# ✦ Zenith Launcher — the handbook

_The complete user manual: every gesture, every menu, every button, every
setting. Written to be read straight through, searched in a hurry, or quoted
verbatim by someone helping another person._

**Build** b0.8 · **Android** 8.0+ · **Developed by** Black Syntax ·
**Published by** Friend Castle · zenith@blacksyntax.com

Web version: https://zenith.blacksyntax.com/user-guide/
Machine-readable reference: https://zenith.blacksyntax.com/user-guide/reference.json

---

## 01 · How to read this

Zenith names things the way it draws them. A folder is a star that opens
another ring. Going back is retracing your own line.

### Notation

| Written as | Means |
| --- | --- |
| `settings › system` | A path through menus. |
| **hold** | Press and keep the finger down. Never a quick tap. |
| **slide** | Move the finger that is already down. |
| **lift** / **release** | Take the finger off. This is what commits an action. |
| **dwell** | Stop moving and wait, finger still down. |
| **dp** | Android's screen unit — same physical size on every phone. |
| **(gold)** | Requires the one-time Zenith Gold unlock. |

### The glyphs

| Glyph | Name | What it is |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ✦ | star | Zenith's signature; marks a choice, sits at a ring's heart |
| ✛ | add | Top dock button — puts a new star on the ring |
| ◈ | icon | Second dock button — changes the touched star's picture |
| ✎ | edit | Third dock button — opens the star editor |
| − | remove | Bottom dock button — takes the touched star off the ring |
| ⚙︎ | settings corner | Lower-left; tap it or hold the corner |
| ‹ | back | Latched-mode button, lower right — folds one ring shut |
| ◉ | activate | Latched-mode button — opens the selected star |
| ◎ | re-place | Move a star to a new angle and orbit |
| ☄ | comet | A notification drifting across the sky |
| ⤢ | resize | Cycles a floating widget through three sizes |
| ⋮ | more | Row menu (talisman list) |
| › | deeper | A row that opens something |
| ⟂ | overridden | This control is being forced by an accessibility setting |

### The mental model, in four sentences

1. **The sky is empty on purpose.** Nothing is drawn until you touch it.
2. **Where you start the hold matters.** The screen can be split into up to 9
   regions, each keeping its own constellation.
3. **Only the top ring exists.** Descending into a folder hides the ring you
   came from, leaving one chevron at the exact point your line came from.
4. **Releasing is committing.** Lift on a star to open it; lift on empty sky to
   dissolve everything and change nothing.

---

## 02 · Install & first run

Zenith works the moment it is installed, but it is meant to be your home app.
Setting it as the default launcher is what makes the home button return you to
the sky — and what unlocks app shortcuts and Direct.

### The welcome walkthrough

| Step | Card | Asks for | Skippable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 0 | welcome to zenith | Nothing — states the privacy position | — |
| 1 | make zenith your home | The default-launcher role | yes |
| 2 | zenith actions | The optional accessibility service | yes |
| 3 | notification comets | Notification access | yes |
| 4 | weather & your real sky | Coarse location | yes |
| 5 | how should the sky begin? | A choice: starter ring, or bare sky | — |

Granted permissions are detected live — enable something in system settings,
come back, and the card updates to "enabled ✦".

### What "starter ring" places

Region 1 gets up to seven everyday apps at the compass points plus a **media**
folder at 6 o'clock. Only installed apps are placed.

| Angle (0° = up, clockwise) | App |
| --- | --- |
| 0° | Phone / dialler |
| 45° | Messaging |
| 90° | Email |
| 135° | Gallery / Photos |
| 180° | **media** folder (YouTube, YT Music, Spotify, TikTok, VLC) |
| 225° | Calendar |
| 270° | Clock / alarms |
| 315° | Tasks |

Replay it any time: `settings › system › guidance › replay welcome →`.

### First-time hints

Eight one-time cards, each firing on its event: the sky first appearing, your
first ring, a folder ring, the add sheet, Deep Sky, the Star Index, a talisman
cast, and settings. Turn them off at `settings › system › guidance ›
first-time hints`; re-arm them with `reset hints`.

---

## 03 · The core gesture

One finger, one continuous motion: **hold · bloom · slide · lift.**

1. **Press and hold on empty sky.** A spark grows; after the hold delay
   (220 ms by default) it blooms into a ring of stars centred on your finger.
2. **Slide outward onto a star.** It brightens, swells, and its name appears
   above it. A haptic tick marks each new star you cross.
3. **Lift to open it.** The star goes supernova and the app opens.
4. **Or lift on empty sky** — everything dissolves, nothing changed.

> **The one rule:** do not lift until you mean it. If you get lost, slide back
> to empty sky and lift. That is always the safe exit.

### Descending into a folder

A folder star wears a tiny orbit — a centre point with three circling moons.
Sliding across it does nothing; you must **rest** on it for the bloom delay
(330 ms by default). Its ring blooms, the previous ring vanishes, and the
folder star stays at the new ring's heart as identity.

**To go back, retrace your line** into the chevron marker sitting at the
previous ring's centre — the exact point your finger came from.

### Every timing

| What | Default | Range | Where |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ring opens after a hold | 220 ms | 120–450 ms (120–600 in accessibility) | rings & effects |
| Folder ring blooms | 330 ms | 150–1200 ms | accessibility › extended |
| Double-tap window | 340 ms | 200–700 ms | accessibility › extended |
| Dwell-to-select | 900 ms | 400–2500 ms | accessibility › motor |
| Ring bloom animation | 240 ms | fixed | — |
| Ritual step spacing | 650 ms | fixed | — |
| Breathe pause | 2600 ms | fixed | per star, ✎ editor |
| Veil rest-to-unseal | 4000 ms | fixed | — |

### The six states

| State | You are | Ends when |
| --- | --- | --- |
| idle | Not touching | You touch down |
| pending | Finger down, hold not complete | Hold delay passes, or you move enough to become a flick |
| flick | Moving fast before the hold landed | You lift — judged as flick, circle, or talisman. Abandoned after 900 ms |
| active | A ring or list panel is open | You lift |
| all apps | The Star Index is open | You lift on an app, or on empty space |
| comet | A caught comet's menu is open | You lift on a row, or off it |

