[DEV] Introducing Mechanly - create personal apps and tasks that keep running when your screen is off!

Hi all! Excited to announce **Mechanly** \- my most ambitious project yet.

*Over the years I've built some Android firsts (*[IJP apps](https://ijp.app/)*):* ***Energy Ring***, the battery indicator that wraps around punch-hole cameras; ***Access Dots***, which brought camera and microphone privacy indicators to Android before they became a native feature; and ***CoverScreen Apps***, along with several experiments pushing what cover screens on Flip phones could do. And now super excited to share with another firsts for Android, a super app - Mechanly!

# Mechanly ^ _ ^

Mechanly lets you describe an **App** you wish existed or a **Task** you want your phone to handle.

For example:

*Check my Gmail Spam folder every few hours. Find messages that may have been caught by mistake and let me move them back to my inbox.*

*Or,*

*Every weekday morning, compare my two routes to work. Notify me only when one saves more than ten minutes.*

You don’t have to build a flowchart or connect a dozen blocks. Describe the result you want, review the access it needs, and save it.

Mechanly can create two kinds of experiences:

* **Tasks** work for you on demand or in the background. They can check something, process information, send a notification, or produce an interactive visual result.
* **Apps** give you a custom interface with its own storage, icon, and home-screen shortcut. An App can be a simple personal tool or stay connected to Tasks that keep its information updated.

# Why Android-first?

A modern Android phone is already a powerful, always-connected computer that stays with you throughout the day.

However, many agent-style tools still depend on a desktop computer, server, or open browser window.

Mechanly is built around a different idea: **your phone itself can be the home for your personal Apps and Tasks.**

A Task can run while Mechanly is closed and the screen is off. When it finds something useful, it can notify you or open an interactive result directly on your phone.

You don’t need to leave a PC, Mac, or VPS running just to check a website, prepare a briefing, or watch for something important.

# What Mechanly can do

* **Run Tasks in the background** Tasks can run on demand or on a schedule, including while Mechanly is closed and your phone’s screen is off.
* **Work inside your logged-in browser** Mechanly has a built-in browser. Sign in to a website once, and a Task can later use that same on-phone session. This is useful for information behind a login, especially when the website doesn’t provide a convenient API.
* **Use app connectors** Tasks can work with supported services such as Gmail and Google Calendar.
* **Use Android notifications - with permission** Mechanly can optionally read your phone’s notifications. This makes experiences such as notification triage and overnight summaries possible.
* **Notify you only when something matters** A Task doesn’t have to bother you after every run. It can notify you only when it finds an important email, a delayed delivery, a faster route, a price drop, or another condition you define.
* **Produce interactive visual results** A Task can return more than a sentence. Tapping its notification can open a visual briefing, workout, inbox, report, or another custom experience.
* **Create Apps for your home screen** A Mechanly App can have its own interface, storage, generated icon, and home-screen shortcut. It can be something small and personal that no developer would normally build as a standalone app.
* **Connect Apps and Tasks** An App can display information prepared by background Tasks. For example, a Task could check your orders periodically while an App presents them as a delivery and spending dashboard.
* **Share and import creations** Apps and Tasks can be shared through an import link. The person importing one can review the required access and connect their own accounts.

*I am sharing few Tasks and Apps that I created on Mechanly for your inspiration below, but