ZenActions & system shortcuts
Zenith has two kinds of built-in action. ZenActions are things a gesture can do inside or around the launcher — open a screen, or reach a system panel like the notification shade. System shortcuts are single-tap jumps straight into a phone feature — the camera ready to shoot, a timer counting — that you plant as a star — an app, folder, or shortcut you've placed.
ZenActions — what a gesture can do
What it is. The list of actions you can bind to a corner, an edge, a flick, a double-tap, or a talisman — a gesture shortcut you draw. You assign them wherever a gesture is set; see Assign an action to a gesture.
The list.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| "settings" | Open Zenith's settings |
| "deep sky" | Open the full A–Z app list |
| "star index" | Open the quick A–Z picker |
| "shade" | Pull down the notification shade |
| "quick tiles" | Open the quick-settings panel |
| "recents" | Open the recent-apps overview |
| "lock" | Lock the screen |
| "screenshot" | Take a screenshot |
| "power menu" | Open the power dialog |
| "back" | Go back |
| "home" | Go home (needs no permission — works whether or not "Zenith actions" is on) |
| "seal the sky" | Draw the privacy veil over the launcher |
| "app or shortcut" | Open any app or system shortcut you bind to it |
| "open assistant app" | Open your assistant app |
| "ask the sky ✦" | Open Zenith's own AI assistant |
| "shuttle 🚀" | Open the suite's shared tray |
"app or shortcut" is the open slot — it opens whatever you bind to that gesture, so any gesture can reach anything.
"open assistant app" opens the assistant you pick for it: "system default", then — each only when its app is installed — "Gemini · reads your screen", "Google voice · mic box", ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or Copilot. It needs no special permission.
Over another app. The quick ring — the ring you can open over any app — runs only "shade", "lock", "recents", "quick tiles", "screenshot", "power menu", "back", "home", "star index", and "app or shortcut". Any other action closes it.
The "Zenith actions" accessibility service
Why it exists. Some ZenActions do system-level things Android only allows through an accessibility service. Seven need it: "lock", "shade", "recents", "quick tiles", "screenshot", "power menu", and "back". "home" is not one of them — it works whether or not the service is on. "lock" and "screenshot" also need Android 9 or newer.
What it can and can't see. The "Zenith actions" service is deliberately empty — it reads nothing on your screen and watches no other app. It exists only so Android will let the launcher perform those system actions.
Only from your own gesture. The service acts only when you do — a corner, an edge, a flick, the double-tap, a talisman you draw, or the quick ring. Ask the sky, the built-in AI assistant, never runs these seven, even with the service on. It can still set a gesture to one of them; it replies "<action> uses Zenith actions, which only run from your own gesture" and points you to that gesture. "home" still runs from ask the sky.
Turning it on. You enable it in Android's own accessibility settings, not inside Zenith. If you use one of these actions while it is off, Zenith first opens a "zenith actions" notice stating what the service does and does not do, with "continue" and "not now". Choosing "continue" takes you to Zenith's own switch in Android's accessibility settings (on Android 11 and newer; on older phones, to the accessibility list) so you can turn it on; choosing "not now" enables nothing. Settings also shows an "enable zenith actions →" button, which opens the same notice. Every route to the toggle passes through it.
System shortcuts — jump straight into a feature
What it is. Single-tap actions you plant as a star from the add sheet, each opening straight to the live thing rather than an app's home screen. They are plain platform features — nothing to install or sign in to — and free.
The list. "voice assistant (hold-power)", "camera", "video camera", "selfie camera", "new alarm", "timer", "alarms", "web search", "phone dialer", "compose email", "add contact", "new calendar event", "maps", "system settings", "wi-fi settings", "bluetooth settings", and "battery settings".
"new alarm" and "timer" open your phone's clock app. "system settings" opens Android's own Settings. The "settings" star from the 🚀 tab's zenith actions still opens Zenith's settings. A "system settings" star you renamed in an older version can't be told apart from that one, so it keeps opening Zenith's settings.
When nothing handles it. A system shortcut tries to open the feature. If no app on your phone can handle it, Zenith says "nothing on this phone handles that" rather than failing silently. A system shortcut can also be bound to a gesture through the "app or shortcut" action.
See also.
Assign an action to a gesture · Talismans — draw, inscribe, cast · The Sky Veil · Gestures conflict with system gestures