1. What SmsForwarder Does
2. Current Rule Behavior
3. First-Time Setup
4. Practical Notes

SmsForwarder is an Android-only SMS forwarding app built with Flutter. It listens for incoming SMS messages on your device and forwards them through delivery channels that you configure yourself, such as Telegram, Email, or SMS.

What SmsForwarder Does

• Listens for incoming SMS messages on the local Android device.
• Keeps SMS forwarding available through a foreground service.
• Restarts the forwarding service after device boot when enabled.
• Helps request the Android permissions required for reliable forwarding.
• Supports Telegram, Email, and SMS delivery channel configuration.
• Supports basic forwarding rules that bind enabled rules to enabled channels.

Current Rule Behavior

The current rule system is intentionally minimal:

• A rule has a name, a delivery channel, and an enabled state.
• Sender matching and keyword matching are not currently applied.
• When a rule is enabled and its channel is available, every received SMS is forwarded through that rule.

First-Time Setup

1. Install and open SmsForwarder on your Android device.
2. Enable the background forwarding service from the home screen.
3. Follow the in-app prompts to grant required permissions:
   • SMS permission
   • Notification permission on Android 13 and later
   • Ignore battery optimization permission
   • Vendor-specific auto-start permission, when your device provides one
4. Add a delivery channel:
   • For Telegram, enter a channel name, Bot Token, and Chat ID.
   • For Email, enter a channel name, sender account, SMTP server details, and recipient email address.
   • For SMS, choose the SIM/subscription behavior and recipient phone number.
5. Add at least one forwarding rule and attach it to a delivery channel.
6. Send a test SMS to the device and confirm that the target channel receives the forwarded message.

Practical Notes

• Telegram forwarding requires a Telegram bot and target Chat ID that you control.
• Email forwarding requires SMTP access. Some email providers require an app-specific password.
• Android does not provide one universal auto-start setting, so the app can only guide you to the best available vendor settings page.
• On devices with aggressive battery restrictions, you may still need to manually allow SmsForwarder to run in the background.
• SmsForwarder stores channel configuration and forwarding rules locally on the device.