Installing Apps on your webOS Device
There's a vibrant community rescuing, archiving, restoring and even building apps for webOS. Since the actual HP App Catalog is gone, you'll need your computer one more time to "side-load" one app that gives you access to the rest of this "after-life" ecosystem.
Getting webOS Quick Install
Like the activation process, this tool works on Mac, Linux and Windows, but requires Java to be installed:
- Install Java (JDK) for Windows: https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase-downloads.html
- Install Java for Mac: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204036
- Install Java for Linux: https://java.com/en/download/manual.jsp
Once you have Java, you will need to download the webOS Quick Install (WOSQI) tool:
Run WOSQI on your Computer
- With your webOS device plugged into your computer:
- Using your computer's command line, navigate to the directory where you downloaded WOSQI
- Run the command:
java -jar wosqi.jar - The webOS Quick Install app should open on your computer
Install Preware
The Preware app is the original Homebrew App Store for webOS, and contains many useful apps, hacks, tweaks from the glory days of webOS. Community members still occasionally publish new apps and updates, and it provides useful infrastructure for installing apps from other sources, so you don't need to plug your Device into your computer.
- Download the Preware app to your computer
- Drag the Preware IPK you just downloaded onto the WOSQI window (or hit the + button and browse for it)
- Press the Install button to install Preware on your device
Install webOS App Museum II
The original App Museum was a listing of the original Palm/HP App Catalog, and provided a way to link to FTP archives and install some of those apps.
App Museum II pulls together multiple sources into a single interface for downloading App Catalog apps that have been rescued or archived by the community. Its a mostly historical source of apps, but curated sections of the Museum contain patched versions and instructions to making some important apps work again.
These instructions assume you've already installed Preware, so you no longer need a computer to install apps...
- Launch Preware on your webOS Device, and wait while it syncs
- From the Preware menu in the top left of the screen, choose "Install Package"
- Enter the URL:
http://appcatalog.webosarchive.com/latest.ipk - Wait while App Museum II is installed!
Alternate Instructions
This documentation attempts to update and simplify information available from older, archived sources. You may find that material to be useful as reference: