Share the look, not your life.
A customised launcher becomes personal very quickly. The colours are the part I may want to show someone. My aliases, scripts, app lists, tokens, and habits are not. RETUI keeps those two ideas in different files on purpose.
A preset begins as something local
A preset is a named snapshot of the current `theme.xml` and `suggestions.xml` colours. It is useful because I can experiment with wallpaper auto-colour, tune the result, and still get back to a version that felt right.
wallpaper -auto preset -save forest-dusk
That is the personal part of the workflow. The sharing step comes later, once the look is something I would actually hand to another person.
The export has a narrow boundary
Open Settings, go to System & Support, and choose `Create Shareable Configuration`. RETUI lets you export either the current active look or one of your saved presets.
The resulting package contains three things:
theme.xmlThe shared terminal, module, drawer, and interface colours.
suggestions.xmlThe suggestion colours and presentation values that belong to the look.
manifest.txtA small marker identifying the file as a shareable RETUI configuration, including its schema, app version, and source.
It does not contain modules, Lua or Termux scripts, aliases, apps, contacts, shortcuts, callbacks, tokens, reminders, or the rest of your private Launcher state.
A backup is intentionally different
The neighbouring `Backup` action exists for your own device migration and recovery. It can include the RETUI working folder and personal preference state, and it can be password-protected. That makes it useful to you and inappropriate for a public marketplace.
Shareable configurationTwo visual configuration files and manifest metadata. Designed to leave your phone.
Personal backupYour broader Launcher state. Designed to restore your own setup, not become somebody else's download.
The receiving phone still has a say
The recipient imports the shareable package through `Settings > System & Support > Restore`. RETUI recognises the shareable manifest and replaces only the included visual files, leaving personal state alone.
There is one current detail worth knowing: wallpaper auto-colour lives in `ui.xml`, which is deliberately not part of the shareable package. If auto-colour is enabled on the receiving phone, it can continue to provide the effective palette after the import.
config -set auto_color_pick false restart
You can also turn Wallpaper Auto Color off in Appearance Settings. A shared look should be judged on its saved colours, not through somebody else's wallpaper.
A good submission needs context
A palette file by itself is technically enough. It is not enough to help another person understand why it exists.
1. Apply itLoad the exact saved look you intend to share and check it on the Launcher.
2. Export itCreate a shareable configuration from the active look or the named preset.
3. Show itTake a screenshot with enough real terminal content to reveal contrast and readability.
4. Add the wallpaperAttach it separately when the theme only makes sense with that image, and only when you have the right to share it.
5. Describe the thoughtA useful name and a short description tell people more than a list of hex values ever will.
I want themes to feel social without becoming careless
Old Android customisation was full of people trading setups, screenshots, wallpapers, icon packs, and tiny discoveries. I want RETUI to have some of that energy. I also want the file being traded to have an honest boundary.
A visual configuration should be boring to inspect: two known files, a manifest, and nothing hiding behind the colours. The interesting part should be what somebody made with it.
The best shared RETUI setup should reveal somebody's taste, not the contents of their phone.