Scribe - Search-first Minimalist Launcher
Scribe Launcher is an extreme minimalist Android launcher designed to enforce intentional phone usage through manual interaction.
No Home Screen app grid. No widgets. No visual clutter competing for your attention. Just your wallpaper, and a conscious decision-making about what you want to do next.
To open an app, you write its name with your finger.
Scribe replaces reflexive tapping with deliberate action. By requiring handwriting, it introduces productive friction that forces you to think, and choose what you actually want and need to open at a given time.
Write to access. Think to use.
Instead of showing apps, Scribe hides them entirely (except a few optional shortcuts). You must know what you’re looking for before you can access it. This transforms your phone from a dopamine machine into a deliberate tool that’s there to serve your, not the other way around.
Key Features
- Handwriting-First App Access
- Draw app names with your finger to search.
- Real-time, offline handwriting recognition.
- Each launch requires conscious intent.
- Zero-Icon Home Screen
- No visible apps by default.
- Optional 1 to 3 essential quick-access apps (recommended: 0).
- Wallpaper-first, distraction-free design. Supports Live wallpapers. Also includes minimalist single color backgrounds.
- Manual Search Philosophy
- No suggestions, no rankings, no predictions.
- Alphabetical, neutral results only.
- You decide, Scribe does not guess based on what it thinks deserves your attention and valuable time.
- Keyboard as Optional Fallback
- Minimal keyboard toggle for accessibility or speed.
- Same search behavior, no shortcuts added.
- Total Privacy
- No accounts.
- No analytics.
- No tracking.
- All data stays on your device, always.
Scribe’s Philosophy
- Intentional friction — Opening an app should be a decision, not a reflex.
- Nothing by default — Apps are accessed, not displayed.
- Manual over automatic — Writing forces awareness and true requirement.