tap-to-zoom
- 3D model using a fully native Canvas-based engine:
- Drag to rotate, pinch to zoom, auto-spin with pause on touch
- CPK coloring for all 118 elements
- Ball-and-stick model with bonds connected to atom surfaces
- Loading feedback while 3D data is prepared in the background
- Download 2D PNG or 3D SDF files directly to Downloads
- GHS classification fetched from PubChem PUG View:
- Signal word badge (Danger / Warning) with color coding
- GHS pictograms (GHS01 through GHS09) with icons and labels
- Hazard H-codes
Three switchable sources per compound:
- PubChem for scientific descriptions
- Wikipedia for general summaries
- AI via Google Gemini or Groq, with a regenerate button. This is totally optional and it requires your API key from these providers to work.
Eleven chemistry tools accessible from the Tools tab:
- Custom 3D Molecule Viewer : Load any
.sdfor.molfile from your device and view it in the native 3D engine - Molar Mass Calculator : Enter any molecular formula (including parentheses groups and hydrate dot notation) to get the molar mass and a full elemental breakdown by mass percentage, with cursor-aware editing and quick-insert helpers
- Oxidation State Finder : Determine oxidation states for each element in a compound, with support for peroxides, superoxides, ozonides, metal hydrides, and interhalogen compounds. Enter the overall charge for polyatomic ions
- SMILES Visualizer : Paste any SMILES string to look it up on PubChem and view its 2D structure and 3D model
- Reaction Balancer : Balance any chemical equation using matrix-based Gaussian elimination with exact rational arithmetic. Includes quick-insert buttons, live
->to→normalization, and swap-sides control - Isomer Finder : Find up to 20 structural isomers by searching with a molecular formula
- Limiting Reagent : Identify limiting reagent, ratios, and theoretical yield for a balanced equation
- Percent Yield : Compare actual yield against theoretical yield for a target product
- Reaction Scaling : Scale reactants for a desired product amount
- Dilution Calculator : Solve C1V1 = C2V2 for solutions
- Ideal Gas Law : Solve PV = nRT for gases
Tool categories include scrollable filter pills and manual tool reordering.
- Theme mode dropdown (Light / Dark) in Settings
- Compact mode toggle for denser layouts on smaller screens
- Configurable default description source
- AI provider selection with per-provider API key management
- Autosuggestions toggle (scrollable dropdown, toggleable)
- Settings backup and restore using JSON export/import
- Built-in update checks against GitHub releases, with optional notifications
- Local compound cache to speed repeat searches, with clear + custom location controls
- Missing structural metadata for older cached entries is refreshed automatically in the background
- Cached results are labeled in the UI
A hidden debug menu can be unlocked by tapping the build number in the 'About' card five times. It includes:
- Live log viewer : Real-time in-app log buffer (up to 200 lines) capturing search events, API calls, errors, SDF loads, and more, with timestamps. Errors always captured; verbose logs toggle-gated
- Verbose logging toggle : Writes detailed
D/ChemSearchlines to Logcat and the live buffer - Network diagnostics : Tests PubChem, Wikipedia, GitHub releases, Gemini, and Groq endpoints with status and latency reporting
- SharedPreferences inspector : Dumps all stored keys and values (API keys partially masked)
- Memory info : JVM heap usage and system RAM from
ActivityManager - API endpoints : Copies all five base URLs to clipboard for manual testing
- Test update notification : Triggers a sample update alert for verification
- Wipe SharedPreferences : Completely reset all the stored data
- Force crash : Throws a deliberate unhandled exception to verify crash reporting (confirmation required)
- Hide debug settings : Relock the developer menu until the next 5-tap unlock
 |
 |
 |
| Search (Dark mode) | Search (Light mode) | 3D Molecule Viewer |
 |
 |
 |
| Favorites | Tools Page | Identifiers & Element Analysis |
 |
 |
 |
| Synonyms & Description | GHS Safety Information | Molar Mass Calculator |
 |
 |
 |
| Oxidation State Finder | Reaction Balancer | SMILES Visualizer |
| Component | Technology |
|---|---|
| Language | Kotlin |
| UI | Jetpack Compose + Material 3 |
| Networking | Retrofit 2 + OkHttp |
| Image loading | Coil |
| Async | Kotlin Coroutines + StateFlow + lifecycle-aware Compose state collection |
| JSON | Gson |
| 3D rendering | Custom native Canvas engine |
| Storage | SharedPreferences |
| Versioning | Git tag-based version name + commit count version code |
| Source | Used for |
|---|---|
| PubChem PUG REST | Compound lookup, properties, structural metadata, synonyms, descriptions, SDF, autocomplete |
| PubChem PUG View | GHS safety classifications |
| Wikipedia REST API | Compound summaries |
| Google Gemini | AI descriptions |
| Groq | AI descriptions |
| GitHub Releases API | Update checks |
- Android 8.0 (Oreo) or higher (API 26+)
- Internet connection for compound data and AI descriptions
- Android Studio Hedgehog (2023.1.1) or newer
- JDK 11
- Android SDK API 36
INTERNETfor compound data, suggestions, descriptions, and update checksPOST_NOTIFICATIONS(Android 13+) for optional update notificationsWRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE(Android 9 and below) to save 2D PNG and 3D SDF downloads
git clone https://github.com/FurtherSecrets24680/chemsearch-android
cd chemsearch-android
./gradlew assembleDebugOpen in Android Studio, sync Gradle, and run on a device or emulator (API 26+). Debug builds work without any API keys configured.
To install a debug build on a connected device:
./gradlew installDebugRelease builds require a keystore.properties file in the project root:
storeFile=path/to/your.keystore
storePassword=yourStorePassword
keyAlias=yourKeyAlias
keyPassword=yourKeyPasswordThen build via ./gradlew assembleRelease or Build → Generate Signed APK.
AI descriptions require a free API key from your chosen provider, entered in the app's Settings.
| Provider | Model | Get an API key |
|---|---|---|
| Google Gemini | gemini-flash-latest |
aistudio.google.com/api-keys |
| Groq Cloud | openai/gpt-oss-120b |
console.groq.com/keys |
Keys are stored locally on your device and only sent directly to the respective provider.
- Data is fetched directly from PubChem, Wikipedia, Gemini, Groq, and GitHub Releases. No intermediary servers are used.
- API keys, search history, favorites, and cache settings are stored locally using
SharedPreferences. Cached compound data is stored locally on device. - No analytics, tracking or telemetry of any kind.
MIT License. See LICENSE for details.