### What each release does

| Lift on… | Result |
| --- | --- |
| An app star | Launches the app |
| A shortcut star | Runs the app shortcut (needs default launcher) |
| A widget star | Opens the widget as a floating window |
| A folder star | Nothing — folders open by dwelling (unless it is a ritual) |
| The star at the ring's heart | Opens that star (how hybrids launch) |
| ✛ | Add sheet for the ring, or for the star under your finger |
| ◈ / ✎ / − | Icon picker / star editor / remove, for the last star touched |
| Empty sky | Everything dissolves |

### List mode

The big switch at the top of settings turns every ring into a cascading text
panel. Same tree, same dock, same corners, same timings.

| | ✦ icon mode (default) | ☰ list mode |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What blooms | A ring around your finger | A text panel beside it |
| Selecting | Slide onto a star | Slide down the rows |
| Going deeper | Dwell on a folder star | Dwell on a folder row |
| Dwell time | folder-bloom delay (330 ms) | hold delay (220 ms) |
| Going back | Trace into the chevron | Move to a different row |
| Adding | Live placement, then the sheet | The sheet opens directly |
| Row markers | — | › folder · ▣ widget · ↗ shortcut |

---

## 04 · The sky's furniture

| Element | Where | When visible | Turn off at |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ⚙︎ settings corner | Lower-left | Only when idle | system › show ⚙︎ settings corner |
| Clock / date / battery / event / weather | Any of 9 anchors | Always, above the canvas | sky overlays |
| Corner hints | 4 dots, 14 dp in | Only for assigned corners | rings & effects |
| Edge hints | Dashes mid-edge | Only for assigned edges | rings & effects |
| Region borders | On the grid | Only while holding, >1 region | regions & star index |
| The dock ✛ ◈ ✎ − | Left column, 60 dp in | While a ring is open | rings & effects |
| Latched ◉ ‹ | Lower right | With latched buttons on | accessibility |
| Floating widgets | Where you dragged them | Until closed with ✕ | — |
| Comets | Drifting past | With notification access | system |
| Status bar | Top | Android's own | system › hide status bar |

### Dock geometry

All four buttons sit 60 dp from the left edge, measured up from the bottom:

| Button | Height | Radius |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ✛ add | 246 dp | 28 dp |
| ◈ icon | 182 dp | 24 dp |
| ✎ edit | 118 dp | 24 dp |
| − remove | 54 dp | 24 dp |

### Hit zones

| Zone | Size | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Corner | 52 × 52 dp | A hold here runs the corner action, not a ring |
| Edge band | 18 dp | Between the corners; corners win where they overlap |
| Right-edge index drag | 26 dp, drag in 36 dp | Only when that option is on |
| Star hit target | 1.4 × star size | × the accessibility touch-target slider (1–2.5×) |

> Zenith never claims screen edges away from Android. The system back swipe
> always wins at the edges, which is why left/right flicks ship unassigned.

---

## 05 · Rings, stars & orbits

A ring is a folder's contents drawn as a circle. Every star has an **angle**
(where around) and an **orbit** (how far out). That is the whole layout system.

### The four kinds of star

| Type | Drawn as | Release does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **app** | The app's icon in a disc | Launches it |
| **folder** | A tiny orbit — centre + three moons | Nothing (dwell to descend) |
| **shortcut** | The shortcut's icon | Runs it (needs default launcher) |
| **widget** | A small square with a dot | Opens a floating window |

Two behaviours any star can wear:

- **Hybrid parent** — a non-folder star that also holds children. Wears a
  faint band. Dwell blooms its ring; release launches it.
- **Ritual** — a folder flagged in ✎. Wears a double band. Releasing on it
  activates everything inside, in order, 0.65 s apart.

### Angle and orbit

Angles are spoken the way you'd describe them: **0° is straight up, increasing
clockwise.** 90° right, 180° bottom, 270° left.

| Orbit property | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Base radius | 150 dp default · 80–280 dp |
| Multiplier range | 0.4× – 6× |
| Snap step | 0.25× |
| Sibling magnet | Wins only when genuinely nearer than the nearest step |

> Rings bloom exactly where you touch, even near an edge — never nudged back
> on-screen. Stars at extreme angles or far orbits can fall off the edge. If
> one has drifted out of reach, move it with ◎ re-place (also available from
> ✛ › Edit, which lists every star regardless of where it sits).

### Navigating

| To… | Do this |
| --- | --- |
| Open a ring | Hold empty sky |
| Go deeper | Rest on a folder star |
| Go back one level | Trace into the chevron at the previous ring's centre |
| Launch the folder you're in | Touch the star at the ring's heart and lift |
| Leave without doing anything | Slide to empty sky and lift |
| Browse without opening folders | Keep moving — dwell is what opens things |

### What changes a star's look

| Control | Lives in | Effect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| star size | rings & effects | 26 dp default · 18–36 |
| star style | background & light | app icons · monochrome · text only · inverted mono |
| labels | rings & effects | off · on hover · always |
| light color | ✎ editor | From the theme palette |
| show label / show icon | ✎ editor | Per star |
| custom icon | ◈ picker | Overrides everything for that star |
| usage as light | background & light | Often-launched stars glow brighter |
| line thickness · star glow | rings & effects | Stroke and halo |

Labels sit below a star normally, but jump **above** it while it is under your
finger — your hand covers everything below the touch point.

---

## 06 · The in-gesture dock

Four buttons up the left edge, visible only while you hold. ✛ is always shown;
◈ ✎ − appear once you have touched a star.

| Button | Acts on | Release does | Second-finger tap does |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ✛ add | The star under your finger, else the ring | Opens the add sheet | Starts live placement |
| ◈ icon | The last star touched | Opens the icon picker | Same, ends the gesture |
| ✎ edit | The last star touched | Opens the star editor | Same, ends the gesture |
| − remove | The last star touched | Removes it | Removes it and keeps the ring open |

While your finger is on −, the star about to go is circled in rose and named
beside the button ("remove Instagram"). Slide off and nothing is removed.

### Live placement — the ✛ flow

1. **Slide onto ✛, keep holding.** The stars fade; guide circles appear —
   faint quarter-steps, brighter sibling orbits, brightest on your orbit.
2. **Move your thumb.** A ghost star with a crosshair follows you, snapping to
   quarter steps. A readout shows `135° · 1.25× — release to choose`.
3. **Release where you want it.** The spot locks in; only now does the sheet
   open.
4. **Pick what goes there.** It lands exactly on the mark, no second step.

**Which ring does ✛ add to?** Deliberately: the star under your finger at the
moment you reach ✛, if there is one — that is how you add *inside* a star and
make a hybrid. Otherwise the open ring. To be sure of targeting the ring,
route your finger *around* any star between you and the dock.

