[MOD] How did you augment your favourite custom ROM? - Nexus 10 Themes and Apps

This thread is less about what apps you use but more about what you added to perfect your favourite custom ROM experience.
Please post your favourite custom ROM and how you enhanced it.
With the Purity ROM I add the following:
Trinity Ten (4.2/4.3) Kernel
Although I do not use the app myself, Trinity Ten has a specific app to tweak the settings "Trinity Kernel Toolbox"
Here's a quote on the recommended settings, suggested by an experience Trinity kernel tweaker:
"I suggest using 1.2 Ghz max CPU and letting the 620 Mhz OC of the GPU do the work. I also like SIO and a 512MB read ahead and Interactive governor. ...you should find the 1.2 CPU to be just as snappy in general use as 1.7 GHz. It will also play videos etc just as well and stop the CPU hitting 1.7 for no reason. Stops thermal throttling in games..."
Compliment Purity's expanded desktop option "Status Bar visible" with:
LMT Launcher to provide a PIE menu
Smart Statusbar+ with "Auto Popup Filter" set to "On" to provide an auto hide statusbar
Take the Nexus 10's speaker audio to a whole new level with ViPER4Android Audio Effects FX:
I originally tried ViPER4Android to resolve a lack of bass from my ear buds but tripped across its ability to enhance the Nexus 10 speaker audio. The app not only adds gain (volume) but widens the L/R stereo field and ambience. I was so pleased with this discovery that I almost never use my ear buds unless its absolutely required (e.g. at work). I did not find that Purity's included DSP Manager could do what ViPER4Android can accomplish.
With v2.3.1.1 of Viper4Android I use these settings:
When installing the driver for the first time I selected the highest quality option. Despite the warning message I haven't noticed any negative impact on performance. This is likely due to the overall power of the Nexus 10.
Under the "Phone Speaker" tab:
Master Power->V4A-SpeakerFX is powered on (checked)
EXTRA LOUD->Enable eXtra-Loud is enabled (checked)
EXTRA LOUD->Select Effect Strength (slight)
Compliment Purity's "Dark UI" setting with:
Slim Aroma's selectable Gapps to choose only the Google apps you want to use and their "Black themed" variants
Team Blackout for "Black themed" versions of common Android apps (e.g. FlipBoard) not included in Slim Aroma's selectable Gapps zip
Privoxy filtering proxy to automatically "Black theme" most web pages by inverting any white backgrounds with black text leaving the images untouched
Universal init.d to auto start various apps/daemons at boot time
Busybox crond (included with Purity ROM) for cronjob job scheduling
Here's a link to a cron Job Generator. It makes life easier for those not familiar with cron
OBackup - Nandroid backup GUI to Online Nandroid / Nandroid Backup without re-booting into recovery[CWM + TWRP + 4EXT]
Installing OBackup adds a GUI to backups settings, auto installation of Online Nandroid, a backup schedule, backup retention limits with auto delete and optional uploading to Dropbox, Google Drive, or any FTP
If you do not use OBackup then make sure you also flash partition detection tool as its required on the Nexus 10 to avoid "/boot" being skipped during backups Google Nexus 10 Download
FolderSync to automate cloud and CIFS folder/file synchronization
Invaluable when used to automate off device storage of your Titanium Backup folder and/or onandroid backups
GMD Gesture Control for custom gestures reducing steps to launch apps and/or trigger specific actions.
Although LMT includes gestures controls I have not confirmed if anyone has the feature working on a Nexus 10
GMD also includes a more versatile dock than Nova Launcher (e.g. ability to add Script Manager (SManager) script launch widgets, 5 docks with 5 positions)
USB OTG Helper (Full NTFS support, FAT, Ext2/3/4 if kernel supports them and exFAT support [ See FAQ to enable])
Note: after applying a Purity ROM update I needed to:
Open the ViPER4Android Audio Effects FX app and re-install the ViPER4 driver
Start the Universal init.d app
Run the "Test of ROM supported init.d" then reboot
- This step recreates a symlink to a "/etc/init.d" directory from "/system/etc/init.d"
After the reboot turn the "Universal init.d" option ON
Re-copy your boot scripts to the "/etc/init.d" directory
Reboot one more time
I hope you find this thread informative and encourages others to enhance their install whether you have rooted stock or using one of the many excellent custom ROMs.

