MosisService/docs/APP-DISCOVERY.md

App Discovery System

Local app discovery without requiring a backend server.

Status

Feature	Status
Directory scanning	✅ Implemented
Manifest parsing	✅ Implemented
Home screen rendering	✅ Implemented
App launching	🔄 In Progress
Package installation	⏳ Planned

Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        Home Screen                               │
│  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐            │
│  │ Dialer  │  │ Messages│  │ TestApp │  │ MyApp   │  ← scanned │
│  └─────────┘  └─────────┘  └─────────┘  └─────────┘    from    │
│                                                         apps/   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              /data/data/com.omixlab.mosis/files/                │
│  ├── apps/                    ← Installed third-party apps      │
│  │   ├── com.mosis.testapp/                                     │
│  │   │   ├── manifest.json    ← App metadata                    │
│  │   │   ├── main.rml         ← Entry point                     │
│  │   │   ├── app.lua                                            │
│  │   │   └── icon.tga                                           │
│  │   └── com.example.myapp/                                     │
│  │       └── ...                                                │
│  ├── downloads/               ← Pending .mosis packages         │
│  └── config/                                                    │
│      └── apps.json            ← App registry (optional cache)   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Discovery Flow

Phase 1: Direct Folder Discovery (MVP) ✅

1. On boot: Home screen calls mosis.apps.getInstalled()
2. AppManager scans /files/apps/ for folders containing manifest.json
3. For each app: Read manifest, extract name/icon/entry point
4. Home screen: Render app grid with icons
5. On tap: Launch app via mosis.apps.launch(package_id)

Phase 2: Package Installation (Future)

1. User copies .mosis file to /files/downloads/
2. Store app or file manager shows pending packages
3. User taps "Install" → mosis.apps.install(path)
4. Package extracted to /files/apps/{package_id}/
5. Home screen refreshes to show new app

Implementation

AppManager (C++)

The AppManager::ScanAppsDirectory() method scans for installed apps:

// app_manager.cpp
void AppManager::ScanAppsDirectory() {
    std::string apps_dir = m_data_root + "/apps";
    for (const auto& entry : fs::directory_iterator(apps_dir)) {
        if (!entry.is_directory()) continue;

        // Look for manifest.json
        std::string manifest_path = entry.path().string() + "/manifest.json";
        // Parse and register app...
    }
}

Lua API

-- Get all installed apps (system + third-party)
local apps = mosis.apps.getInstalled()
-- Returns: [{package_id, name, icon_path, entry, version, is_system_app}, ...]

-- Launch an app
mosis.apps.launch("com.mosis.testapp")

-- Check if app is running
local running = mosis.apps.isRunning("com.mosis.testapp")

Home Screen (home.lua)

The home screen dynamically renders third-party apps:

function initHome(doc)
    -- Get installed apps, filter to third-party only
    local apps = mosis.apps.getInstalled()
    for _, app in ipairs(apps) do
        if not app.is_system_app then
            -- Render app icon
        end
    end
end

function launchThirdPartyApp(package_id)
    mosis.apps.launch(package_id)
end

Test App Deployment

To deploy a test app manually:

# 1. Push to temp location (avoid permission issues)
adb push test-apps/com.mosis.sandbox-test/ //data/local/tmp/com.mosis.sandbox-test/

# 2. Copy to app's private storage
adb shell "run-as com.omixlab.mosis cp -r /data/local/tmp/com.mosis.sandbox-test /data/data/com.omixlab.mosis/files/apps/"

# 3. Verify
adb shell "run-as com.omixlab.mosis ls /data/data/com.omixlab.mosis/files/apps/com.mosis.sandbox-test/"

For Desktop Designer:

# Copy to designer's sandbox_data folder
cp -r test-apps/com.mosis.sandbox-test/ designer/build/Debug/sandbox_data/apps/

App Manifest Format

{
  "id": "com.mosis.testapp",
  "name": "Test App",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "version_code": 1,
  "entry": "main.rml",
  "icon": "icon.tga",
  "description": "A test application",
  "permissions": ["storage", "network"]
}

Directory Structure

System Apps (bundled in APK assets)

assets/apps/
├── home/          # Home screen (always loaded)
├── dialer/
├── messages/
├── contacts/
├── settings/
├── browser/
└── store/

Third-Party Apps (in private storage)

/data/data/com.omixlab.mosis/files/apps/
├── com.mosis.testapp/
│   ├── manifest.json
│   ├── main.rml
│   ├── app.lua
│   ├── styles.rcss
│   └── icon.tga
└── com.example.game/
    └── ...

Future Enhancements

1. Package signature verification before installation
2. Version tracking in apps.json registry
3. Update detection by comparing version_code
4. Uninstall with data cleanup option
5. Store integration for HTTP-based discovery