In list mode there is nothing to position, so ✛ opens the sheet immediately.

---

## 07 · Adding things

### The six tabs

| Tab | Lists | Tapping a row |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Apps** | Every installed app, searchable | Places it as a star |
| **Folder** | A name field | `create ✦` makes an empty folder star |
| **Widgets** | Installed widget providers | Binds, configures, places |
| **Shortcuts** | Apps, then their published shortcuts | Places the shortcut |
| **Direct** | Everything other apps sent into Zenith | Places it |
| **Edit** | This ring's contents | See below |

> Rings hold personal-profile apps only. Work-profile apps appear in Deep Sky
> and the Star Index marked "· work", and can be launched from there, but they
> cannot be placed on a ring and talismans cannot target them.

### Direct — the inbox

When you use "add to home screen" in any app — a bookmark, a file, a note, a
playlist — Android hands it to your home app. Zenith accepts it silently,
toasts `✦ name → direct`, and files it. **Nothing appears on your sky until
you place it.**

- Newest first; keeps everything pinned since install.
- Label and icon captured at arrival, so entries never go blank.
- A row shows "used by 2 stars" if already placed more than once.
- **forget** drops it from this list only — stars already using it keep
  working, because the shortcut stays pinned underneath.
- Requires Zenith to be the default launcher.

### The Edit tab

| Control | Does |
| --- | --- |
| Colour dot | Cycles that star through the theme palette |
| The name | Tap to rename inline; ✓ commits |
| ◎ | Re-place — opens the placement screen |
| ✕ | Removes the star (and releases any widget) |

### The placement screen

Shown when a spot wasn't already chosen. The circle drawn here **is** the real
orbit at true scale.

- Drag anywhere — the star follows your finger. Distance changes the orbit,
  angle changes the angle.
- Existing stars are shown faintly with their names.
- The readout gives degrees (0° up, clockwise) and orbit as ×  and in dp.
- **place ✦** commits. **cancel** abandons — and releases any widget binding
  in progress, so nothing dangles.

### Widgets

1. ✛ › Widgets › pick a provider (Android may ask permission to bind).
2. Configure it, if it has a setup screen.
3. Place it.
4. Release on its star to open it as a floating window.

| Part | Does |
| --- | --- |
| Title bar | Drag to move; position is remembered |
| ⤢ | Cycles three sizes: 260×170, 340×240, 400×380 dp |
| ✕ | Closes the window; the star stays |

**Widgets do not travel.** Android widget IDs are device-local: a backup
carries the star, but the widget must be re-bound on a new device.

---

## 08 · The star editor ✎

Everything about one star, in one panel. Touch the star during a hold, then
slide onto ✎.

| Control | Applies to | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **name** | all | Renames. Saves as you type. |
| **light color** | all | From the theme palette. Mono themes flatten it on screen. |
| **show label** | all | Hides this star's name even when labels are on globally |
| **show app icon** | app · shortcut | Off draws a bare coloured point |
| **breathe before opening** | app · shortcut | A 2.6 s pause with a pulsing circle before it opens; tap during it to stay. A deliberate speed bump. |
| **ritual** | folder | Release launches everything inside, 0.65 s apart |
| **haptic signature** | all | 8 slots, each still · small · big. Felt as your finger crosses the star. |
| ▶ feel · clear · preset → | all | Play · empty · cycle four presets (pulse · triple tick · swell · double knock) |
| **uninstall app from device…** | app | Hands off to Android |
| ◎ **re-place** | all | New angle and orbit |
| − **remove** | all | Takes it off the ring; children go with it |
| **done ✦** | all | Closes. Everything was already saved. |

---

## 09 · Icons ◈

Four layers decide what a star wears; each overrides the one below.

| Layer | Set from | Scope |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 · This star's custom icon | ◈ during a hold | One star |
| 2 · This app's chosen icon | Deep Sky › long-press › ◈ set icon | Everywhere that app appears |
| 3 · The default icon pack | background & light › icon set | Every app icon |
| 4 · The app's own icon | Android | The fallback |

### The ◈ picker

| Section | Contains |
| --- | --- |
| **zenith set** | Eight bundled glyphs: star · moon · sun · comet · orbit · spark · eye · rune |
| **icon packs** (name) | Tapping the pack's *name* asks it for its own match for this app |
| **browse all →** | The pack's entire library, in its own categories |
| **choose image…** (gold) | Any picture, with a pinch-and-drag round crop |
| **reset icon** | Removes the custom icon |

Setting one pack for everything: `settings › background & light › icon set`.
Applying any installed pack is **free** — Zenith sells icon packs, so charging
to use one would be strange. Per-star ◈ choices still override the pack.

---

## 10 · Deep Sky & the Star Index

### Deep Sky — every app, searchable

Open it by holding the lower-right corner (default), flicking up, or from any
assigned position.

- The list appears first and scrolls immediately; **the search box is at the
  bottom**, so the keyboard never appears unasked.
- Tap an app to launch it.
- Work apps are marked "· work".
- `✦ zenith settings` is always the first row — no corner reassignment can
  ever lock you out of settings.

Long-press an app: **open · view app info · ◈ set icon · inscribe talisman for
this · hide from deep sky · uninstall…**

### The Star Index — all apps, without lifting

A semicircle anchored to the right edge at the height your gesture started.

| Trigger | Default | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Draw a quick circle | **on** | The most reliable — no system gesture competes |
| A position set to *star index* | unassigned | Any corner, edge, flick or double-tap |
| Drag in from the right edge | off | Off because Android's back gesture owns the edges |
| A dedicated region | none | Holding in that region shows the index |

Using it: letter groups bloom on the inner arc (3–8 groups, ~15 apps each,
boundaries snapped to letter changes). Slide onto a group and its apps bloom in
outer arcs — up to 9, then 12, then the rest. Slide onto an app and lift.

**What counts as a "quick circle":** drawn fast, at least ~140 dp of travel,
closing near where it started, turning roughly a full revolution, at least
50 dp across both ways. Any size, anywhere, either direction.

