A minimalist text-based Android launcher.
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- App Slots: Assign apps to 10 fixed launch positions on the screen.
- Customization: Change font (built-in Scope One support) and UI scale.
- App Chest: Archive rarely used apps in a secondary, directly-launchable space.
- Renaming: Custom display names for any app.
Literal Launcher is designed for intentionality, not convenience. A search bar encourages mindless app-opening; Literal Launcher doesn't. Instead, use the Renaming feature to curate your own priority list — prefix an app with 'a_' to bring it to the top, or 'z_' to push it down. It's a small amount of friction that makes you more deliberate about what you launch.
Gestures require muscle memory and are often hidden. Literal Launcher is built on a single principle: Tap what you see. Every element on your screen is a direct target — the clock, the date, the battery level, and six positional slots. That's 10 launch targets, always one tap away — with zero learning curve. The bottom center opens your notification panel. No complex swipes. No hidden shortcuts. Just intentional taps.
Most launchers have a "Hide Apps" feature — but to use a hidden app, you have to dig into settings just to unhide it first.
Literal Launcher introduces the Chest: a secondary space for your "Tier 2" apps.
- Direct Launch: Apps in the Chest are launchable directly, without moving them back.
- Zero Clutter: Your main list stays strictly for "Tier 1" essentials.
- The No-Search Logic: Curate your main list with Renaming, archive the rest in the Chest, and your active app count stays low. When your environment is this organized, a search bar becomes redundant.
Literal Launcher isn't about finding apps faster. It's about needing to find them less.
This launcher may appeal to people who:
- want a distraction-free phone
- prefer fixed tap targets over search
- like minimalist interfaces
- Inspired by μ launcher by jrpie. As a huge fan of μ's philosophy, I wanted to build my own version from scratch using Jetpack Compose. Literal Launcher was born out of my personal need for integrated Date and Battery displays—features I felt were missing—and my desire to challenge myself by crafting the ultimate minimalist environment.
Built with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, developed in Android Studio with Gemini as a reference throughout the process.
- Kotlin / Jetpack Compose
- Target: Android 8.0+