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OmniROM + Shuttle Music Player + Xposed/GravityBox Module = Perfection

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This is a good idea for a thread. I use most of those apps and mods myself, 3DSammy, and its a good overview of what's out there. I think it's great info for those newer to the android world to get some solid ideas and feedback on making the most out of the great ROMs we have here. :good:

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Agreed. I'd never heard of Viper before and, good lord, what a difference! I didn't think my studio headphones could sound any better, but, boy, was I wrong. I've been listening to music and smiling since. Thanks!
Sent from my Nexus 4

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This is a good idea but I think it should be moved to general section.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app

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abdel12345 said:
This is a good idea but I think it should be moved to general section.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As so many apps were mentioned I thought this was the best section. In general it will likely get lost. In general if a moderator wants to move it I am not adverse to the idea.

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bruce7373 said:
Agreed. I'd never heard of Viper before and, good lord, what a difference! I didn't think my studio headphones could sound any better, but, boy, was I wrong. I've been listening to music and smiling since. Thanks!
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of all the items on the list for me Viper4Android has the most daily impact. It also works as well on rooted stock. The developer encourages ROM Devs to add it to their ROMs. In fact there is a list of ROMs that have done so.

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3DSammy said:
Of all the items on the list for me Viper4Android has the most daily impact. It also works as well on rooted stock. The developer encourages ROM Devs to add it to their ROMs. In fact there is a list of ROMs that have done so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Is the list in the Viper thread?
Sent from my Nexus 4

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bruce7373 said:
Thanks. Is the list in the Viper thread?
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I was mistaken about the list. I went back to the thread and could not find it, Post #5 has a link for ROM makers on including ViPER4Android but I followed that to their web site and did not find a list there either.
At least we can easily add it ourselves.

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Flash: AOKP, Gapps, FrancoKernel, SuperSU and a volume button switch
Apps: Titanium Pro (of course), Viper (love it), Skifta (for DLNA), Stickmount (for USB OTG with Meenova & 64G SDXC), MX Player, MovieTube (love my movies), Screen Settings (for auto adjust resolution with HDMI output), Mod YouTube
These are the main ones on my N10.

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SmokinCharger said:
Flash: AOKP, Gapps, FrancoKernel, SuperSU and a volume button switch
Apps: Titanium Pro (of course), Viper (love it), Skifta (for DLNA), Stickmount (for USB OTG with Meenova & 64G SDXC), MX Player, MovieTube (love my movies), Screen Settings (for auto adjust resolution with HDMI output), Mod YouTube
These are the main ones on my N10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, SmokinCharger for your contribution. I totally forgot to add my favourity alternative to Stickmount, "USB OTG Helper (Full NTFS support, FAT, Ext2/3/4 if kernel supports them and exFAT support [ See FAQ to enable])". It supports more R/W access to more file formats than Stickmount.
I'll also try some of your other suggestions. Thanks again.

