StandBy for Android

Turn your Android phone into a bedside display with clocks, battery status, upcoming calendar events, and a photo slideshow.

Install on your phone

1. Open the latest StandBy release.
2. Download the APK attached to the release to your Android phone.
3. Open the downloaded APK and follow Android's installation prompts.
4. If Android asks, allow your browser or file manager to install unknown apps, then return to the APK and continue.

StandBy requires Android 8.0 (API 26) or newer. Calendar events are optional; grant calendar access in the app only if you want to show them. Photos are selected through Android's document picker, and access is saved so the slideshow can keep showing them later.

About preview builds

Preview APKs are debug-signed and intended for testing, not production or Google Play. The first production-signed version will use a different, persistent key, so uninstall any preview first; uninstalling removes saved settings. Future production releases can update in place as long as the production signing key is preserved.

Features

• Full-screen digital, analog, and split-flap-inspired clocks
• Battery level and charging status
• Optional Android screen saver mode for a charging bedside display
• Optional upcoming calendar events
• Photo selection and configurable automatic slideshow
• Persistent clock, night mode, and screen-on settings
• Portrait and landscape layouts

Use StandBy while charging

Android starts screen savers while a device is idle, so StandBy may not appear immediately when you connect a charger. To enable it:

1. Open StandBy and tap Settings > Set up charging screen.
2. Choose StandBy in Android's screen saver settings.
3. Select While charging (wording and menu location can vary by phone).

The phone must be charging and Android must decide it is idle before the screen saver starts. Some manufacturers customize or disable screen saver controls; in that case, use StandBy manually from the app.

Build from source

These steps are for contributors or anyone who wants to build the app themselves. They are not needed to install the APK from Releases.

Requirements

• Android Studio with Android SDK Platform 34 installed
• JDK 17 (Android Studio's bundled JDK is suitable)

1. Clone or download this repository.
2. Open the project folder in Android Studio and allow Gradle sync to finish.
3. Select the app configuration and run it on a connected Android device or emulator.

You can also build from the project root using the Gradle wrapper:

Windows (PowerShell):

.\gradlew.bat assembleDebug

macOS or Linux:

./gradlew assembleDebug

The debug APK is created at app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk.

Run unit tests

Windows (PowerShell):

.\gradlew.bat testDebugUnitTest

macOS or Linux:

./gradlew testDebugUnitTest

Build a production APK

The production APK must be signed with a long-lived private key. On Windows, run:

.\scripts\build-production-release.ps1

On its first run, the script asks keytool to create standby-release.keystore in the project root and prompts for passwords without placing them in source code. Keep a secure offline backup of this keystore and its passwords. Losing them prevents future production updates from installing over this release. The keystore is ignored by Git.

The signed APK is created at app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk. Verify it on physical devices before publishing it as a production release.