# kodeOS

kodeOS is the system your Kode Dot runs when you switch it on: the lock screen, your apps and the settings. What it does and how to get around it.

## What it is

kodeOS is the system your Kode Dot runs when you switch it on, much like the
home screen of a phone. It shows the time, keeps your apps in a list, holds
the settings, and installs and opens the apps you get from the marketplace.
Every Dot ships with it.

It has three screens:

- **The lock screen.** The time, the date and Kody, the Dot's character, in a
  small scene. Swipe left or right to change his scene. Left alone for a
  while, it dims to **rest**.
- **Apps.** Every app on your Dot in one list, with tabs on top to filter
  them. The app in focus is lit.
- **Settings.** Seven tiles, one icon each: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Screen,
  Battery, About, Self-test, which checks the Dot's parts one by one, and
  Power off.

**An app takes over the whole Dot.** While it runs, kodeOS steps aside. When
you leave the app, the Dot comes back to Apps with that app still lit.

![How the screens of kodeOS lead to each other. The lock screen goes to rest with BOT, and BOT wakes it. From the lock screen, a swipe up or TOP opens Apps; holding BOT for 5 seconds, or pulling the list down, locks again. From Apps, TOP or a tap on the lit app opens its card, and BOT closes it. From Apps, BOT or a swipe down from the top opens Settings, and BOT closes them. On the app card, Run starts the app, which runs on the whole Dot until BOT and LEFT are held together, and then the Dot comes back to Apps.](/kodeos/screen-flow.png)

*The screens of kodeOS and the buttons that move between them. The pictures come from an earlier version, so the screens look slightly different on your Dot*

## Minimal example

Open an app:

1. Switch the Dot on. It starts on the lock screen. If the screen is dim, press the red **BOT** button to wake it.
2. Swipe up, or press the blue **TOP** button, to unlock. Apps opens.
3. Move the light to an app with the pad or your finger, then press TOP, or tap the lit app. Its card opens.
4. Press **Run**.
5. To leave the app, hold BOT and **LEFT** on the pad together for about one second. The Dot comes back to Apps.

## Contract

| You want to | Do this |
| --- | --- |
| Wake a dim lock screen | Press BOT. Nothing else wakes it |
| Unlock | Swipe up, or press TOP |
| Change Kody's scene | On the lock screen, swipe left or right, or press left or right on the pad |
| Open an app | Light it, press TOP or tap it, then **Run** |
| Open the settings | Swipe down from the top edge of the screen, press BOT on Apps, or hold TOP |
| Go back | Press BOT |
| Go to Apps from anywhere | Hold BOT for about half a second |
| Lock the Dot now | Hold BOT until the blue ring around the screen fills, about 5 seconds, or pull the list of apps down from its top |
| Leave an app | Hold BOT and LEFT together for about one second |
| Switch the Dot off | Settings, then the **Power off** tile, then hold **Power off** until the ring fills. Press BOT or plug in a cable to switch it on again |
| Set your time zone | Settings, then **About**, then **Time zone** |
| Change when it locks by itself | Settings, then **Screen**, then **Auto-lock**. It is 2 minutes unless you change it |
| Get more apps | The marketplace (`ecosystem/marketplace`) or the Kode app (`ecosystem/mobile-app`) |

## Gotchas

> **NOTE**
>
> **A dim screen only wakes with BOT.** At rest, TOP, the pad and a touch only
> show `Press BOT to wake` at the top.

> **WARNING**
>
> **On a cable, Power off waits for you to unplug.** The cable keeps powering
> the Dot, so it stays on and switches off when you pull the cable out.

> **NOTE**
>
> **The clock shows `--:--` on a new Dot.** It takes the time from the internet
> once the Dot is on Wi-Fi. Until then it cannot know it.

> **DANGER**
>
> **A full image replaces kodeOS.** Some apps on the marketplace are full images:
> after one, the Dot runs that app alone. `ecosystem/marketplace` says how to
> get kodeOS back.

## Verify

Switch the Dot on. The lock screen shows the time and Kody, and a swipe up
opens Apps.

## See also

- `ecosystem/marketplace`: find and install apps
- `ecosystem/mobile-app`: install apps from your phone
- `internals/overview`: how kodeOS works inside, for people who work on it