Skylit

A warm, touch-friendly dashboard for an Android photo frame. Live weather, family photos, Google Calendar, Google Home, YouTube, and Momo, a tiny animated canvas robot with a wardrobe and a daily rhythm.

Inspired by Wes Bos’s photo-frame-dashboard. His experiment showed the possibilities of turning a frame into a home dashboard. See credits and third-party notices.

Download the latest signed APK.

These screenshots use synthetic events, weather and generated sample photos, not a household account. They demonstrate the interface, not a live service sign-in.

Overview · Linen	Overview · Ocean dark

Weather · Clear	Weather · Fog

Photo library · Linen	Picture choices in Settings

Falling prints	Photo collage

Calendar	Appearance

Momo context and simpler phone pairing. Phone interface redesign. Settings interaction redesign and before/after screenshots. Android recovery shortcuts and screenshots. P1/P2 review fixes and screenshots. Clock visual critique across sizes. Modular dashboard report and screenshots. Settings navigation, gallery curation and APK. Reference reconstruction of Landscape, Flip and Botanical. Warm responsive clock report. Clock concept refinement and independent review. Stricter clock critique and responsive comparisons. QR phone pairing report. Slideshow controls report. October 11 refinement report with revised screenshots. Earlier implementation report.

The dashboard uses React 18 and TypeScript with Skylit’s existing CSS and local JavaScript service adapters. No hosted backend, Google API key, Play Store or Google Play services is required. Optional phone curation runs a temporary encrypted service on the frame itself. The Android viewer bundles the dashboard for offline startup; online services still need internet. A Mac does not need to remain connected. Google decides whether its sign-in and websites support a particular WebView; a shortcut is not proof of an authenticated connection. See verification and known limits.

Requires Python 3.10+ and Node 18+. Install pinned frontend dependencies and build first:

npm ci --ignore-scripts
npm run build
python3 -m http.server 8765 --bind 127.0.0.1 --directory web

Open http://127.0.0.1:8765. A missing local-config.js is harmless in a fresh checkout. A fresh browser opens the setup guide. Settings save on that browser/device; a desktop preview opens external services in new tabs. Native idle switching is available in the Android app.

Open Settings → Dashboard. Drag a widget in the live canvas to move it and drag its corner to resize. The widget palette, canvas and selected-widget choices share the current layout. Modules snap to a 12 × 12 grid. Drag onto another widget to exchange their slots when both fit; a swap preserves their content and style. Keyboard arrows move a selected widget; Shift + arrows resize it. The preview automatically follows the current screen's proportions.

Tap a gallery preview to add a widget, or drag it into the canvas. The drop preview shows its destination. Select a widget to see its style and options; click empty canvas or Back to widgets to return to the gallery. Corner handles resize it, and the trash action removes it without deleting its underlying content. Changes save immediately, with drag and resize saved on release. Reset to default opens the Balanced, Photos first and Plans first layout choices.

Select Clock & date to choose Landscape, Analog, Flip or Botanical from visual cards. Layouts adapt to landscape 16:9 and 16:10 screens; smaller modules simplify or scroll internally. Narrow previews stack modules. Custom layouts stay local and are excluded from display-preference transfer.

Settings starts with General and uses focused destinations with focused tasks. Appearance provides visible mode, palette and text choices, with Momo in its accessory workspace. Photos opens a task list for browsing, slideshow presentation, collections, delivery, retention and other photo work. Browse pictures normally; Select pictures shows batch actions. Opening a picture provides direct crop editing with explicit saving. Frame contains city/time, daily routine, software updates and Android shortcuts. Help & maintenance contains service recovery, setup help and display transfer.

On Android, Settings → Frame → Software updates checks published GitHub releases and downloads verified APKs. An Update action appears in the sidebar when a release is available. Automatic checks are enabled by default; automatic downloads and installation require your opt-in. Choose an installation window in the city's timezone. Android may ask you to allow Skylit to install packages, or confirm an installation. The browser preview cannot install APKs.

