- Features.md: translate all Italian UI strings to English (chat examples, Avvia cottura → Start Cooking, Spiega → Explain, La quantità è giusta → correct) - Android-Kiosk.md: translate Italian button labels (Concedi permessi → Grant permissions, Rileva automaticamente → Auto-discover); fix REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES description (OTA kiosk self-updates, not scale APK); fix REORDER_TASKS description; add 'Header Overlay Buttons' section documenting the three web overlay buttons (✕ ↻ ⚙️) and the permanent native button hiding - Scale-Gateway.md: translate Italian button labels (Cerca Bilance Bluetooth → Find Bluetooth Scales, Leggi bilancia → Read Scale, Disconnetti/Riconnetti → Disconnect/Reconnect) - FAQ.md: translate all Italian strings (AI non disponibile → AI not available, Bring! non configurato, Leggi bilancia, Carica altri → Load more); replace outdated 'Gateway install fails' section (separate APK no longer exists for kiosk users) with 'Kiosk app update fails'; update ✕ button description to reflect the new 3-button overlay (✕ ↻ ⚙️); restore missing Getting Help section - Home.md: update What's New v1.7.13 with complete list of changes; mark evershelf-scale-gateway/ as DEPRECATED in repo structure
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📺 Android Kiosk App
The EverShelf Kiosk app turns any Android tablet into a dedicated, locked-down kitchen display running EverShelf full-screen.
Download
Current version: v1.6.0 — requires Android 7.0+
What it does
- Displays the EverShelf web app in a full-screen WebView (no browser chrome)
- Locks the screen with Android's
startLockTask— home, recents, and back buttons are blocked - Runs the built-in BLE scale gateway as an integrated foreground service — no external app required
- Provides a native TTS bridge so Cooking Mode reads steps aloud via Android TextToSpeech
- Auto-detects your EverShelf server on the LAN with a smart discovery scanner
- Reports errors and install failures back to the developer automatically
Setup Wizard (6 steps)
The wizard runs automatically on first launch.
Step 1 — Language
Select the app and web interface language (Italian, English, German).
Step 2 — Welcome
Overview of what the wizard will configure.
Step 3 — Permissions
Grant camera, microphone, and storage permissions needed by the web app.
The button transforms from "Grant permissions" to "✅ Permissions granted — Continue →" (green) once all permissions are granted.
Step 4 — Server URL
Enter your EverShelf server URL (e.g. https://192.168.1.100/dispensa).
Or tap "Auto-discover" to let the wizard scan your LAN:
- 60 parallel threads, TCP pre-check, ports 80/443/8080/8443
- Only scans your actual Wi-Fi/Ethernet subnet (VPN and cellular interfaces ignored)
- Real-time feedback as hosts are tested
Step 5 — Smart Scale
If you have a Bluetooth LE smart scale, configure it here:
- Tap "Yes, I have a scale" — the app scans for nearby BLE devices
- Tap your scale in the list (devices most likely to be scales are marked with ⭐)
- On selection, the app automatically writes
scale_enabled=trueandscale_gateway_url=ws://127.0.0.1:8765to your EverShelf server
The BLE gateway runs as a built-in foreground service — no external APK needed.
Step 6 — Screensaver
Choose whether the screen should go dark after inactivity.
Summary
All done — the web app loads in full-screen kiosk mode.
Header Overlay Buttons
Three buttons are injected into the top-left of the web header by the kiosk app:
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| ✕ | Exit kiosk mode (confirmation dialog) |
| ↻ | Hard-refresh — clears WebView cache and reloads the app |
| ⚙️ | Open EverShelf Settings |
The native Android settings button is permanently hidden once the overlay is injected — the ⚙️ web button replaces it entirely.
Exiting Kiosk Mode
Tap the ✕ button in the header overlay (top-left). A confirmation dialog appears.
Hard Refresh
Tap the ↻ button in the header to clear the WebView cache and reload the latest version of the web app.
Update Notifications
Every 6 hours the app checks GitHub releases. If a newer version is available, a banner appears with a one-tap download and install flow.
Native TTS Bridge
When Cooking Mode reads recipe steps, the kiosk app:
- Intercepts the TTS call from the web app via a JavaScript bridge
- Uses the Android
TextToSpeechengine directly - Falls back to the browser Web Speech API if the bridge is unavailable
No internet connection required for TTS. No extra voice packs to install.
SSL / Self-signed Certificates
The WebView accepts self-signed certificates automatically. No configuration needed for local HTTPS servers.
Troubleshooting
"Server non trovato" during auto-discovery
- Make sure your tablet and server are on the same Wi-Fi network
- Ensure the server is not on a VPN-only interface
- Try entering the URL manually
Screen pinning / back button not working
- Screen pinning requires the app to be set as Device Owner or the user to confirm the pin prompt
- Some Android skins (Samsung, Xiaomi) may require additional accessibility permissions
App crashes on startup
- Force-stop the app, clear its data (Settings → Apps → EverShelf Kiosk → Clear data), and relaunch
Building from Source
cd evershelf-kiosk
./gradlew assembleRelease
# APK: app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk
Requires Android Studio or JDK 17+ with the Android SDK.
Permissions
| Permission | Purpose |
|---|---|
INTERNET |
Load the EverShelf web app |
CAMERA |
Barcode scanning and AI photo identification |
RECORD_AUDIO |
Voice input in AI chat |
WAKE_LOCK |
Keep the screen on |
REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES |
Over-the-air kiosk self-updates (installs new APK from GitHub releases) |
ACCESS_WIFI_STATE |
LAN auto-discovery |
REORDER_TASKS |
Bring the kiosk app to foreground when needed |