Control the eight-LED HiLight array on Pixel 11 Pro devices.

[!IMPORTANT] HiLight Studio is experimental and supports only the Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold on Android 17 (API 37). It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.

Features

• Solid colours and animated patterns across all eight LEDs
• Per-app rules for foreground use and notifications
• Saved presets with import and export
• Wallpaper-derived colours and a Quick Settings tile
• Quiet hours, Do Not Disturb, Battery Saver, and low-battery controls
• Renderer access through Shizuku or an ADB-started helper, with no root required

Screenshots

Style	Apps	Setup

Install

For now, install HiLight Studio with ADB. Play Protect may block direct installs from a browser or file manager because the app uses notification access for LED alerts.

1. Download the signed APK from the latest GitHub prerelease to your computer.
2. Connect a supported Pixel with USB debugging enabled and approve the computer on the phone.
3. From the folder containing the APK, run:

adb install -r HiLight-Studio-v1.0.4-experimental-signed.apk

If you previously installed v1.0.3 or an older debug-signed build, uninstall it once before installing v1.0.4 because the signing certificates are different:

adb uninstall com.hilight.studio
adb install HiLight-Studio-v1.0.4-experimental-signed.apk

The published APK is an experimental release signed with HiLight Studio's permanent release certificate. Future signed releases can update v1.0.4 normally.

HiLight Studio needs shell-level access to the Android lights service. Choose one setup method below. Access must be restored after every reboot.

Shizuku

1. Install Shizuku.
2. Start it using Wireless debugging.
3. Open HiLight Studio, go to Setup, tap Request access, and approve the request.

Restart Shizuku after each reboot, then reopen HiLight Studio.

ADB

1. Enable Developer options and USB debugging on the phone.
2. Install and open HiLight Studio once so it can create its state files.
3. Run both commands below. The first stops any existing renderer. The second starts a fresh ADB helper.

macOS, Linux, or PowerShell (verified):

adb shell "pkill -f 'com.hilight.(core.AdbHelper|studio:hilight)'"
adb shell 'CLASSPATH=$(pm path com.hilight.studio | head -1 | cut -d: -f2) nohup app_process / com.hilight.core.AdbHelper > /data/local/tmp/hilight.log 2>&1 &'

Windows Command Prompt (Unverified):

adb shell "pkill -f 'com.hilight.(core.AdbHelper|studio:hilight)'"
adb shell "CLASSPATH=$(pm path com.hilight.studio | head -1 | cut -d: -f2) nohup app_process / com.hilight.core.AdbHelper > /data/local/tmp/hilight.log 2>&1 &"

Keep the two commands separate. The pkill -f pattern can match the shell that starts the helper if both operations are merged.

Command Prompt passes the pipe, parentheses, redirects, and $() through inside the double quotes. The phone resolves the installed app path.

Check the helper log:

adb shell cat /data/local/tmp/hilight.log

A successful start reports connected: 8 HiLight LEDs. An empty log usually means the command was quoted for the wrong shell.

If the app connects but the LEDs stay dark

Only one renderer can drive the array. A leftover renderer can keep sending black while the app still reports a connection.

Count active sessions:

adb shell dumpsys lights | grep -c "Session token="

There should be exactly one. If there are more, run the reset command and then the start command again.

After either setup method, grant Notification access for notification rules and Usage access for foreground-app rules. Turn on Live, then choose a look in Style. A new installation starts with its always-on style set to Off.

Safety limits

The renderer enforces these limits even if app state is edited:

• Ambient effects stop after 30 seconds by default and can be raised to 5 minutes.
• Notification effects are limited to 1 minute.
• Sustained brightness tapers after 10 seconds of continuous light.
• The array can be active for at most half of any 10-minute window.
• Battery Saver, low-battery, quiet-hours, screen-state, and Do Not Disturb rules can pause output.

Long, continuous use of the HiLight LEDs has not been tested. If you build the project yourself, you can change the timing and safety values in your copy. Custom builds are your responsibility.

See Technical details for the renderer architecture, hardware findings, device verification, and known limits.

Privacy

HiLight Studio has no internet permission, analytics, account system, or telemetry. App rules and presets stay on the device. Notification and usage access are optional and are used locally for the rules you enable.

Build from source

Requirements:

• JDK 21
• Android SDK platform 37.0
• Android Studio or a command-line Android SDK installation

git clone https://github.com/DhananjayBhosale/hilight-studio.git
cd hilight-studio
./gradlew :app:testDebugUnitTest :app:build :app:lint

Build an installable developer APK with:

./gradlew :app:assembleDebug

The APK is written under app/build/outputs/apk/debug/. You may fork the repository, change the source, and build your own version under the terms of the MIT License.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Hardware reports should include the Pixel model, Android build, renderer transport, and exact steps to reproduce. Do not include notification contents or other personal data.

Read Contributing before opening a pull request. Security issues must follow the private process in Security policy.

Project documents

• Changelog
• Technical details
• Release process
• Code of Conduct

License

MIT. You may use, modify, redistribute, and sell the project. Redistributed copies must retain the license notice.