0.1.0-alpha08

The eighth published build. Home scrolls when the list can still move.

Changes in this release

• A long list scrolls from anywhere. Swipe down no longer opens the shade while there are still rows above. Notifications and quick settings open only at the top of the list (left / right). Swipe up at the bottom still opens Overview.
• Hold choices stay visible. Pin and uninstall under a held application are scrolled into view when they would sit below the list.
• Uninstall asks Android. uninstall declares REQUEST_DELETE_PACKAGES, so Android shows its own confirmation instead of refusing the request.
• DONE clears the prompt. After submit, SwiftKey writing the submitted word back is ignored. The field stays empty for every command.

Install

Download the APK below, allow your browser to install unknown applications when Android asks, then open it. To make it your home screen: Settings → Apps → Default apps → Home app → Terminal Launcher, or press Home once and pick it from the chooser.

If Android says the package conflicts with an existing one, uninstall Terminal Launcher first, then install this APK. That happens when the previous build was signed with a different debug key.

Still a debug build, with the same consequences

It is signed with the Android debug key and debuggable, so:

• on a device with USB debugging on, any connected host can attach to the launcher and read what it stored, which is your settings and what you pinned, nothing else;
• a properly signed release will still not be able to update this build. Android refuses an update whose signature does not match, so moving to the signed build will mean uninstalling this one first, which takes your settings and pins with it.

It is also unoptimised, which is why it weighs around 25 MB.

What it does

Two shells, Unix and DOS, chosen in the settings, with the prompt, the command names, the application names, and every message written in that style. Search while you type. Only registered commands run: there is no shell behind the prompt, no Runtime.exec, no arbitrary intent. Pinned applications and shortcuts survive restarts, settings persist, a double tap on Home locks the screen, a swipe down opens the notification shade or quick settings when the list cannot scroll further, and a swipe up opens Overview. Those actions share one accessibility service that reads nothing on screen.

help lists the commands.