I brought the best features of Nova Launcher into my new launcher, but I don’t think you should

saying that nova launcher To say that it had a profound impact on the Android we know and love today is an understatement. The launcher endured over a dozen operating system versions and opened up a universe of customization to users. Not only that, it also made app search and discovery a bigger part of its functionality, forcing competing launchers to up their game. These smarts deserve a lot of thanks Sesame Shortcut,

Although The mystery of Nova Launcher’s death As already heard, my recent thoughts have turned to the bleak future of Sesame Shortcuts. But, at least for now, you can still integrate the powerful Search app into your new Android launcher. Here’s how to do it, why you might want to think twice about it, and what you should consider before doing it.

So, what exactly is Sesame Shortcuts? Initially created as a separate universal search app, it was eventually integrated into Nova Launcher, first as an add-on and eventually as a core part of its search experience. It also has a lesser-known but equally tight partnership with Hyperion Launcher. Despite these collaborations, Sesame remains downloadable and usable as a standalone product.

The big selling point of Sesame Shortcuts is its deep API integration with apps installed on your phone. This allows searches through Sesame to reach much deeper than a traditional launcher search. In practice, this means jumping straight from the search bar to a specific Spotify playlist, Slack channel, subreddits, Twitch channel, and Tasker recipe.

This functionality is also customizable. For example, Sesame doesn’t detect any shortcuts for Arc Search or banana browserBut I can create a custom shortcut with a URL that is searchable and launchable through Sesame. I can point this shortcut to YouTube, giving me a quick way to watch content using the browser’s advanced video player. You can also hide shortcuts you never use, or disable an app’s entire shortcut offering to eliminate its presence on the search bar.

The app also learns from my openings and actions. If it detects that I frequently access a specific Slack channel, perhaps the one we use here to share photos of our pets, it will continue to recommend it at the top of the results page. Ultimately, Sesame is an extremely powerful search tool that reaches places other apps can’t. it makes yours android launcher Far more effective – at least that’s the theory.

How to Use Sesame Shortcuts with Modern Android Launcher

As mentioned, Sesame Shortcuts is available as a standalone app. You do not need to install and use Nova Launcher or Hyperion Launcher to receive its rewards. It will work with almost any launcher, including more modern products and older Android home screen apps.

So how do you do this? Well, there are several methods depending on your device and software environment.

The first is through direct integration. Sesame supports a handful of launchers from the start, including Nova, Hyperion, and more. lawnchair launcherAnd niagara launcherAs a user of it for several months, I was quite excited to see if it still supported it. However, simply toggling on support in Sesame’s Settings page didn’t work for me at all. Niagara continued to use its own search function.

The second option is the solution to my problems above. The Niagara Button – the launcher’s multifunctional home screen button – is editable, and supports customizable tap and swipe up actions. To replace Niagara’s default search with Sesame, I set the tap action to trigger the latter. This takes me straight to Sesame Search’s search page, giving me seamless access to its smarts. It works with any launcher with customizable gestures or buttons, and is a more personalized way to integrate Sesame.

The last option is through a widget. i am testing aio launcher Recently, and while Sesame admittedly was set as my default home screen, it doesn’t offer as deep integration as Nova. In this case, Sesame “recommended” that I add its widget to the home screen. This is a bit awkward, especially because the AIO has a distinctive aesthetic that I wouldn’t want to ruin with a mismatched widget. Still, it’s a good option for launchers with built-in search bars; Just replace it with sesame seeds.

Sesame has two other accessibility options, but the app doesn’t suggest you use either of them. However, they may still work on older versions of Android. The first one is the Screen Edge feature, which activates Sesame via a hot edge tap. Second is the lock screen feature for even faster Sesame access.

Even though the Nova Launcher project has ended, Sesame Shortcuts still has great value, but the app is not without its issues or challenges.

Perhaps the biggest concern is its status as abandonware. According to the statements given in A reddit thread Following the acquisition of Nova by Branch in July 2022, Sesame’s developers confirmed that updated versions of Sesame will only be available within the Nova Launcher. They will no longer work on Sesame’s standalone codebase, hence the lack of updates for the past three years. If you want to feel really old and especially sad, read the posts on this subreddit.

Installing and using Sesame Shortcuts also means onboarding outdated and unsupported software onto your phone. Given that this app has access to any apps you give it permission to do, this may not be the safest or privacy-minded move. I know this, but I wanted to test Sesame in 2025 regardless. It’s worth noting that the latest version of Sesame doesn’t include a single tracker, meaning it won’t let companies harass you behind your back. This at least provides mental peace.

Naturally, that three-year gap has allowed a lot of pests and problems to flourish and begin to decay. As a result, Sesame doesn’t seem as intuitive, seamless, or far-reaching as it once did. On the (somehow still alive) Sesame subreddit several users talk about increasing problems, mainly with new Android phones. Shortcuts are disappearing, some APIs have changed, resulting in performance degradation, and new features introduced with Android have not been adopted.

In a word, no, but my full answer is a little more nuanced than that.

I believe there is room for apps like Sesame in the Android world, but it’s clear that the world it once supported has moved on. Somehow, in the years since its launch, no other app has been able to come close to what it offers. It may no longer be at the prime of its life, but Sesame still outperforms many of the built-in search solutions I’ve used on various Android launchers.

Ultimately, given all of its problems, which are now certainly insurmountable, I’m not sure I can recommend that you head over to the Play Store and install Sesame Shortcuts. If you are interested in its features, you should consider the possible effects of installing an abandoned software. However, I can say the same about Nova Launcher; It still has a group of committed users.

Sesame still has an unlimited trial, so you can try it on a secondary device and explore it for as long as you need. I enjoyed it so much that I bought it, even though that was years ago and long before its development slump. Having used it with the Niagara Launcher in 2025, I can definitely say that time was money well spent; It certainly isn’t anymore.

Still, perhaps the real reason for writing this feature is to call on developers to take inspiration from Sesame and create something better. Just like Nova did for the home screen, Sesame laid the groundwork for universal device search. It is a shame that it is slowly being destroyed.