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Xen HTML widgets for Lock Screen and Home Screen

Promotion image of Xen HTML article.

One of the most sought-after features on iOS devices has always been the ability to place a variety of widgets on both the Home and Lock screens. Xen HTML tweak offers widgets are based on web technology for jailbroken devices running iOS 9 to iOS 14.

What is Xen HTML?

Xen HTML is a tweak that enables the use of JavaScript and HTML widgets on jailbroken iOS devices, on both the Home Screen and Lock Screen. Additionally, the widget engine supports widgets designed for other popular tweaks such as LockHTML, iWidgets, SBHTML, and Cydget.

If you're looking to customize the appearance of your iPhone, Xen HTML is an excellent tweak for that. It allows you to add widgets to your screen, which not only makes your device more unique, but also provides useful information gives you even more control over the look and feel of your device. Add widgets like current weather, available RAM, and new clock and date.

Once installation is completed, the Xen HTML tweak adds a dedicated preferences' pane to the Settings app. This pane allows you to configure all settings and manage widgets on both the Home Screen and Lock Screen. Additionally, you can also hide certain stock elements, such as the lock screen clock, the “Press home to unlock” text, and other elements.

Two iPhone screens showing the Xen HTML tweak interface on iOS.

Xen HTML tweak allows for separate management of widgets for the Home Screen and Lock Screen, but the workflow is the same for both. You can place widgets in the background and foreground. Once a widget is selected, you have the flexibility to set its position on the screen and configure available options. The Xen HTML tweak supports iOS 9 up to iOS 14.8.1.

With just a simple time/date widget and a new wallpaper on the Lock Screen, you can completely refresh the look of your iDevice. Many available widgets for the screen come with a predefined setup, so you don't have to configure everything yourself.

Widgets can utilize frameworks such as React or Vue.js, or transpiled languages such as TypeScript. Developers created widgets that can display system information on your device screen thanks to the XenInfo API. These include weather, reminders, status bar, and more.

Note: Xen HTML's developer, akamatchstic, has abandoned the project and will not be updating it any further. As a result, Xen HTML tweak will not be released for iOS 15, iOS 16 and newer jailbreaks. XinaA15 and Palera1n are not supported.

Adding widgets to the Lock Screen is just one way to enhance the look and functionality of your device. Xen HTML also allows you to add widgets to the Home Screen, keeping your favorite information easily accessible. Apple has since borrowed this feature for iOS 14 and newer.

Two iPhone screens showing the Xen HTML widget on Lock Screen.

When it comes to the Home Screen, Xen HTML allows you to hide elements such as dock blur, folder icon blur, icon labels, and page indicators. Furthermore, you can drag and drop widgets to position them on the screen, and change their settings using the Integrated Widget Editor.

To add widgets alongside icons, enter Edit Home Screen mode and use the + button from the status bar to place Xen HTML widgets on the screen. There are a lof if widgets available through repos, including clocks, system information, and Instagram photo feeds, which can be displayed directly on your screen. You can find a list of Xen HTML widgets repos later in the article.

Xen HTML 2.0 utilizes new WebKit APIs from Apple to enhance performance. It also includes optimizations such as pausing widgets to reduce battery usage. The new version also features a simplified HTML rendering process and a brand-new API for widgets to access system-level data and functionality. No further updates of the widget engine tweak will be released.

Please note that version 2.0 of Xen HTML has not been tested on iOS 9. If you encounter any issues, it is recommended to use the older 1.1.5 version. Additionally, version 2.0 provides full backward compatibility for XenInfo, InfoStats 2, and WidgetWeather. This means that you no longer need to have these tweaks installed to access the API features.

Xen HTML is released as an open-source project and its source code is published under the GPL-2.0 license through a GitHub. To build the project, you will need to install and Xcode and the iOSOpenDev libraries. The last updates to the code were made on March 20th, 2021.

In addition to Xcode, you will also need to have node.js and yarn installed to build the widget info library and the Setup UI. The master branch is a snapshot of development for each public release, and all development efforts take place in the develop branch until they are stable.

Two iPhone screens showing how to add widgets to Home Screen using Xen HTML.

Add Repository

Xen HTML tweak has been moved to the Havoc Repository. To download the latest version of the widget engine for both the Lock Screen and Home Screen, add the official Cydia Repository to your package manager. Xen HTML is works with iOS 10, iOS 11, iOS 12, iOS 13 and iOS 14.

To install Xen HTML tweak on your jailbroken iOS device with Cydia, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Cydia app from the Home Screen.
  2. Tap on the Sources tab, then select Edit.
  3. Add the following repository URL: https://havoc.app
  4. Install Xen HTML package from the new repository.
  5. To apply all changes respiring your iPhone.
  6. Once installed the tweak can be enabled from Settings app.

Alternatively, please use the quick links available below to add the repository to your favorite package manager (Cydia, Sileo, Installer, Zebra) with just one click.

Xen HTML widgets

The true strength of the Xen HTML engine lies in its widgets. The tweak itself comes with a few built-in widgets, however, the most diverse and customizable ones are available through additional Cydia Repos. Below is a list of the official, Xen HTML widget repositories.

Xen HTML widgets can be added on top of the wallpaper on the Lock Screen, in line with the original Lock Screen clock and notifications, allowing them to move when swiped, on top of the wallpaper on the Home Screen, and inline with app icons on any page.

  1. D-Shin's Repo – https://jose905.github.io
  2. Brian's Repo – https://brianleek.me/repo/
  3. Classicxii's Repository – https://classicxiirepo.github.io
  4. tdmd repo – https://tdmd.github.com
  5. N-I-N-0's Repo – https://n-i-n-0.github.io/repo/
  6. Evelyn's Repo – https://evynw.github.io
  7. RKO1195 Repo – https://rko1195.com/cydia/
  8. dubailive Repo – https://dubailive.github.io
  9. Ocean Repo – https://ocean.webjungle.ch
  10. junesiphone.com – http://junesiphone.com/supersecret/
  11. CodeOne88 – https://codeone.yourepo.com
  12. tdmd repo – https://tdmd.github.io

Info: Using Xen HTML widgets on iOS 9 – iOS 14 can provide a number of benefits, such as quick access to important information, customization, increased productivity, better organization, and enhance the look and feel of your device.

What's new

  • Updated Xen HTML to version 2.0.2.
  • Added full support for iOS 13.4 to iOS 14.4 versions.
  • Built a brand-new API for widgets with iOS 10 and up.
  • Added a number of default widgets that take advantage of the new API.
  • Added Advanced configuration panel; adjust widget battery management, apply developer options, and more.
  • Various system stability improvements, bug fixes, and quality-of-life updates.
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Kuba has over 20 years of experience in journalism, focusing on jailbreak since 2012. He has interviewed professionals from various companies. Besides journalism, Kuba specializes in video editing and drone flying. He studied IT at university before his writing career.

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