Your phone, but it boots like a Linux box.
Not another icon grid with a wallpaper behind it. G Launcher is a desktop shell emulation layer. Pick a desktop environment and turn your home screen into a real workspace: top bar, dock, virtual desktops, the lot.
🖥️ AUTHENTIC DESKTOP SHELLS
Configure how your phone behaves, not just how it looks.
GNOME style: top bar, left dock, Activities overview.
Plasma style: bottom panel with a Kickoff-style launcher.
Tiling WM style: minimal status bar plus a Rofi-style run launcher.
CLI / Terminal: launch apps by typing their process name.
Each shell is a modular layout, not a cosmetic theme. Zero desktop clutter unless you pin it there.
🐧 VERBOSE BOOT (systemd / KERNEL LOG)
Cold boot with a live-scrolling kernel log tailored to your distro before the DE starts. Tap to skip. Totally unnecessary, purely decorative, and easily everyone's favorite feature.
🎨 THEMES AS DATA
A theme is a full config payload: palette, geometry, fonts, wallpaper, boot log, splash, and icon treatment. Switching re-rices the whole device in one tap.
🧩 ON-DEVICE ICON ENGINE
Icons are themed on-device for 100% app coverage, not the partial coverage an icon pack gives you. Squircle, circle, squared, teardrop, or monochrome masks with custom radii, tinting, and scaling. Third-party icon packs work too.
🗂️ SELF-ORGANIZING APP DRAWER
Smart categorization and grouping for games and publisher suites. Accept suggestions one by one or all at once. Hide bloatware. Browse by scroll, pages, or a 3D cube effect.
👆 GESTURES & VIRTUAL WORKSPACES
Switch workspaces with multi-finger swipes. Bind gestures to the notification shade, app drawer, search, or any app. Tweak grid layout, dock side, icon scale, and drawer columns.
♿ ACCESSIBILITYSERVICE API (OPTIONAL, OFF BY DEFAULT)
G Launcher uses the Android AccessibilityService API for one purpose: to perform the four system actions Android gives a third-party launcher no other route to. Opening the notification shade, opening quick settings, showing recent apps, and locking the screen. It runs only if you choose to bind one of those four actions to a gesture yourself.
The service stays off until you turn it on. Before G Launcher sends you to Android's accessibility settings, it shows a screen inside the app explaining exactly what the service will and will not do, and asks you to agree. Nothing happens unless you tap Continue there.
The service does not read screen content, does not observe what you do in other apps, and does not collect, store, or share any data. It requests no accessibility events, watches no packages, and does not ask to retrieve window content. Every other feature works with it off, and you can revoke it any time in Android Settings > Accessibility.
🔒 NO ADS, NO ACCOUNTS, NO PROFILING
No ads. No accounts or sign-up walls. Nothing sold to anybody. G Launcher queries the package manager only for launchable app intents. It never reads your full application list.
The app sends anonymous crash reports and three diagnostic events (which distro you picked, whether you granted the home role, whether setup finished) so bugs get found and fixed. No identifier tied to you, no contacts, no message content, no location, no record of which apps you open. Encrypted in transit. Full breakdown in Data safety below.
💚 100% FREE CORE FEATURES
No Pro tier, no paywalled settings, no feature gates. Boot logs, gestures, categorization, icon masking, and every shell are free, forever. Want to support development? Buy an optional Distro Pack of artwork, wallpapers, boot logs, and matching icons.
Built for real devices, from budget phones to flagships.
⚠️ G Launcher is an independent project, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Canonical Ltd, the GNOME Foundation, KDE e.V., or any Linux distribution or desktop environment project. Ubuntu is a registered trademark of Canonical Ltd. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.
Ubuntu-style desktop launcher: authentic shells, boot logs, icon theming.