Sidebar

An Android overlay sidebar for quick access to favorite apps. A pull-tab handle sits on the screen edge and opens a floating panel with quick controls and a grid of your chosen apps.

Features

• Pull-tab handle on the screen edge (left or right) with configurable vertical position, size, opacity, theme, and panel background color
• Floating panel with a quick-controls strip (torch, auto-rotate, auto-brightness, ringer mode) and a scrollable 2-column grid of favorite apps
• All Apps button opens a centered full-screen drawer with a 4-column alphabetical grid and live search; Edit button jumps directly to the Apps tab
• Tap any app to launch it and close the panel; drag-to-reorder favorites via long-press in the Apps tab
• Persists across reboots via a foreground service and boot receiver
• Auto-hides in fullscreen apps (configurable); battery-friendly polling that pauses when the screen is off
• Material Design 3 config UI with four tabs: Handle, Behavior, Control, Apps; swipe left/right to switch tabs
• Handle tab: side, theme, panel color picker (8 presets + custom hex), position, height, width, opacity
• Behavior tab: auto-hide in fullscreen, app labels, vibration feedback, swipe sensitivity
• Control tab: master and per-tile quick-controls toggles; overlay, Do Not Disturb, and system-settings permission management

Gallery

Installation

Download the latest APK from the Releases page and sideload it onto your Android device. Enable "Install from unknown sources" in your device settings if prompted.

Setup

1. Install dependencies

   npm install
   

2. Connect an Android device and run

   npx expo run:android
   

3. In the app, grant the "Display over other apps" permission, then toggle the service on.

4. Optionally grant Do Not Disturb and Modify system settings permissions (Control tab) to enable the ringer and brightness controls in the panel.

Development

Start the Metro bundler:

npx expo start

The debug build connects to Metro over USB or Wi-Fi. For a standalone build:

npx expo run:android --variant release

Project structure

app/
  _layout.tsx       Root stack navigator
  index.tsx         Main settings screen (4 tabs: Handle, Behavior, Control, Apps)
  favorites.tsx     Legacy app picker (kept for reference)
modules/
  sidebar.ts        React Native bridge to the native Android module
android/
  app/src/main/java/com/anonymous/sidebar/
    SidebarOverlayService.kt   Foreground service; floating panel and handle
    SidebarModule.kt           React Native native module
    BootReceiver.kt            Auto-start on device boot