Essential tools, mods and workarounds for Pixels and other Androids
- Features
- Requirements
- Screenshots
- Shell Providers (Shizuku & Root)
- Accessibility Permissions
- Localization
- Contributing
- Maps Power Saving Mode: Optimize battery usage during Google Maps navigation by managing screen state (requires Shizuku or Root).
- Are we there yet? (Travel Alarm): Never miss your stop again. Set a destination and get notified when you are nearby. Features real-time distance tracking in the status bar and Live Activity support on the lock screen.
- DIY Automation [Testing]: Create custom automations based on device triggers (e.g., app launches, time) or states (e.g., screen on/off, battery level).
- Screen Off Widget: An invisible widget that can be placed on the home screen to quickly lock the device without using the power button. Now with configurable haptic feedback.
- Caffeinate: A Quick Settings tile to keep the display awake indefinitely or for a set duration.
- Sound Mode Tile: A Quick Settings tile to toggle between Ring, Vibrate, and Silent sound modes.
- Button Remap: Long-press or double-tap hardware buttons to trigger various actions like flashlight, camera, or custom shortcuts. Supports screen-off remapping with Shizuku or Root.
- Link Actions: Intercept and manage how links are opened, allowing you to choose specific apps for different link types.
- Snooze System Notifications: Automatically snooze persistent system notifications that cannot be dismissed normally.
- App Freezing: Easily freeze/unfreeze apps to save battery and system resources. Includes auto-freezing, frozen app shortcuts, and a dedicated management UI.
- App Lock: Secure your applications with a dedicated app lock feature. Integrated with Quick Settings for easy toggling.
- Flashlight Enhancements: Advanced flashlight control with smooth fade-in/out, volume key intensity adjustment, global brightness controls, and live activity support.
- Screen Locked Security: Protect your device by disabling sensitive Quick Settings tiles and power menu when the device is locked.
- Status Bar Icons: Detailed control over which system icons (WiFi, Data, Battery, etc.) are visible in the status bar.
- Notification Lighting: Display a customizable lighting effect with styles (Glow, Spinner, Stroke), per-app colors, flashlight pulse support, and ambient display improvements.
- Dynamic Night Light: Automatically toggle Night Light mode based on the currently active application.
A collection of useful tiles to toggle system settings:
- UI Blur: Toggle system-wide UI blur effects.
- Bubbles: Toggle notification bubbles.
- Sensitive Content: Toggle the visibility of sensitive notification content on the lock screen.
- Tap to Wake: Toggle tap-to-wake functionality.
- AOD: Toggle Always on Display.
- Caffeinate: Keep screen awake.
- Sound Mode: Toggle Ring/Vibrate/Silent.
- Mono Audio: Toggle mono audio output.
- Notification Lighting: Toggle Notification Lighting service.
- Locked Security: Toggle Screen Locked Security.
- Dynamic Night Light: Toggle Dynamic Night Light.
- App Freezing: Toggle app freezing functionality.
- App Lock: Toggle application lock.
- Flashlight: Toggle flashlight with brightness adjustment support.
- NFC: Toggle NFC functionality.
- Flashlight pulse: Pulse flashlight for notifications
- Android 7.0 or higher (Feature support may vary)
- App permissions are optional, Grant necessary permissions for each feature
- Targetted for Google Pixel devices
- Tested on Google Pixel 7 (Android 16 beta program)
- Essentials supports both Shizuku and Root as shell providers for executing advanced system-level commands.
- Shizuku: Make sure to get the latest version of Shizuku preferably from a fork such as yangFenTuoZi/Shizuku or other not from the Google Play as it is no longer well supported especially with Android 16 QPR1 up.
- Root: If your device is rooted, Essentials can bypass Shizuku and use root privileges directly for features like Button Remap and App Freezing.
Help us bring Essentials to more people around the world! If you're fluent in another language, you can contribute by translating the app on Crowdin.
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We welcome contributions from the community! Whether you're fixing a bug, adding a new feature, or improving documentation, your help is appreciated.
Please read our CONTRIBUTING.md for details on our code of conduct, and the process for submitting pull requests to us.
Last updated: 2026-01-13
