Re: PSA: How to archive your EXACT homescreen(s) apps to Windows for perfect cross-platform backup/restore sans the net

Maria Sophia wrote:
> It should be almost trivial to archive/restore our EXACT homescreen(s) apps 
> to the desktop PC for perfect cross-platform backup/restore sans the net.

Almost nobody has ever solved this problem and yet, everyone needs it.

Offhand, I can easily think of two basic ways to archive the home screen
with a directory on the desktop for each folder and the APKs inside them.

1. I can disassemble the nova backup file using unzip/sql editors
2. I can assemble a hierarchical database file using adb & file editors

Obviously the second approach is more general, but since I use nova, 
the first approach has merit if it turns out to be easier to do.

a. The .novabackup is a standard zip archive file
b. which contains an sql datbase (i.e., nova.db)
c. which itself lists homescreen folders and package names inside them

So here are the potential steps to create that perfect APK archive.

A. On Android, Nova Settings > Backup & restore > Backup > Save
   /storage/emulated/0/0000/bck/nova_backup/2026-08-19_11-31.novabackup
B. Copy the nova backup to the desktop & rename it to a zip extension
   adb pull 2026-08-19_11-31.novabackup 2026-08-19_11-31.novabackup.zip
C. Unzip 
   08/19/2026  11:31 AM         7,430,144 nova.db
   08/19/2026  11:31 AM             6,455 nova.xml
   08/19/2026  11:31 AM             4,818 supportDetails.txt

I'll try this general-purpose FOSS cross-platform SQL browser.
    <https://sqlitebrowser.org/>
    DB Browser for SQLite (DB4S) is a high quality, visual, 
    open source tool designed for people who want to create, 
    search, and edit SQLite or SQLCipher database files. 
    DB4S gives a familiar spreadsheet-like interface on the 
    database in addition to providing a full SQL query facility. 
    It works with Windows, macOS, and most versions of Linux and Unix.
    <https://github.com/sqlitebrowser/sqlitebrowser/wiki>
    <https://sqlitebrowser.org/dl/>
    [DB Browser for SQLite - PortableApp]
    <https://github.com/sqlitebrowser/sqlitebrowser/releases/download/v3.13.1/SQLiteDatabaseBrowserPortable_3.13.1.paf.exe>
    C:\data\software\editor\sql\db4s\SQLiteDatabaseBrowserPortable_3.13.1.paf.exe
    Name: SQLiteDatabaseBrowserPortable_3.13.1.paf.exe
    Size: 27094952 bytes (25 MiB)
    SHA256: DEE51170538A2E5BFFDD281C96680E1856D0B7440F5042C1A127DB3B5E193CCB

Doubleclicking on that exe allows it to be installed into   
 C:\app\editor\sql\db4s

Make a shortcut and put it in the pinned taskbar accordion menu
    C:\menu\editor\sql\db4s.lnk

DB Browser for SQLite v3.13.1:File > Open database > nova.db
This visually shows the entire Android homescreen SQL database on Windows.

At this point, we have a few choices as to how to output the database
where, apparently, my last known good version of Nova Launcher has
a "favorites" section containing "Intents" which contain the package name.

Last known good version of Nova free/adfree launcher 7.0.57 by TeslaCoil
 <https://tinyurl.com/nova-launcher> last known good version
 <https://mobile.softpedia.com/apk/nova-launcher/7.0.57/>
 <https://mobile.softpedia.com/apk/dyn-postdownload.php/8b21f6f729320222bb5f58052aa5045a/6a6c4ad0/d0/4/1d915>
 <https://us.softpedia-secure-download.com/dl/e225364b176a7e7fdb683772e4081e74/6a6c3cdf/800000208/apk/Nova7-7.0.57.apk>
-- 
The goal is to build a generic process that everyone can benefit using.