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I've been meaning to write this up for a while now. These items aren't so much UI tweaks directly, they're more about getting a ROM setup the way I like it before the first boot.
The below shows how I "cleanup" a ROM after installing. I don't like having system apps I never use installed. I know I can delete them with other apps, however, I like to have them uninstalled before I even start the ROM. You'll notice that I delete A LOT of apps. No side effects so far!
###############
ROM Management: Let me start with how I install a new ROM or update an existing.
###############
- Download all necessary ROMs, Gapps, Kernel, SuperSU into one directory. I use "/sdcard/_Backup" so the folder is at the top when using TWRP/CWM
- Reboot into TWRP recovery
- Wipe caches for ROM update | Wipe caches, system for new ROM in same family (eg, CM, AOKP) | Factory Reset for new ROM outside of family or 4.3 to 4.4
- I add a prefix to all ROMs, that way I remember which order to flash them. Example:
+ 01_ROM
+ 02_Gapps
+ 02a_Gapps-Photosphere
+ 03_Kernel
+ 99_SuperSU
- I use TWRP, flashing the above at the same time
- Once flashed, I clean caches again
- Back to TWRP home and mount /system
- Now I'm going to run a shell script I created to "setup" my ROM. The script is called fix.sh, and is contained in the spoiler section below
+ The script does:
* Remounts /system
* Copies over the last /etc/hosts to a backup location
* Creates init.d directory if not there and copies scripts over. The only script I have is to copy/backup the kmsg file
* Change the LCD density to be smaller
* Deletes app data (NOT THE APP) for apps that have problems switching ROMs, even in the same family
* Deletes system apps that I don't use. PLEASE REVIEW THE LIST AND CHANGE TO YOUR LIKING
***** README - If you are using this script after a Factory Reset, make sure you don't delete the default launcher. Example - I only use Nova, so I delete Trebuchet. If I were to Factory Reset, run the script, I would not have Nova (yet) and not have Trebuchet. The ROM would boot, but you would not get past the setup screen. Ask me how I know If you mess up, just flash the ROM again and skip running the script *****
- Run the script
+ Go into Advanced and pick Terminal Command, picking where I've put the fix.sh script, in this case, /sdcard/_Backup
+ At the command prompt, type:
sh ./fix.sh
+ This will run the script, you might see errors and I've not added in any fancy error checking
- Go back to TWRP home, then Advanced, then Fix Permissions. Sometimes this fails for me, so I run it again it'll work.
- Reboot and enjoy your clean ROM!!!
Here is my full script for fix.sh with extra comments. Save this as a script (.sh) in your /sdcard:
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh
# Mount /system rw
busybox mount -o remount,rw /system
# Assign variables to common directories
ei=/system/etc/init.d
tw=/sdcard/_Backup/Tweaks
sa=/system/app
# Base adblocking hosts file (Need Adblock, Adaway, or similar installed)
cp $tw/hosts /system/etc
# Copy bootanimation from backup location
cp $tw/bootanimations/bootanimation-GooglePlay.zip /system/media/bootanimation.zip
chmod 755 /system/media/bootanimation.zip
# Setup init.d
mkdir $ei
chmod 755 $ei
#Copy over useful scripts
cp $tw/02log $ei
chmod 755 $ei/02log
# Change LCD density
#ro.sf.lcd_density=268
sed -i 's/ro\.sf\.lcd_density\=320/ro\.sf\.lcd_density\=268/' /system/build.prop
# Remove data for problematic apps
rm -rf /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/*
rm -rf /data/data/com.android.providers.media/*
rm -rf /data/data/com.android.deskclock/*
rm -rf /data/data/com.tmobile.thememanager/*
rm -rf /data/data/com.google.android.gallery3d/*
# Remove unwanted apps
rm $sa/Accuweather*.apk
rm $sa/Apollo.apk
rm $sa/BlueBalls.apk
rm $sa/Books*.apk
rm $sa/CMFileManager.apk
rm $sa/Calendar*.apk
rm $sa/CalendarProvider.apk
rm $sa/CellBroadcastReceiver*.apk
rm $sa/Chromecast.apk
rm $sa/CMFileManager.apk
rm $sa/CMWallpapers.apk
rm $sa/Currents*.apk
rm $sa/DashClock.apk
rm $sa/DSPManager.apk
rm $sa/Email.apk
rm $sa/Email2.apk
rm $sa/Exchange2.apk
rm $sa/Focal.apk
rm $sa/Galaxy4.apk
rm $sa/Games.apk
rm $sa/GenieWidget.apk
rm $sa/GooManager.apk
rm $sa/GoogleCalendarSyncAdapter.apk
rm $sa/GooglePlus*.apk
rm $sa/GoogleTTS*.apk
rm $sa/Hangouts*.apk
rm $sa/HoloSpiralWallpaper.apk
rm $sa/Keep*.apk
rm $sa/LatinIME*.apk
rm $sa/Launcher2*.apk
rm $sa/LiveWallpapers.apk
rm $sa/LockClock.apk
rm $sa/Magazines*.apk
rm $sa/MagicSmokeWallpapers.apk
rm $sa/Microbes.apk
rm $sa/mGerrit.apk
rm $sa/MusicFX.apk
rm $sa/NoiseField.apk
rm $sa/PhaseBeam.apk
rm $sa/Phone.apk
rm $sa/PicoTts*.apk
rm $sa/PinyinIME.apk
rm $sa/PlayGames.apk
rm $sa/PlusOne*.apk
rm $sa/PurityWallpapers.apk
rm $sa/QuickSearchBox.apk
rm $sa/ReVoltLauncher.apk
rm $sa/RingsExtended.apk
rm $sa/SamsungWeather_WidgetClock.apk
rm $sa/SecLauncher2.apk
rm $sa/SecWallpaperChooser.apk
rm $sa/Sun*eam.apk
rm $sa/StreetView.apk
rm $sa/SwagPapers.apk
rm $sa/Talk.apk
rm $sa/Talkback.apk
rm $sa/talkback.apk
rm $sa/TalkBack.apk
rm $sa/TelephonyProvider.apk
rm $sa/Trebuchet.apk
rm $sa/Torch*.apk
rm $sa/UnicornPorn.apk
rm $sa/Videos.apk
rm $sa/VisualizationWallpapers.apk
rm $sa/VoiceDialer.apk
rm $sa/VoicePlus.apk
rm $sa/VoiceSearchStub.apk
rm $sa/YouTube.apk
rm $sa/Wallet.apk
rm $sa/Wallpapers.apk
rm $sa/WallpaperZ.apk
# Set /system to ro
busybox mount -o remount,ro /system
Edit - poor wording