One initial install of version 2.16.0 or later is needed to bootstrap the updater. Future release APKs keep the package, signing key and increasing version code. See update behavior and acceptance and the visual report.

On a fresh install, Skylit opens Set up your frame. Its three cards lead to the existing city, Photos and calendar controls. You can choose Use dashboard at any time and reopen the guide from Settings → Help & maintenance → Open setup guide. An update over an existing installation does not interrupt the current dashboard. The guide never asks for a Google password or stores a private link in the public app bundle.

Before setup, connect the frame to Wi-Fi and confirm its clock is correct. Use the on-frame controls for private information; a desktop preview is for layout only.

1. In Settings → Frame → City & time, find and select your city.
2. In Settings → Photos → Receiving photos, choose a shared Google Photos album or pictures sent to a dedicated Gmail inbox. For an album, paste its sharing link in Photos & idle mode; keep that link out of source control. For email delivery, follow the photo setup and enter an app password only on the frame. Email photos can be browsed, zoomed, and played with Soft fade, Falling prints or Photo collage; choose a style in Settings → Photos → Slideshow. The shared album uses Google's own slideshow.
3. Open Calendar → Calendar options. On your computer, copy the calendar’s Secret address in iCal format from Google Calendar settings. Enter it on the frame with a name and colour. Repeat for each calendar (up to six). See the guided calendar setup; never make a private calendar public. To review which organizers appear on this frame, use Calendar → Calendar options → Who appears on this frame (Review inviters appears on Calendar when decisions are waiting).
4. Open Home and sign in to the account invited to your home. Google Home web capabilities vary by device. Do not expect every mobile-app feature.
5. Open YouTube directly from its tab. Sign-in is optional for public videos.
6. Choose a palette and Light, Dark, or Automatic under Appearance. Automatic uses your weather city’s sunrise/sunset, calculated offline. Until a city is set, it follows the device’s light/dark preference. High contrast is optional; the other palettes use softer colours. Palette/mode choices are saved per browser origin or frame; they do not sync between your computer and the frame.
7. Pick a Momo accessory or New clothes every day, and choose a motion level.

To verify email photos, send a picture to the dedicated inbox, tap Photos → Emailed pictures → Check now, and wait for a saved-picture count. Start the slideshow and confirm it advances. To verify Calendar, add or change an event in Google Calendar, use Settings → Device & status → Calendars → Retry, and confirm the event changes here. A saved credential or a loaded page alone is not a completed setup. See photo setup and calendar setup for troubleshooting and removal.

Sessions live in Android WebView’s normal cookie store. Google pages share that store, so signing in may also sign you into other Google pages on this frame. Skylit never copies your computer’s cookies or stores your Google password.

Calendar is read-only and refreshes every 15 minutes. Manual retry is available in Settings → Help & maintenance. Add and edit events in Google Calendar on your phone. Private feed addresses and last-good event data stay in the app's private Android storage. The desktop preview shows the interface but does not connect or store feeds. No hosted service is needed. Inviter review is a frame-only display rule, not a Google Contacts or invitation setting; calendar setup explains the distinction.

For deployment defaults, you may copy web/local-config.example.js to the ignored web/local-config.js. Normal APK builds deliberately ignore that file. The preferred shareable workflow is to enter settings after installation.

The interface adapts to landscape 16:9 and 16:10 screens. Overview and core Calendar use the available screen height; long agendas, libraries and settings scroll within appropriate sections. The synthetic rendered check covers 960×540 through 1920×1200, both text profiles, and a secondary narrow preview. This is browser coverage, not certification of every Android display.

Household is off in the default rail. Open Settings → Dashboard → Household content to try it and optionally enable navigation or a one-line Overview note. Quiet hours and manual privacy pause are under Settings → Frame → Daily routine. They hide content without changing hardware brightness and leave active videos/manual photo browsing alone.

Settings → Help & maintenance provides coarse service timestamps and recovery controls. Display preference transfer includes only palette/mode/clock/units, text size, Overview preset and Home/YouTube visibility; it excludes city, accounts, feed/album links, pictures, notes and inviter identities. Use Settings → Help & maintenance → Transfer display preferences to export or choose a JSON file. Android uses its document picker; an import is reviewed before applying it. Desktop browsers can download/import the same small file.