---

## 11 · Gestures & actions

Thirteen positions, each bindable to a built-in action or to any app/shortcut.

| Group | Positions | How it fires | Defaults |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| corners | ↙ ↘ ↖ ↗ | Hold in the 52 dp corner | settings · deep sky · shade · lock |
| edges | ← → ↑ ↓ | Hold on the 18 dp band | all unassigned |
| flicks | ↑ ↓ ← → | Quick swipe ≥55 dp within 330 ms | deep sky · shade · none · none |
| double-tap | ◎◎ | Two taps within the window, close together | lock |

### The action roster

| Action | Does | Needs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| — none | Nothing; a hold opens a ring instead | — |
| settings | Zenith settings | — |
| deep sky | Searchable all-apps list | — |
| star index | All-apps semicircle | — |
| shade | Notification shade | zenith actions |
| quick tiles | Quick settings | zenith actions |
| lock | Locks the screen | zenith actions · Android 9+ |
| recents | Recent-apps switcher | zenith actions |
| screenshot | Takes a screenshot | zenith actions · Android 9+ |
| power menu | Power dialogue | zenith actions |
| back | System back | zenith actions |
| home | System home | zenith actions |
| seal the sky | Draws the Sky Veil | — |
| app or shortcut | Opens anything on the phone | — |

**Binding an app:** tap the `app or shortcut` chip, choose an app, or drill in
to pick one of its shortcuts. The chip then wears what it opens (`✦ Spotify`).
Tapping it again always reopens the picker — the only way to change it.

> On gesture-navigation phones, Android's back swipe wins over left/right
> flicks. That is why they ship unassigned. Corners, the drawn circle, and
> up/down flicks are always reliable.

### Zenith actions — the assistive service

Lock, shade, recents, quick tiles, screenshot, power, back and home are
system-level actions no ordinary app can perform. Zenith offers them through a
minimal accessibility service.

- It is **configured to read nothing from your screen**; it only performs the
  actions you assign.
- Entirely optional — everything else works without it.
- Enable at `settings › system › enable zenith actions →`.

---

## 12 · Talismans

A talisman is a shape you draw. Draw it fast on the sky and it casts — opening
an app, running an action, or blooming a ring. Swipe-to-type for launching.

### Inscribing

1. `settings › talismans › ✎ inscribe new talisman` (or, from Deep Sky,
   long-press an app › *inscribe talisman for this* — target pre-chosen).
2. Draw your shape, one continuous stroke.
3. Draw it again — the first shows faintly as a guide. Two samples let Zenith
   learn your hand rather than one perfect stroke.
4. Name it and bind it: **apps** (searchable) · **actions** (the roster) ·
   **rings** (any folder in your sky, listed by full path).

If the new shape draws too much like an existing one, a warning appears while
you are still binding: "⚠ draws like 'X' — priority order will decide which
casts."

### Casting

Draw the shape **fast** on empty sky, before the hold delay elapses. Speed is
the whole trigger: a slow press becomes a ring, a fast stroke becomes a glyph.
The trail switches to the talisman ink colour while you are fast enough.

- The stroke must travel at least ~90 dp.
- A match must score above **0.80** similarity (rotation tolerance ~±28°).
- **List order is priority.** When two score within a whisker, the higher one
  wins; only a clearly better score takes a cast from a higher-priority glyph.
- A cast flashes the glow colour outward, leaves a ghost of the glyph, and
  rings a shockwave.
- A talisman bound to a **ring** opens that ring in place and leaves it open —
  you then tap the stars. This is the one way to reach a ring that lives
  nowhere on your sky.

### Managing

| Control | Does |
| --- | --- |
| talismans active | Master switch |
| numbered list | Number = priority; shows name and target |
| ▶ | Replays the glyph as an animated drawing, looped |
| ⋮ re-inscribe | Redraw, keeping name and target |
| ⋮ move up / down | Changes priority |
| ⋮ delete | Removes it |
| ✎ inscribe new talisman | Free allows 3; beyond that it reads "✦ more talismans with gold" |

**Design advice:** make each glyph structurally different — a spiral, a Z, a
triangle, a hook — rather than variations on one shape.

**Colours:** `background & light › light colors` holds *talisman ink* (the
stroke while drawing fast) and *cast glow* (the flash when a sigil lands).

---

## 13 · Comets

Notifications, but as weather. Each arrives as a gold comet crossing your sky
with its title trailing behind it.

### Turning them on

1. `settings › system › comets · notifications` — the switch is on by default.
2. Tap `enable comet feed →` and grant notification access to **Zenith
   comets**. The status line then reads "comet feed connected ✦".

### Catching one

1. **Hold on the comet's head** — the bright point, not the tail. A ring
   tightens around it to show it is armed.
2. **Its flight freezes** after the hold delay and a menu appears beside it.
3. **Slide to a row and lift:** open · dismiss · snooze 30 min.
4. **Or lift off the menu** — the comet resumes exactly where it paused.

### Behaviour

- Each comet flies for roughly 11–17 seconds, entering from either side, at
  its own height, size, slope and speed.
- Ongoing notifications (music, downloads) are ignored, as are Zenith's own.
- A notification with neither title nor text produces no comet.
- Nothing is stored. Titles are drawn on screen and forgotten.

---

## 14 · The sky veil

A curtain drawn over the launcher when the screen sleeps. A drawn sigil lifts
it.

> **Read this first.** The veil has no password and never did. It hides your
> sky from someone glancing at an unlocked phone; it does **not** protect the
> phone. Keep your system lock screen.

### Setting it up

1. `settings › system › sky veil` › turn on *veil when the screen sleeps*.
2. Choose the key: **any talisman** (default), or one specific talisman.
3. Optionally assign the `seal the sky` action to a gesture position to draw
   the veil by hand.

### Getting back in

| Method | How | Always available? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Draw your sigil** | Draw the unseal talisman anywhere on the veil (threshold 0.78 — slightly more forgiving than a normal cast) | Only with a talisman inscribed |
| **Rest one still finger** | Hold, barely moving, for **4 seconds**. A ring fills around your finger and it opens the instant it completes | **Yes — always** |

A refused sigil always speaks, even with every label off: "the sky does not
know that sign". A failed attempt is never indistinguishable from a dead
screen.

The veil shows the clock, a hint line, and — with My Sky on — the real night
sky. Back cannot lift it.

---

## 15 · Regions

Up to nine areas, **each remembering its own root ring.** Where you start the
hold decides which constellation appears.

| Regions | Grid | Shape |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 1 × 1 | The whole screen (default) |
| 2 | 1 col × 2 rows | Top / bottom half |
| 3 | 1 × 3 | Three bands |
| 4 | 2 × 2 | Quarters |
| 5–6 | 2 cols × 3 rows | Six cells (with 5, the last two merge) |
| 7–8 | 2 cols × 4 rows | Eight cells (with 7, the last two merge) |
| 9 | 3 × 3 | A nine-square |

Numbered left to right, then top to bottom, from 1.

