Summary

HeliBoard is an open-source, privacy-first keyboard for Android, forking AOSP/OpenBoard. It offers extensive customization and 100% offline functionality, benefiting users prioritizing data privacy and personalized input experiences.

How It Works

This project is a fork of AOSP/OpenBoard, emphasizing a strict privacy model by omitting internet permissions for complete offline operation. Its core design facilitates deep customization of themes (colors, backgrounds), keyboard layouts (symbols, numbers, function keys), and multilingual typing. Key features include inline emoji search and clipboard history, though glide typing requires a separate, closed-source library.

Quick Start & Requirements

Installation is typically via Android app deployment. Glide typing functionality necessitates acquiring and integrating a closed-source library (swypelibs), not included by default. Further details on customization and advanced features are available on the project's wiki.

Highlighted Details

• Privacy: Operates entirely offline, utilizing no internet permissions.
• Customization: Supports extensive theming, user-defined keyboard layouts, and special key configurations.
• Multilingual: Robust support for multiple languages with user-addable dictionaries for suggestions and spell check.
• Features: Includes emoji search, clipboard history, one-handed mode, and split keyboard options.

Maintenance & Community

The project is funded by the NGI Mobifree Fund and user donations. Community interaction occurs via GitHub discussions and Lemmy. Contributions are managed through GitHub issues and pull requests, with translations handled via Weblate. Theme collections and layout tools are available from community members.

Licensing & Compatibility

HeliBoard is licensed under GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3), a strong copyleft license. It also incorporates components under Apache 2.0 and its icon uses Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0. GPLv3 mandates that derivative works and larger integrated works must also be released under GPLv3.

Limitations & Caveats

Glide typing functionality is dependent on a proprietary, externally sourced library. User-provided dictionaries for suggestions may exhibit variable quality. Translations are managed exclusively through Weblate, and PRs for translation updates are not accepted. AI-generated issues are discouraged without disclosure.