AXP-Resurection/specs/004-microg-phonesky-integration/research.md

Research: 004 microG + Phonesky

Decision: Packaging layout — follow AXP GOLDEN scheme (owner 2026-09-15)

Decision: Mirror AXP GOLDEN partition roles. Do not invent a product-centric layout. Measured on GOLDEN (002):

Package	AXP GOLDEN path	Our packaging
Phonesky	/system/priv-app/Phonesky_AXP-OS	system + privileged
GmsCore	/system_ext/app/MicrogGmsCore_GH_presigned	system_ext app (not priv-app)
GsfProxy	/system_ext/app/GsfProxy_GH	system_ext app

Ship via a small vendor/sunfish-a16 include (partner_gms pattern) but replace FakeStore with patched Phonesky. Permission XMLs follow the same partitions (system for Phonesky, system_ext for microG).

Rationale: Owner — AXP methods exist for a reason; goal is modernize (LOS 23.2 / A16) and later replace Magisk with KSU-Next+SusFS (007), not redesign the compatibility stack. Ad-hoc LOCAL_PRODUCT_MODULE + ABI-strip/re-sign of GmsCore risks different update/SELinux/behaviour vs GOLDEN.

Alternatives rejected:

• All on PRODUCT — layout drift; hit partition checks awkwardly
• ABI-strip + project re-sign of GmsCore — breaks official microG F-Droid signer
• Stock lineageos4microg + FakeStore — wrong Store model
• Magisk module installers — not for 004 (root is 007, non-Magisk)

Partition headroom: AXP release Phonesky APKs stay fat (all ABIs); CI does not strip x86. If LOS 23.2 sunfish BOARD_SUPER_PARTITION_ERROR_LIMIT is too tight for this package set, raise the error limit modestly (still under BOARD_GOOGLE_DYNAMIC_PARTITIONS_SIZE) rather than breaking microG’s signer.

Decision: Phonesky binary — patch latest, AXP procedure, project sign

Decision: Latest official Play (apkmd) → AXP patch-playstore → project JKS under /srv/rom/secrets/phonesky-signing/. XMLs from AXP etc/. Do not ship Phonesky_AXP-OS-signed.apk as product (wrong trust domain). Keep fat APK unless a later measured need forces arch filtering (document then).

Decision: microG — latest official PRESIGNED + F-Droid

Decision: Latest official GmsCore default APK (com.google.android.gms-*.apk without -hw) + GsfProxy, PRESIGNED, system_ext like AXP *_GH_presigned. Never re-sign. F-Droid microG repo is the update path. No FakeStore/Companion APK from microG releases.

Do not ship *-hw.apk: that Huawei flavor omits NetworkLocationService / NetworkLocationProviderService from the manifest, so microG Location hides Wi‑Fi/cell NLP toggles. GOLDEN ships the default flavor (versionName without -hw, e.g. 0.3.15.250932); LAB previously had 0.3.16.252432-hw and only Timeline — corrected 2026-09-16 to 0.3.16.252432 default for GOLDEN Location UI parity.

Decision: Signature spoofing in 004

Decision: Use LOS 23.2 restricted spoofing only; gaps → 005.

Decision: AXP scheme vs Android 16 / LOS 23.2 (owner 2026-09-15)

Decision: Prefer the AXP A15 / GOLDEN packaging and behaviour scheme when LOS 23.2 / Android 16 still supports it. If A16 makes an equivalent path easier (cleaner APIs, existing LOS hooks), use that — still targeting the same end state (priv Play, updatable official-signer microG, banking path). If A16 makes the AXP path harder or impossible, do not silently invent a divergent stack: document the blocker and redesign the route to the same goals (layout roles, update model, no Magisk-shaped packaging).

Rationale: AXP’s choices were intentional; A16 is a port/modernization, not a license to ignore the oracle. Divergence only when measured necessity.

Oracle scope (owner 2026-09-16): GOLDEN and abu are Android 15 reference images — use them for packaging/layout/behaviour (e.g. which GmsCore flavor exposes Location NLP), not as a pin to their older package versions. On LOS 23.2 / A16 we ship the newest fitting official microG (and peers) that preserve that scheme (default/non-hw GmsCore, not *-hw).

Measured A16 blocker (2026-09-14): Putting Phonesky on system/priv-app fails artifact_path_requirements (generic_system.mk) under LOS 23.2. Route to same end state: keep AXP paths and add them to PRODUCT_ARTIFACT_PATH_REQUIREMENT_ALLOWED_LIST (same mechanism sunfish already uses for a few system libs) — do not move Phonesky to product just to silence the check. GmsCore/Gsf on system_ext already passed.

Align-first (owner 2026-09-15): Do not invent privapp-permissions for GmsCore while GOLDEN ships it as non-privileged system_ext app. Ship only AXP Phonesky XMLs; repair from Self-Check / build errors if A16 truly requires more.

Decision: Signing strategy (FR-010) — locked

Package	Signer	Update path
GmsCore / GsfProxy	Official microG (PRESIGNED)	F-Droid microG repo
Phonesky	Project JKS /srv/rom/secrets/phonesky-signing/	Same-signer patched APKs