Before you start

Contributing code to Lawnchair will take patience. This page helps you decide if it is a good fit and shows other ways to help.

Lawnchair is not a good first open-source codebase for most contributors. If you are new to Android internals or open source, start with a smaller task or one of the alternatives below.

Who this is for

This guide fits you best if:

• You know Kotlin and the basics of Android development.

• You are comfortable reading Java, XML Views, and Compose.

• You can work through tricky debugging and slower review cycles.

Why contributing is hard

• Lawnchair is built on Google's Launcher3, which means working with platform-level behavior instead of a typical app-only stack.

• The codebase mixes legacy Java and XML Views with newer Kotlin and Compose code.

• Parts of the UI are still being migrated, so patterns can change from one area to another.

• The team is small and volunteer-run, so mentoring and reviews can take time.

• Launcher work often involves Android system behavior like gesture navigation, process management, permissions, and OEM customizations.

A good first contribution is small and contained. Aim for a focused bug fix or a narrow UI change.

Other ways to help

If you can't contribute code directly, you can still help us via the following:

1. Contribute to Lawnicons using the links in the Lawnicons section of the sidebar.

2. Support project maintenance via Open Collective.

3. Answer questions in the community channels.

4. Help translate Lawnchair.

If you still want to contribute code, continue to Get started for setup steps and a practical path to your first contribution.