Page

A calm, private, text-first Android launcher.

Page replaces the Android home screen with a quiet, intentional interface built around actions instead of grids of icons. It is the first step toward a Light Phone–style Android experience that you assemble from open-source apps you already trust — no custom ROM required.

Status: early MVP (v0.1.0). Launcher, app search, default actions, and settings shortcuts work today. See the roadmap for what's next.

---

What Page is

• A launcher, not a ROM. Install it like any app and set it as your default home screen. Nothing is rooted, flashed, or replaced.
• Text-first. Large, readable type. No app icons by default (you can turn them on in settings). Calm spacing, monochrome dark theme, no clutter.
• Privacy-first. No cloud, no analytics, no tracking, no ads, and no Google Play Services dependency. Page requests no runtime or network permissions; it is fully offline.
• Intentional. The home screen asks one question — What do you need? — and offers a short list of primary actions plus a single search/command field.

Privacy guarantees

Page is built so the code can be audited quickly:

• Zero network permission. There is no INTERNET permission in the manifest.
• No telemetry / no ads / no Play Services. None are present as dependencies.
• Narrow package visibility. Instead of QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES, Page declares a small <queries> block to enumerate launchable apps and resolve the handful of intents it uses.
• Local-only settings. Preferences live on-device via Jetpack DataStore.
• Optional, passive notification access. The notification listener is a stub that does nothing intrusive; you must explicitly grant it in system settings.

---

MVP scope

1. Android launcher app (selectable as the default home screen)
2. Text-first home screen
3. Minimal, alphabetical app list
4. Search / command bar (app search + simple command keywords)
5. Basic settings screen
6. Notification digest concept stub (passive listener + data models)
7. Primary actions that open your chosen companion apps, with safe fallbacks

Primary actions

Phone · Messages · Maps · Books · Notes · Music · Camera · Calendar · Files · Settings

Each action prefers a privacy-respecting companion app (configurable defaults in launcher/DefaultApps.kt) and falls back to a generic Android intent so it works even on a stock device. If nothing can handle an action, Page shows a clean message: "No app installed for this action."

---

Build

Requirements

• Android Studio (Ladybug or newer) with a bundled JDK 17+ (JDK 21 recommended)
• Android SDK with API 35 installed
• Min SDK: Android 10 (API 29) · Target SDK: API 35

From Android Studio

1. Open the project folder.
2. Let Gradle sync (it uses the version catalog in gradle/libs.versions.toml).
3. Run the app configuration on a device or emulator.

From the command line

# Build a debug APK
./gradlew :app:assembleDebug

# Install on a connected device/emulator
./gradlew :app:installDebug

The APK lands in app/build/outputs/apk/debug/.

The debug build uses the application id com.pageos.launcher.debug so it can coexist with a release install.

---

Installing the "bundle" (Page + companion apps)

A key thing to understand: Android does not let a launcher silently install other apps. There is no APK that contains other installable apps, and a normal app can't push packages onto the system. So a "bundle" is achieved one of three ways, depending on how turnkey you need it:

1. Side-load everything onto your own device (works today)

Use the provisioning script to install Page plus every companion from their official open-source sources (F-Droid + GitHub releases) over ADB:

# Connect a device/emulator (adb on PATH), then:
./scripts/install-bundle.sh                 # Page + all companions
./scripts/install-bundle.sh --no-launcher   # companions only
./scripts/install-bundle.sh --launcher-only # just build + install Page
SERIAL=emulator-5554 ./scripts/install-bundle.sh   # target a specific device

This is ideal for setting up your own phone, demos, or CI/emulators. It needs adb, curl, python3, and gh. No Google Play / Play Services involved.

2. In-app first-run setup (the product approach — planned)

The right end-user experience is an onboarding screen that detects which companions are missing and deep-links you to install each one (via F-Droid). This keeps Page a single, honest install while still guiding you to a complete setup. Tracked on the roadmap (Phase 2).

3. Turnkey / zero-touch (Phase 4)

For a true preinstalled bundle on a fresh device you need elevated provisioning:

• Device-owner provisioning (QR / NFC / dpm): a managed-setup flow can auto-install a defined app set. This is the "Light Phone-style" turnkey route.
• Your own F-Droid repo: publish Page + a curated app list so users add one repo and install the set from a trusted source.
• ROM-level preinstall (e.g. a LineageOS addon): out of scope for the launcher, but possible later.

Set Page as your default launcher

1. Install and open Page once.
2. Open Settings → Page → Set Page as default launcher (or Android Settings → Apps → Default apps → Home app).
3. Choose Page.

To go back to your previous launcher, repeat and pick the other launcher.

---

Recommended companion apps

Page is a hub for focused, open-source apps. None are bundled; install the ones you want (F-Droid is a great source):

Action	App	Package (verify before relying on it)
Messages	QUIK SMS	dev.octoshrimpy.quik
Maps	Organic Maps	app.organicmaps
Books	KOReader / Readest	org.koreader.launcher / com.bilingify.readest
Notes	Markor	net.gsantner.markor
Music	Auxio	org.oxycblt.auxio
Camera	Open Camera	net.sourceforge.opencamera
Calendar	Etar	ws.xsoh.etar
Files	Material Files	me.zhanghai.android.files
Passwords	KeePassDX	—
2FA	Aegis Authenticator	—
Email	Thunderbird for Android	—

Open Camera is published on SourceForge, not GitHub, so it is not in the companion forks list. Page still opens it via net.sourceforge.opencamera (or any camera app as a fallback).

Forked upstreams of these companion apps live under the same account for easy contribution and pinning.

---

Project structure

page/
├── app/
│   └── src/main/
│       ├── AndroidManifest.xml          # launcher intent filters, queries, no perms
│       ├── java/com/pageos/launcher/
│       │   ├── MainActivity.kt           # thin entry → PageLauncherActivity
│       │   ├── PageLauncherActivity.kt   # HOME activity, hosts the UI
│       │   ├── data/                     # AppInfo, AppRepository, PagePreferences
│       │   ├── launcher/                 # DefaultApps, intent + system-settings handlers
│       │   ├── assistant/                # PageAction + deterministic IntentParser
│       │   ├── notifications/            # passive listener stub + digest models
│       │   └── ui/                       # theme, components, screens, ViewModel
│       └── res/                          # monochrome theme, strings, adaptive icon
├── gradle/libs.versions.toml             # version catalog
├── settings.gradle.kts
└── build.gradle.kts

Architecture notes

• Deterministic assistant seam. IntentParser maps typed text to a PageAction. It is intentionally rule-based (not AI). Phase 3 can swap in an on-device intent router behind the same signature without touching the UI.
• Single UI source of truth. Both activities render the shared PageApp composable, so there is no duplicated screen logic.
• Themeable by tokens. Colors, type, and spacing live in ui/theme as tokens (light tokens are already defined for a future light mode).

---

Roadmap

Phase 1 — MVP (current)

• Launcher home screen
• App search
• Default actions with fallbacks
• Settings shortcuts

Phase 2

• Favorites editor
• Hidden apps
• Notification digest (build the real digest from the listener)
• Focus mode
• Better default-app selection UI

Phase 3

• Local AI intent router (on-device)
• Voice command support
• On-device model integration
• Offline assistant

Phase 4

• Device owner mode
• Kiosk / deep focus mode
• Optional LineageOS integration

---

Contributing

Page is open source under the GPL-3.0. Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please keep the privacy guarantees above intact: no cloud AI, no analytics, no tracking, no ads, and no Google Play Services dependency.

Look for TODO(verify) and TODO(phase2) comments for good first tasks.