Installing Pharos¶

Status: planned. There is no published release yet. Until there is, build from source — see ../developer/development.md.

Pharos installs as an ordinary APK. It requires no root, no bootloader modification, and no Google Play Services.

Requirements¶


Android	8.0 (API 26) or newer
Google services	not required, and never required
Permissions	network access; camera and microphone only if you enable those features
Storage	tens of megabytes; Pharos does not accumulate media or history

Fire OS 8 (API 30) on a Fire TV Stick 4K is the reference target — every release is verified on one.

From a release¶

Download the APK and its checksum from the Releases page.
Verify it before installing:
```
sha256sum -c pharos-<version>.apk.sha256
```
A checksum that does not match means you did not get the file we published. Do not install it.

Install:

adb install -r --user 0 pharos-<version>.apk

--user 0 matters. Without it the install can land in a work profile or secure folder, report Success, and leave the app missing from the launcher. Confirm where it actually went:

adb shell pm list packages --user 0 | grep pharos

On a phone or tablet, without a computer¶

Enable installation from unknown sources for your browser or file manager, open the downloaded APK, and accept the prompt. Verify the checksum first if your file manager can show it.

On a TV box or streaming stick¶

TV devices generally have no browser, so install over the network with ADB:

adb connect <DEVICE_IP>:5555     # e.g. 192.0.2.42:5555
adb devices                      # confirm it says "device", not "unauthorized"
adb install -r --user 0 pharos-<version>.apk
adb shell am start -n io.github.nikolareljin.pharos/.MainActivity

Approve the debugging prompt that appears on the TV the first time. The Fire TV specifics — where developer options hide, and how to find the address — are in fire-tv.md.

Turn ADB off again when you are done. An open ADB port is a full remote shell on that device for anyone on the network.

Upgrading¶

Install the new APK over the old one with -r. Configuration, node identity and paired credentials survive. Downgrading is not supported; uninstall first, which clears the node identity — a node that comes back with a new identity has to be re-paired.

Uninstalling¶

adb uninstall io.github.nikolareljin.pharos

This removes the node identity and all local configuration. If the node was paired with a controller, revoke it there as well; an uninstalled node still occupies its registration until you do.