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@sttovo, great write-up, definitely a keeper. The majority of those apks I end up freezing anyway.
A few questions:
--what exactly is the ROM update cache; how is that different than the regular cache & dalvik cache?
--I normally use BaNkS minimal GAPPS, so some of your deleted apks I wouldn't have; if I don't remove them from the script will I run into error troubles?
--you're changing LCD density to 320, correct? Just personal preference?
Thanks.
Sent from my Nexus 4

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bruce7373 said:
@sttovo, great write-up, definitely a keeper. The majority of those apks I end up freezing anyway.
A few questions:
--what exactly is the ROM update cache; how is that different than the regular cache & dalvik cache?
--I normally use BaNkS minimal GAPPS, so some of your deleted apks I wouldn't have; if I don't remove them from the script will I run into error troubles?
--you're changing LCD density to 320, correct? Just personal preference?
Thanks.
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the kind words!
- ROM update cache… sorry for the poor wording, it means that if I'm only updating a ROM (eg, new nightly), I only wipe cache before flashing (and afterwards, I'm anal). Both cache and Davlik cache.
- if you don't remove the "rm… " for an apk, it will get deleted!! Please do not just use the script as-is. You can remove the line for apks you want to keep, or put a comment in front of the "rm… " line using a hash #
- I'm changing from 320 (default) to 268 (trial and error getting some apps to fit the screen the way I like it). Lower numbers will make everything smaller on screen. Totally personal preference.
I don't freeze apps b/c sometimes I'll see them running even though I froze them. Ticks me off

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sttovo said:
I've been meaning to write this up for a while now. These items aren't so much UI tweaks directly, they're more about getting a ROM setup the way I like it before the first boot. ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow super post! I need to add this to my bag of tricks. Right now I work off text notes to manually do some of what you accomplish via script.
I wonder if there is a way to run your script using a flashable zip? In that way it could be the last flashed file in a chain of flash files. Tomorrow I was going to look into an app called "Auto Flasher ROM flash utility. The description is "Auto Flasher lets you flash several ROM files (kernels, tweaks, themes, mods etc..) automatically, based on file name patterns without having you to dig through your recovery for files in different folders".
I could see value in automating these combined steps:
Perform an ondroid backup (nandroid backup)
Trigger "AutoFlasher" to install one or more flash file in recovery
Include your script as the last flashed file
I'm probably dreaming but it would be nice.
Thanks for your post and for keeping the thread alive.

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3DSammy said:
Wow super post! I need to add this to my bag of tricks. Right now I work off text notes to manually do some of what you accomplish via script.
I wonder if there is a way to run your script using a flashable zip? In that way it could be the last flashed file in a chain of flash files. Tomorrow I was going to look into an app called "Auto Flasher ROM flash utility. The description is "Auto Flasher lets you flash several ROM files (kernels, tweaks, themes, mods etc..) automatically, based on file name patterns without having you to dig through your recovery for files in different folders".
I could see value in automating these combined steps:
Perform an ondroid backup (nandroid backup)
Trigger "AutoFlasher" to install one or more flash file in recovery
Include your script as the last flashed file
I'm probably dreaming but it would be nice.
Thanks for your post and for keeping the thread alive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
You're not dreaming! There is a flashable zip that does some of what my script does. It deletes regular apps and system apps:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2437778
I've not used it personally, I was happy with my scripts, so I didn't bother. But for those aren't comfortable scripting, this would do it. Also, it doesn't do the app data clean, init.d setup, and hosts backup.
---------- Post added at 02:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:49 PM ----------
i'll add one more tweak. I like to see the full month, day, time on my statusbar. Not all ROMs support this, I use Carbon, which does.
The format is:
EEEE, MMMM dd, yyyy -
Go into Carbon Settings - Statusbar - Clock:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Edit like so:
Will look like this:

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Edit: After further review it looks like the tutorial's META-INF.rar file is device specific. Further investigation is required to see if the information can be generalized. I'll problably look at your sugggestion first.
sttovo said:
... You're not dreaming! There is a flashable zip that does some of what my script does. ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Considering what we were discussing yesterday, it kind of provokes an "all you have to do is ask" comment. See this thread that is being featured on XDA today. "How To Make a Debloat Script & Complete List Of System Apps". That tutorial includes creation of a flashable zip.
So much to play with and not enough time