### The region editor

`settings › regions & star index › ✦ edit region layout`

- The **slider** sets how many regions exist (1–9). Free is capped at 2.
- **Dividers are draggable** — grab a line anywhere along its length. Lines run
  edge to edge, so regions can never gap or overlap; each stops 8% short of
  its neighbour.
- Big numbers show which region each cell is.
- `done ✦` saves; `cancel` discards.

### The other two controls

| Control | Default | Does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| show region borders while holding | on | Faint hairlines while holding; never at rest |
| open from a region | — | Holding anywhere in that region shows the Star Index instead of its ring |

> Reducing the region count hides the higher regions but keeps their
> constellations. Raise it again and they are exactly as you left them.

---

## 16 · Skies

A sky is a complete separate setup — its own constellations, regions,
background and theme. **(gold beyond the first.)**

| Control | Does |
| --- | --- |
| Tap a name | Switches to it; the current sky is snapshotted first |
| ✦ | Marks the sky you are in |
| ✎ | Rename inline; ✓ commits |
| ✕ | Deletes that sky — only shown for skies you are *not* in |
| ＋ new sky | Creates one and switches to it |

### What belongs to a sky, and what is shared

| Per sky | Shared across every sky |
| --- | --- |
| The constellation tree | Corner, edge, flick, double-tap actions |
| Icon / list mode | Apps bound to gesture positions |
| Region count and dividers | Hold delay and accessibility timings |
| The index region | Haptic feedback |
| Background colour, image, dimming, my sky | Hidden apps |
| Theme and accent | Default icon pack |
| Ring radius and star size | Status bar, orientation |
| Labels, sparks, trails, glow, twinkle | Sound |
| Overlay contents and position | All accessibility options |
| Talisman ink and cast glow | The talismans themselves |
| Star style, usage-as-light, battery, event | Comets, the veil, onboarding, hints |

---

## 17 · Settings — full reference

**Three ways in:** tap the ⚙︎ in the lower-left corner · hold that corner ·
Deep Sky › `✦ zenith settings`.

Back walks up one level; only from the main page does it leave settings. Every
change applies immediately — there is no save button anywhere.

### The main page

- **✦ ICON MODE / ☰ LIST MODE** — rings of stars, or cascading text lists.
- **skies** — create, rename, delete, switch. The only section without a
  sub-page.
- **the twelve pages**, each with a one-line hint.

### The twelve pages

| # | Page | Hint |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | talismans | inscribe · playback · priority order |
| 2 | system | default launcher · status bar · zenith actions |
| 3 | gestures | corners · edges · flicks · double-tap |
| 4 | regions & star index | layout editor · all-apps triggers |
| 5 | background & light | colors · wallpaper · icon set |
| 6 | rings & effects | sizes · labels · sparks · trails |
| 7 | the sky's voice | astral tones · ambient drone · scale |
| 8 | accessibility | dwell · latched · magnify · spoken · haptics |
| 9 | sky overlays | clock · date · weather · position |
| 10 | star chart | backup · hidden apps · reset |
| 11 | privacy & permissions | no spyware · what each permission does |
| 12 | about | black syntax · friend castle · version |

### 2 · system

| Control | Default | Does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| set zenith as default launcher → | — | Opens Android's home-app chooser |
| hide status bar | off | Swipe down to reveal it temporarily |
| show ⚙︎ settings corner | on | Off leaves the sky bare — hold the corner to return |
| orientation | portrait | portrait · landscape · rotate |
| zenith actions | off | Powers lock, shade, recents, tiles, screenshot, power, back, home |
| zenith gold | free | Demo switch in b0.8; Play Billing at v1.0 |
| ✉ send feedback | — | Mail to zenith@blacksyntax.com |
| crash report | — | Only if one was logged; private, send or discard |
| first-time hints | on | The one-time cards |
| reset hints | — | Makes all eight unseen again |
| replay welcome → | — | Runs the walkthrough again |
| sky veil | off | See §14 |
| comets · notifications | on | See §13 |

**On landscape:** Zenith is designed for portrait. Landscape keeps identical
star sizing on a wider, shorter screen, so stars placed very low in portrait
may fall past the bottom edge — the same intended trade-off as extreme
placements.

### 5 · background & light

A live preview card at the top re-renders with every change below it.

| Control | Default | Does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| theme | clean | Eight themes; restyles accent, ink, glow and palette at once |
| background | black | Seven swatches, pure black through paper white |
| my sky (gold) | off | The real night sky above you |
| choose image | — | Any picture as wallpaper; `clear image` removes it |
| image dimming | 0.35 | 0–0.9, shown only with an image |
| icon set | system icons | System · Zenith packs · other installed packs (free) |
| star style | app icons | app icons · monochrome · text only · inverted mono |
| usage as light | off | Often-launched stars glow up to ~30% brighter |
| accent | #E8E8E6 | Rings, labels, clock, trails |
| talisman ink | pale gold | The fast-draw stroke |
| cast glow | pale gold | The flash when a sigil lands |

#### The eight themes

| Theme | Character | Tier |
| --- | --- | --- |
| clean | Starlight on black, six-colour star palette | free |
| mono | Every glow flattened to the one light | free |
| pastel | Mint, lilac, pink, blue at high value | free |
| rainbow | Six saturated hues | gold |
| daytime | Warm — amber, sky blue, apricot | gold |
| mono inverted | Ink on paper; switching flips the background to paper white and back | gold |
| iridescent | Oil on water — the whole set drifts the spectrum on a ~40 s cycle | gold |
| neon | Tron — cyan grid with hot orange counterlight | gold |

#### My Sky (gold)

The actual night sky above your location: ~45 named bright stars plus a field
of ~520 more, placed by local sidereal time and latitude, redrawn every minute
so the sky turns. Constellation lines are drawn when both ends are above your
horizon: Orion, the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, the Southern Cross, the Summer
Triangle.

| Gesture | Does |
| --- | --- |
| Two-finger pinch | Zoom 0.6×–6× |
| Two-finger drag | Pan across the celestial sphere |
| Two-finger twist | Tilt; a horizon line appears once tilted |
| Three-finger tap | Recentre on the zenith |

One finger always stays the launcher's. Without location permission it draws a
plausible mid-northern sky.

