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Sailfish OS ‑ No apps required

A collection of things you can accomplish with Sailfish OS without the need to install an app.

Preliminaries ∆

Most tips require command line access (via SSH), i.e. you have enabled Developer mode (and remote connection), and entered a password, in
Settings => Developer tools.
If e.g. your phone is connected to the same WiFi router as your computer and got the IP 192.0.0.1, then you can

$> ssh defaultuser@192.0.0.1

You will be asked to enter your SFOS developer password. However, we strongly recommend to make ssh more secure.

If SSH seems too daunting, developer mode will automatically install the terminal app on your phone and you can do everything there.

You will also need a CLI text edtor. vi is preinstalled, but I like nano more:

$> devel-su pkcon install nano

Remove tutorial icon from app menu ∆

$> devel-su rm /usr/share/applications/sailfish-tutorial.desktop

Disable Sailjail for File Managers or similar crucial apps ∆

Disclaimer: it makes sense to have strict per-app permissions. Don't just do this whenever you think it might fix a problem!

But a filemanager is a powerful tool and should be able to see, copy and modify all files where appropriate (Linux file permissions still apply, this is not some sort of root mode).

Example for File Browser from the Jolla store:

  • install the app, but do not start it
  • execute devel-su nano /usr/share/applications/harbour-file-manager.desktop
  • edit the [X-Sailjail] section to look like this:
    ini
    [X-Sailjail]
#Permissions=Audio;MediaIndexing;RemovableMedia;UserDirs;PublicDir
#OrganizationName=harbour-file-browser
#ApplicationName=harbour-file-browser
Sandboxing=Disabled

    i.e. the old permissions are commented out and Sailjail is disabled.

Now you can start the app and it will see all files & folders.

Caveat ∆

It's possible that some edits will not survive an OS or app update. In the end, modifying system files would be best achieved with patches for Patchmanager.