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3DSammy said:
Edit: After further review it looks like the tutorial's META-INF.rar file is device specific. Further investigation is required to see if the information can be generalized. I'll problably look at your sugggestion first.
Considering what we were discussing yesterday, it kind of provokes an "all you have to do is ask" comment. See this thread that is being featured on XDA today. "How To Make a Debloat Script & Complete List Of System Apps". That tutorial includes creation of a flashable zip.
So much to play with and not enough time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm so doing this. The only issue I can think of is how easy this will be to change as new system apps arrive. I edit my script about once a month, maybe I'll see if I can make it import a script file.
##########
## EDIT ###
##########
I got it to work with all my script had in it. I moved the system apk delete stuff into the updater-script as shown in the instructions. But I also found a reference to where external scripts could be called in the updater-script.
Edit-2... Seems like my fix.sh script isn't running completely, only some of the commands ran. Strange... will investigate more.
So - my updater-script looks like this:
Code:
ui_print("");
ui_print("Mounting Filesystems");
ui_print("");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/data");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/system");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/cache");
ui_print("");
ui_print("Removing System Applications");
ui_print("");
delete("/system/app/Apollo.apk");
delete("/system/app/BlueBalls.apk");
### I REMOVED A BUNCH FOR CLARITY ###
delete("/system/app/Wallpapers.apk");
delete("/system/app/WallpaperZ.apk");
ui_print("");
ui_print("Running Clean Script");
ui_print("");
package_extract_file("fix.sh", "/tmp/fix.sh");
run_program("/tmp/fix.sh");
ui_print("");
ui_print("Clearing Cache");
ui_print("");
delete_recursive("/cache");
delete_recursive("/data/dalvik-cache");
ui_print("");
ui_print("Unmounting Filesystems");
ui_print("");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "unmount", "/data");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "unmount", "/system");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/cache");
I put my "fix.sh" script in the root of the zip and packaged. These 2 lines execute the script:
package_extract_file("fix.sh", "/tmp/fix.sh");
run_program("/tmp/fix.sh");
My "fix.sh" script is now just this:
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh
# Assign variables to common directories
ei=/system/etc/init.d
tw=/sdcard/_Backup/Tweaks
sa=/system/app
# Base adblocking hosts file (Need Adblock, Adaway, or similar installed)
cp $tw/hosts /system/etc
# Copy bootanimation from backup location
cp $tw/bootanimations/bootanimation-GooglePlay.zip /system/media/bootanimation.zip
chmod 755 /system/media/bootanimation.zip
# Setup init.d
mkdir $ei
chmod 755 $ei
#Copy over useful scripts
cp $tw/02log $ei
chmod 755 $ei/02log
# Change LCD density
#ro.sf.lcd_density=268
sed -i 's/ro\.sf\.lcd_density\=320/ro\.sf\.lcd_density\=268/' /system/build.prop
# Remove data for problematic apps
rm -rf /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/*
rm -rf /data/data/com.android.providers.media/*
rm -rf /data/data/com.android.deskclock/*
rm -rf /data/data/com.tmobile.thememanager/*
rm -rf /data/data/com.google.android.gallery3d/*
I could move the "rm -rf /data/data*" statements into the updater-script, but wasn't sure how much it would delete.
I've uploaded my whole flashable zip if you want to start from that.
THANKS @3DSammy FOR SHARING !!!

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sttovo said:
... I could move the "rm -rf /data/data*" statements into the updater-script, but wasn't sure how much it would delete. ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've spent a little time checking this all out and stumbled across an "Edify Script Language Reference (updater-script)".
One command that may interest you may eliminate the need for those seperate "rm -rf" commands. See:
delete_recursive(file1,...,fileN) #delete files or folders recursively returns a count of files or folders deleted

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OP: If you aren't using Trinity's. Toolbox to control the kernel settings...what are you using?
Brand new N10 user here and I'm trying to squeeze every ounce of battery life out of this due to my long flights.
Franco hasn't released his kernel yet so I'm exploring other options in the interim. Thanks
---------- Post added at 10:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 AM ----------
OP: If you aren't using Trinity's. Toolbox to control the kernel settings...what are you using?
Brand new N10 user here and I'm trying to squeeze every ounce of battery life out of this due to my long flights.
Franco hasn't released his kernel yet so I'm exploring other options in the interim. Thanks