### 6 · rings & effects

| Control | Default | Range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| orbit radius | 150 | 80–280 dp |
| star size | 26 | 18–36 dp |
| hold delay | 220 | 120–450 ms |
| labels | on hover | off · on hover · always |
| haptic feedback | on | — |
| birth sparks | on | — |
| spark intensity | gentle | twinkle · gentle · lively · 🎆 sparkler (gold) |
| light trails & comet | on | — |
| trail sustain | 450 ms | 0 (twinkle only) – permanent |
| trail thickness | 4 | 2–10 dp |
| trail glow | 10 | 0–25 |
| line thickness | 1.8 | 0.5–5 dp |
| star & orbit glow | 10 | 0–25 |
| ✨ twinkle (gold) | 0 | 0–100 |
| show dock buttons | on | — |
| show corner & edge hints | on | — |

### 9 · sky overlays

| Control | Default | Does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| position on screen | top centre | A 3×3 grid of anchors |
| clock | on | **Tap it to open your alarms app** |
| 24-hour time | off | Also affects the veil clock and event times |
| date | on | **Tap it to open your calendar** |
| battery | off | ⚡︎ and a percentage; **tap for battery usage** |
| next calendar event | off | ◷, time and title of the next event in 24 h; asks for calendar permission |
| weather | off | Glyph and temperature; asks for coarse location; **tap to refresh**; auto every 30 min |
| celsius | on | Off gives Fahrenheit |

The overlay block sits *above* the ring canvas, so tapping the clock opens the
clock rather than blooming a ring.

### 12 · about

Version number, credits (developed by black syntax · published by friend
castle), links to friendcastle.org and the studio's other apps, the Open-Meteo
credit, zenith@blacksyntax.com, and the privacy policy.

---

## 18 · The sky's voice (gold)

Every sound is synthesised on the fly — there are no audio files in the app. A
star's note comes from **where it sits on its ring**, so tracing the same path
twice plays the same phrase, and a practiced route becomes a melody you know by
ear before you know it by sight.

| Control | Default | Does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ✧ sound | off | Master switch — sound should never be a surprise |
| volume | 50 | 0–100 |
| stars | on | A note as each star takes your finger |
| rings | on | Opening, descending, folding shut |
| opening | on | The bright triad when something launches |
| talismans & comets | on | A ringing fifth for a cast; a high glint for a comet |
| ambient | off | Three detuned low tones breathing against each other |
| tuning | open | open (major pentatonic) · deep (minor pentatonic) · floating (lydian) |
| hear a star / launch / cast | — | Three preview buttons |

> Zenith never requests audio focus — a launcher has no business pausing your
> music. It follows your media volume and shuts the sound engine down entirely
> the moment the launcher leaves the screen.

---

## 19 · Accessibility

Every option is optional, off by default, and **never paywalled**.

### Motor & touch

| Control | Default | Does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| dwell to select | off | Rest on a star and it launches, no lift. A countdown arc closes around it |
| dwell time | 900 ms | 400–2500 ms |
| latched buttons | off | The most important option for anyone who cannot hold |
| touch target size | 1.0× | 1.0–2.5×, enlarges hit areas without changing looks |

**Latched mode:** hold once to open a ring, then lift — *the ring stays open*.
Tap stars to select; tap **◉** (lower right) to open, or descend into a folder;
tap **‹** below it to fold one ring shut.

### Vision

| Control | Default | Does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| magnifier | off | The hovered star swells to nearly double and comes to the front |
| spoken labels | off | Speaks each star's name aloud as you reach it |
| high contrast | off | Forces pure white light; **overrides** your accent colour |
| star label text size | 100% | 70–250% |
| clock & overlay text size | 100% | 60–200% |
| remove glows | off | Strips every halo; overrides the glow sliders |

### Motion, timing & haptics

| Control | Default | Does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| reduce motion | off | Calms comet trail, sparks, shockwaves and hover pulse; overrides sparks and trails |
| ring opens after | 220 ms | 120–600 ms |
| folder ring blooms after | 330 ms | 150–1200 ms |
| double-tap window | 340 ms | 200–700 ms |
| per-star haptics | — | Set in each star's ✎ editor |

When an accessibility option forces another setting, the forced control dims
and says so: "⟂ overridden by reduce motion". Nothing silently disagrees with
itself.

### TalkBack

The launcher is drawn on a bare canvas, invisible to a screen reader. So when
— and only when — a touch-exploration reader is running, Zenith lays an
invisible, focusable list of the current region's stars over the sky. Each
entry is announced as a **direction to draw toward**:

> "45 degrees, Instagram, app" · "180 degrees, far orbit, media, folder, 5
> inside" · "270 degrees, Messages, app, inside a folder"

0° is straight up, increasing clockwise. Orbit distance is called out as
*near*, *outer* or *far* when a star is off the default ring.

---

## 20 · Star chart & backups

A star chart is your whole sky in one JSON file.

**Export:** `settings › star chart › export ✦`, then choose where to save it.
Pre-named `zenith-star-chart.json`. Share it with a friend if you like.

**Import:** `import…`, choose the file; it applies immediately.

| Travels | Does not travel |
| --- | --- |
| Every region's constellation tree | **Widgets** — the star imports but must be re-bound |
| All settings | **The wallpaper image** — pick it again |
| Talismans with their shapes | The Gold entitlement |
| Custom star icons, embedded and rebuilt | — |

**Hidden apps** are listed here with an `unhide` button each; the section only
appears when something is hidden.

**erase all rings…** empties every region in the current sky. Two-tap
confirmation. Widgets held by those stars are released. Settings, talismans and
other skies are untouched. There is no undo — export first.

---

## 21 · Privacy & permissions

No spyware. No accounts. No servers. Zenith has nowhere to send your data and
never will. There is no "us" to send it to.

**The one thing that ever leaves your phone:** if you turn on weather or My
Sky, your location — rounded to about the nearest kilometre — goes to the
public Open-Meteo service. No account, no identifier. Leave weather off and
Zenith never makes a network request at all.

| Permission | Used for | What happens to the data |
| --- | --- | --- |
| location (coarse) | Weather, the real night sky | Rounded before use, never stored, sent only to that weather request |
| notification access | Comets | Titles drawn on screen and forgotten; never stored or transmitted |
| accessibility (Zenith actions) | Lock, shade, recents, tiles, screenshot, power, back, home, and screen-reader/haptic navigation | Reads nothing from your screen; only performs assigned actions |
| calendar (read) | The next-event line | Read and shown on-device, never sent |
| vibrate | Haptic feedback | — |
| internet | The weather request, nothing else | Only used when weather or my sky is on |

Constellations, settings, talismans and icons all live in Zenith's private
storage. Uninstalling removes everything. Full policy:
https://zenith.blacksyntax.com/privacy

---

## 22 · Free & gold

**Every feature is usable for free.** Gold caps quantity and depth — it never
walls a feature away. All accessibility, all backups and comets are free
forever.

