Pocket

Collect now. Share when you're ready.

Pocket is a temporary tray on Android. A floating bubble sits over other apps. Share images, PDFs, notes, and links in; Pocket keeps its own copy on this device; share that copy out when you know where it’s going.

No account. No server. The app does not request the INTERNET permission.

_{Shelf stills from the running app. There is no in-repo screenshot of the bubble yet.}

Install

Android 8.0 or newer (API 26). Sideload from Releases once a vX.Y.Z tag has been published, or build locally.

You need JDK 17+ and Android SDK platform 35.

export JAVA_HOME=/path/to/jdk-17
export ANDROID_HOME=/path/to/android-sdk
./gradlew :app:assembleDebug
adb install -r app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

Unit tests:

./gradlew :app:testDebugUnitTest

scripts/verify-debug.sh runs those tests, builds the debug APK, and fails if INTERNET leaked into it.

Overlay permission

The bubble needs Display over other apps. Pocket asks on first launch. Without it, the shelf still works from the Pocket app and from Share → Pocket; Settings can turn the bubble on later.

Android may also ask to post a notification. That notification is only so the bubble’s foreground service can stay up while you use other apps.

How to use

1. Add items with Share → Pocket from Photos, Files, a browser, or any other app. That is the reliable path. You can also tap Add on the shelf to pick files or write a note.
2. Pocket copies the payload into its own storage while the share grant is still valid. The original in the other app is never modified.
3. Tap the bubble for tray actions: open the shelf, share everything, clear, or hide. Drag it; it snaps to an edge.
4. On the shelf, open an item, select several, arrange order, then Share or Remove. Mixed files and text are offered as separate actions so nothing is dropped silently.

Cross-app drag-and-drop onto the overlay is unreliable on Android. Many apps never start a global drag, and some versions never deliver drops to overlay windows. If a drop does not land, use Share → Pocket. Pocket does not use Accessibility to watch other apps.

Privacy

• Copies live in Pocket’s app storage on this device.
• There is no account and no server.
• INTERNET is removed in the manifest (tools:node="remove"). CI checks the built APK.
• Display over other apps is only used to show the bubble.
• Removing an item deletes Pocket’s copy only.

Releases

App versions live in gradle.properties as VERSION_NAME and VERSION_CODE, and are wired into the Android module. Git tags are v plus VERSION_NAME.

After merging a version bump and CHANGELOG entry to main:

git tag vX.Y.Z
git push --tags

That tag must match VERSION_NAME (for example v0.2.0). GitHub Actions then creates a GitHub Release and attaches a debug APK (sideloadable) plus a release APK when the unsigned package builds. These are not Play Store–signed.

Current app version: 0.2.0 (versionCode 2). Tag v0.2.0 on main to publish the first versioned GitHub Release. Older debug-* tags are ad-hoc APK drops, not versioned releases.

License

MIT