Tested: Skylight 150-FRM, Android 12, 1920×1080, Chromium/WebView 95. Other Android hardware may work but is unverified. This repository does not unlock or flash a frame. Start with a device that already permits Android app installation.

Install JDK 17 and the official Android SDK tools, including platform-tools, platforms;android-34, and build-tools;34.0.0. Verify downloads against their publishers’ checksums. Accept SDK licenses yourself. On macOS/Linux, zip must also be available. Windows is not tested.

Create your own signing key; keep it private and retain it for future upgrades:

mkdir -p .local
keytool -genkeypair -keystore .local/skylit.keystore -alias skylit \
  -keyalg RSA -keysize 3072 -validity 10000

Create .local/build.json (absolute paths, all local):

{
  "java": "/path/to/jdk-17",
  "build_tools": "/path/to/android-sdk/build-tools/34.0.0",
  "android_jar": "/path/to/android-sdk/platforms/android-34/android.jar",
  "signing_key": "/private/path/to/skylit.keystore"
}

Set SKYLIT_KEY_PASS in your shell without putting its value into a command committed to Git. Use the same password for the key and keystore. Alternatively, put key_password in the ignored build config. Then:

python3 scripts/build.py
python3 scripts/check_public.py --history --apk dist/skylit.apk
adb -d install -r dist/skylit.apk
adb -d shell am start -n com.wesbos.homehq/.MainActivity

dist/skylit.apk has empty household defaults. --personal instead writes dist/skylit-personal.apk with your ignored local config embedded. Never distribute that personal APK. Installing an update preserves device settings and sign-in sessions.

The legacy package ID com.wesbos.homehq remains for upgrades from our initial installation; it does not imply affiliation. The same signing key is required for updates. Avoid installing over a different Home HQ build with the same ID.

After confirming the dashboard works, optionally make it the Android home screen:

adb -d shell cmd package set-home-activity com.wesbos.homehq/.MainActivity
adb -d shell input keyevent KEYCODE_HOME

Keep the original launcher installed. Record its component before changing HOME. For the first USB-to-Wi-Fi handoff, pairing, unplugged verification and later reconnection, follow wireless setup.

Settings → Open original Skylight app, or a two-finger hold on the dashboard, opens the installed stock app. Nothing in the build disables it. Restore the HOME component you recorded for your own device. On the tested 150-FRM it was:

adb -d shell cmd package set-home-activity com.skylight/odesk.johnlife.skylight.activity.MainActivity
adb -d shell input keyevent KEYCODE_HOME

Do not assume that component or any firmware instructions apply to another model.

See the shared component system and its interactive showcase for control choices, states and adoption boundaries.

node --test tests/*.test.cjs
python3 -m unittest discover -s tests
python3 scripts/check_public.py --history

For a safe demo with made-up events, forecast and generated photos, run python3 scripts/preview.py and open http://127.0.0.1:8767. It stages only public assets, never reads household config, and mocks the forecast, calendar and local photo status in that preview only. Stop with Ctrl-C; restart after code changes. Demo preferences are isolated by the browser origin. Do not enter real credentials into the demo. See testing and design decisions for review criteria and screenshot reproduction.

See AGENTS.md for agent setup, hardware boundaries and verification, architecture for service isolation, and release checklist for privacy, history and release checks. Source and APK publication are separate steps. Ignoring a file does not remove it from old commits, and an APK can contain data that was never committed.

For an agent-led installation: read those guides first; use a normal, empty-config APK; verify the exact ADB device; install in place with the same signing key; then walk the owner through the on-frame guide. Keep private links and app passwords on the frame, test real refresh/playback, and record device changes and undo steps in the private setup record. Never copy a household screenshot or test email into Git.

The slideshow suite report maps the playback, curation and media tools with 36 synthetic screenshots. See the slideshow guide for setup and exact limits.