**Free:** the full gesture launcher · Deep Sky · Star Index · widgets ·
shortcuts · Direct · star-chart backups and sharing · comets · every
accessibility feature · icon packs including Zenith's own · themes clean, mono
and pastel · spark tiers 1–3 · **2 regions · 3 talismans · 1 sky**.

**Zenith Gold ($4.99, one-time):** unlimited regions, talismans and skies · every
theme including living iridescent and neon · My Sky · your own cropped images
as star icons · twinkle · the sparkler tier · the sky's voice. One payment,
never a subscription.

| Thing | Free | Gold | At the limit you see |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Regions | 2 | 9 | The slider stops at 2 and the Gold sheet opens |
| Talismans | 3 | unlimited | "✦ more talismans with gold" |
| Skies | 1 | unlimited | ＋ new sky opens the Gold sheet |
| Themes | clean · mono · pastel | all eight | Locked themes are burnt-gold with ✦ |
| Spark intensity | twinkle · gentle · lively | + 🎆 sparkler | The top chip is gold |
| Twinkle | — | 0–100 | The slider is gold and inert |
| My Sky | — | ✓ | The row is gold, marked *gold* |
| Your own images as icons | — | ✓ | "✦ choose image…" opens the Gold sheet |
| Sound | silent | ✓ | The master switch is gold, marked *gold* |

In b0.8, Gold is a free demo switch in `settings › system` so both experiences
can be tried side by side. Play Billing replaces it at v1.0.

---

## 23 · Troubleshooting

**"Nothing happens when I hold the screen"**
You may be in a corner (52 dp) or an edge band (18 dp) — those run their
assigned action. You may be moving, which turns the touch into a flick or a
talisman attempt. The hold delay may be long. Or that region may be set to open
the Star Index.

**"The ring opens but it's empty"**
That region has no stars yet. Slide to ✛ and add one. Each region keeps its own
ring — a full region 1 does not fill region 2.

**"Folders open when I don't want them to" / "won't open at all"**
Folders open on a dwell, not a pass. Adjust *folder ring blooms after* in
accessibility › extended.

**"I can't get back to the previous ring"**
Trace back into the small chevron at the previous ring's centre. If you have
overshot, slide to empty sky, lift, and start again.

**"I turned off the gear and now I can't find settings"**
Hold the lower-left corner. Or open Deep Sky (lower-right corner, or flick up)
and tap `✦ zenith settings`, always the first row. Or open Zenith from another
launcher's drawer.

**"App shortcuts don't work"**
Android only gives shortcuts to the active home app. Set Zenith as the default
launcher. The same applies to Direct.

**"Lock / shade / recents / screenshot do nothing"**
They need the Zenith actions accessibility service. Lock and screenshot also
need Android 9+.

**"No comets appear"**
Grant notification access. Only *new*, non-ongoing notifications become comets,
and you have to be looking at the sky.

**"My talisman won't cast"**
Draw faster and bigger. Check the master switch. Check for a lookalike higher
in the priority list. Watch the ink colour — the trail turns talisman-ink when
you are drawing fast enough.

**"I'm locked behind the veil"**
Press one finger anywhere and hold perfectly still for four seconds. This
always works.

**"A star is off the edge of the screen"**
Open `✛ › Edit`, which lists every star on the ring regardless of where it
sits, and use ◎ re-place.

**"An icon didn't change"**
A higher precedence layer is winning. Reset the star's own icon to let the
layer below show through.

**"The widget says 'widget unavailable'"**
Its binding is gone. Remove the star and add the widget again.

**"Weather shows · · ·"**
No reading yet. Check the location permission, a recent location fix, and your
connection. Tap the weather line to force a refresh.

**"Left/right flicks never fire"**
Android's back gesture owns the screen edges. Use a corner, an up/down flick,
or the drawn circle.

---

## 24 · Instructing a user

For whoever is doing the explaining — support, a friend on the phone, or an
assistant answering a question.

### Five rules

1. **Always say where the finger starts.** "Press and hold in the middle of
   the screen" is a complete instruction; "open the menu" is not.
2. **Always say whether to lift.** Most Zenith mistakes are lifting too early.
   Say "keep holding" out loud at every step that needs it.
3. **Use the app's own words:** hold · slide · lift · rest · trace · draw ·
   cast · inscribe.
4. **Give the escape first.** Tell people lifting on empty sky cancels
   everything before asking them to try anything.
5. **Name the corner, not the icon.** "The lower-left corner" survives every
   theme change; "the little grey gear" does not.

### Answers, ready to read out

**How do I open an app?**
Press and hold anywhere in the middle of the screen. Keep your finger down — a
ring of your apps appears around it. Without lifting, slide onto the app you
want, then lift your finger. If you change your mind, slide to an empty part of
the screen and lift; nothing happens.

**How do I add an app to my home screen?**
Hold the middle of the screen until the ring appears. Still holding, slide down
to the ✛ button on the left edge. A ghost star now follows your thumb — move it
to where you want the app, near or far from the centre, then lift. A list
opens: tap Apps, find the one you want, tap it. It lands exactly where you left
the mark.

**How do I make a folder?**
Same as adding an app, but choose the Folder tab, type a name, and tap
create ✦. To put things inside: hold the sky, rest your finger on the folder
star until its own ring opens, then slide to ✛ and add as normal.

**How do I remove something?**
Hold the sky, slide onto the star you want gone — touching it is enough — then
slide down to the − button at the bottom left. It circles the star in pink and
says "remove ⟨name⟩". Lift to confirm. To remove several, tap the − with a
second finger instead of lifting; the ring stays open.

**Where are the settings?**
Press and hold the very bottom-left corner of the screen — right in the corner,
not near it. There is also a small ⚙ there you can just tap. And if you ever
can't find it: open the app list (hold the bottom-right corner) and tap "zenith
settings" at the top.

**How do I see all my apps?**
Hold the bottom-right corner for a searchable list — the search box is at the
bottom so you can scroll first. Or draw a quick circle anywhere on the screen
for the Star Index, where apps sit in letter groups you can slide through
without lifting.

