What is metrolaunch?

MetroLaunch is a free web app that replicates the look and feel of Microsoft's old Windows Phone interface, known as Metro, but running on non jailbroken iOS devices. It works as a Progressive Web App, meaning it installs from a website straight to the iPhone home screen, runs offline once loaded, and updates itself automatically without going through the App Store. The project even reuses the original weather icon artwork from Windows 8. Because Apple does not let third party apps act as a true replacement home screen or freely list other installed apps, MetroLaunch relies on something called URL schemes to open other apps. A URL scheme is a special kind of link, similar to a normal web link, that other apps register so they can be opened directly, sometimes with extra information attached, like a weather app opening to a specific city. Finding the right URL scheme for a given app can be tricky since some are just the app's name while others are close to random text. The README explains a few ways to find them, including a theming app called Brass, or creating a personal Shortcuts app shortcut and pointing MetroLaunch at that shortcut's name instead, which the author says works for any app. One notable feature is a live tile that shows what song is currently playing on Spotify. Because modern browser security rules block the old self hosted approach, this now depends on a small Python script that runs on the user's own Mac or Windows computer while Spotify is open, which registers a username with the author's own status server over HTTPS. The author asks users not to place heavy load on this personal server. Setting up the launcher itself just means visiting the install link, adding it to the iOS home screen, and optionally getting a free API key from OpenWeatherMap if the weather tile should work. The author mentions they may build a Linux version of the Spotify server in the future and welcomes contributions as long as credit is given for any borrowed code.