**How do I change the background?**
Settings — hold the bottom-left corner — then background & light. There is a
row of colours, a "choose image" button for your own picture, and a dimming
slider once an image is set. The theme chips at the top change the colour of
the stars themselves.

**How do I go back?**
Inside a folder, trace your finger back to the small mark at the centre of
where you came from — the ring folds shut. To leave entirely, slide to any
empty part of the sky and lift.

**Can I have different home screens?**
Two ways. Regions split one screen into areas — holding the top half gives one
set of apps, the bottom half another. Skies are entirely separate setups,
switched from the top of settings, each with its own apps, layout and colours.

**It keeps opening folders while I'm looking around.**
Folders open when you rest on them, so keep your finger moving while you look.
If it is still too eager, settings › accessibility › extended, and raise
"folder ring blooms after".

**I can't hold my finger down that long.**
Turn on latched buttons in settings › accessibility. After that you hold once,
lift, and the ring stays open — tap the stars to pick one, tap ◉ to open it,
and ‹ to go back. Both sit at the bottom right. You can also turn on dwell to
select, which opens whatever you rest on.

**How do I back it all up?**
Settings › star chart › export ✦, then choose where to save the file. That one
file holds your whole sky and you can share it. Widgets are the only thing that
has to be set up again on a new phone.

**What is a talisman?**
A shape you draw to open something. You inscribe it once in settings ›
talismans — draw the shape twice, then choose what it opens. After that,
drawing that shape quickly on the home screen opens it straight away. The trick
is speed: a slow press opens the ring, a fast stroke casts the sigil.

**Is it collecting my data?**
No. Zenith has no servers, no accounts and no analytics. The single exception
is if you switch on weather, which sends your location, rounded to about a
kilometre, to a public weather service. Every permission is optional and the
launcher works without any of them.

### Decision tree — "it isn't working"

| Ask | If yes |
| --- | --- |
| "Where on the screen are you pressing?" | A corner or edge → that position has an action; press nearer the middle |
| "Are you lifting before anything appears?" | Keep holding for about a second |
| "Is your finger moving while you press?" | Movement makes it a flick or a glyph. Hold still |
| "Does a ring appear, but empty?" | That region has nothing yet — or they built their sky in another region |
| "Is Zenith your default home app?" | If not, shortcuts, Direct and the home button misbehave |
| "Did you enable Zenith actions?" | If not, lock, shade, recents, screenshot and power cannot work |
| "Which sky are you in?" | Their constellations may live in the other one |

---

## 25 · Glossary

| Word | Means |
| --- | --- |
| **sky** | The home screen, and also one complete switchable setup |
| **star** | One item on a ring: app, folder, shortcut or widget |
| **ring** | A folder's contents drawn as a circle around your finger |
| **constellation** | The whole nested tree of rings in one region |
| **orbit** | How far a star sits from its ring's centre |
| **region** | An area of the screen with its own root ring |
| **bloom** | The animation of a ring opening |
| **dwell** | Resting still on something long enough for it to act |
| **hybrid** | A star that both launches something and holds children |
| **ritual** | A folder that launches everything inside on one release |
| **breathe** | A deliberate 2.6 s pause before a star opens |
| **talisman / sigil** | A shape you draw to open something |
| **cast** | To draw a talisman fast enough that it fires |
| **inscribe** | To record a new talisman |
| **comet** | A notification drifting across the sky |
| **deep sky** | The searchable list of every app |
| **star index** | The all-apps semicircle, grouped by letter |
| **the dock** | The ✛ ◈ ✎ − column shown while you hold |
| **the veil** | A curtain over the launcher, lifted by a sigil or a rested finger |
| **star chart** | A backup file containing your whole sky |
| **my sky** | The real night sky above your location, as the background |
| **supernova** | The shockwave when a star launches |
| **ghost** | The fading trace of your stroke after you lift |
| **direct** | The inbox for things other apps pin to your home screen |
| **zenith actions** | The optional assistive service performing system actions |

---

## 26 · Quick reference

### Gestures

| Do this | Get this |
| --- | --- |
| Hold empty sky | A ring of stars blooms at your finger |
| Slide onto a star · lift | Opens it |
| Rest on a folder star | Its ring blooms |
| Trace back into the ring's heart | Folds that ring shut |
| Lift on empty sky | Everything dissolves |
| Slide onto ✛ · position · lift | Place a new star, then choose what it opens |
| Touch a star · slide to ◈ ✎ − | Icon · edit · remove |
| Second-finger tap − | Removes without ending the hold |
| Hold lower-left corner | Settings |
| Hold lower-right corner | Deep Sky |
| Hold upper-left corner | Notification shade |
| Hold upper-right corner | Lock screen |
| Flick up · flick down | Deep Sky · shade |
| Double-tap the sky | Lock screen |
| Draw a quick circle | Star Index |
| Draw a sigil, fast | Casts that talisman |
| Hold a drifting comet | Catch it — open · dismiss · snooze |
| Two fingers on the sky (gold) | Pinch, pan, twist My Sky · three fingers recentre |

### Defaults

| Setting | Default |
| --- | --- |
| Mode | icon mode (rings) |
| Regions | 1 — the whole screen |
| Hold delay | 220 ms |
| Folder dwell | 330 ms |
| Orbit radius · star size | 150 dp · 26 dp |
| Labels | on hover |
| Theme · background | clean · black |
| Clock · date | on · on, top centre |
| Weather · battery · next event | off |
| Comets | on (needs notification access) |
| Sky veil | off |
| Sound | off |
| Orientation | portrait |
| Everything in accessibility | off |

### Where to find things

| To change… | Go to |
| --- | --- |
| Colours, wallpaper, icon pack, star style | settings › background & light |
| Ring size, star size, labels, effects, hold delay | settings › rings & effects |
| What corners, edges, flicks and double-tap do | settings › gestures |
| Splitting the screen, all-apps triggers | settings › regions & star index |
| Clock, date, weather, battery, next event | settings › sky overlays |
| Default launcher, status bar, Gold, veil, comets, hints | settings › system |
| Drawn sigils | settings › talismans |
| Backups, hidden apps, erasing | settings › star chart |
| Dwell, latched buttons, contrast, text size, timings | settings › accessibility |
| Separate complete setups | settings › skies (main page) |

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_✦ zenith launcher handbook · build b0.8 · developed by black syntax ·
published by friend castle · zenith@blacksyntax.com_