Try the Compose way  
Jetpack Compose is the recommended UI toolkit for Android. Learn how to build widgets using Compose-style APIs.  
[Jetpack Glance →](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/compose/glance/create-app-widget)  
![](https://developer.android.com/static/images/android-compose-ui-logo.png)

<br />

App widgets are miniature app views that you can embed in other
apps---such as the home screen---and receive periodic updates. These
views are referred to as *widgets* in the user interface, and you can publish
one with an app widget provider (or *widget provider* ). An app component that
holds other widgets is called an app widget host (or *widget host*). Figure 1
shows a sample music widget:
![Example of music widget](https://developer.android.com/static/images/appwidgets/music.png) **Figure 1.** Example of a music widget.

This document describes how to publish a widget using a widget provider. For
details about creating your own [`AppWidgetHost`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetHost) to
host app widgets, see [Build a widget host](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/host).

For information about how to design your widget, see [App widgets overview](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/overview).

## Widget components

To create a widget, you need the following basic components:

[`AppWidgetProviderInfo`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetProviderInfo) object
:   Describes the metadata for a widget, such as the widget's layout, update
    frequency, and [`AppWidgetProvider`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetProvider) class.
    `AppWidgetProviderInfo` is [defined in XML](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/appwidgets#AppWidgetProviderInfo), as
    described in this document.

[`AppWidgetProvider`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetProvider) class
:   Defines the basic methods that let you programmatically interface with the
    widget. Through it, you receive broadcasts when the widget is updated,
    enabled, disabled, or deleted. You [declare `AppWidgetProvider` in the
    manifest](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/appwidgets#Manifest) and then [implement](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/appwidgets#AppWidgetProvider) it, as
    described in this document.

View layout
:   Defines the initial layout for the widget. The layout is [defined in
    XML](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/appwidgets#layout), as described in this document.

Figure 2 shows how these components fit into the overall app widget processing
flow.
![App widget processing flow](https://developer.android.com/static/images/appwidgets/flow-diagram.png) **Figure 2.** App widget processing flow. **Note:** Android Studio can automatically create a set of `AppWidgetProviderInfo`, `AppWidgetProvider`, and view layout files. Choose **New \> Widget \> App Widget**.

If your widget needs user configuration, implement the app widget configuration
activity. This activity lets users modify widget settings---for example, the
time zone for a clock widget.

- Starting in Android 12 (API level 31), you can provide a default configuration and let users reconfigure the widget later. See [Use the
  widget's default configuration](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/configuration#use-default) and [Enable
  users to reconfigure placed widgets](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/configuration#reconfigure-widgets) for more details.
- In Android 11 (API level 30) or lower, this activity is launched every time the user adds the widget to their home screen.

We also recommend the following improvements: [flexible widget layouts](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/layouts), [miscellaneous enhancements](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/enhance), [advanced widgets](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/advanced), [collection widgets](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/collections), and [building a widget
host](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/host).

## Declare the AppWidgetProviderInfo XML

The `AppWidgetProviderInfo` object defines the essential qualities of a widget.
Define the `AppWidgetProviderInfo` object in an XML resource file using a single
`<appwidget-provider>` element and save it in the project's `res/xml/` folder.

This is shown in the following example:  

    <appwidget-provider xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
        android:minWidth="40dp"
        android:minHeight="40dp"
        android:targetCellWidth="1"
        android:targetCellHeight="1"
        android:maxResizeWidth="250dp"
        android:maxResizeHeight="120dp"
        android:updatePeriodMillis="86400000"
        android:description="@string/example_appwidget_description"
        android:previewLayout="@layout/example_appwidget_preview"
        android:initialLayout="@layout/example_loading_appwidget"
        android:configure="com.example.android.ExampleAppWidgetConfigurationActivity"
        android:resizeMode="horizontal|vertical"
        android:widgetCategory="home_screen"
        android:widgetFeatures="reconfigurable|configuration_optional">
    </appwidget-provider>

### Widget sizing attributes

The default home screen positions widgets in its window based on a grid of cells
that have a defined height and width. Most home screens only let widgets take on
sizes that are integer multiples of the grid cells---for example, two cells
horizontally by three cells vertically.

The widget sizing attributes let you specify a default size for your widget and
provide lower and upper bounds on the size of the widget. In this context, the
default size of a widget is the size that the widget takes on when it is first
added to the home screen.

The following table describes the `<appwidget-provider>` attributes pertaining
to widget sizing:

|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Attributes and description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ||
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `targetCellWidth` and `targetCellHeight` (Android 12), `minWidth` and `minHeight` | - Starting in Android 12, the `targetCellWidth` and `targetCellHeight` attributes specify the default size of the widget in terms of grid cells. These attributes *are* ignored in Android 11 and lower, and *can* be ignored if the home screen doesn't support a grid-based layout. - The `minWidth` and `minHeight` attributes specify the default size of the widget in dp. If the values for a widget's minimum width or height don't match the dimensions of the cells, then the values are rounded up to the nearest cell size. We recommend specifying both sets of attributes---`targetCellWidth` and `targetCellHeight`, and `minWidth` and `minHeight`---so that your app can fall back to using `minWidth` and `minHeight` if the user's device doesn't support `targetCellWidth` and `targetCellHeight`. If supported, the `targetCellWidth` and `targetCellHeight` attributes take precedence over the `minWidth` and `minHeight` attributes. |
| `minResizeWidth` and `minResizeHeight`                                            | Specify the widget's absolute minimum size. These values specify the size under which the widget is illegible or otherwise unusable. Using these attributes lets the user resize the widget to a size that is smaller than the default widget size. The `minResizeWidth` attribute is ignored if it is greater than `minWidth` or if horizontal resizing isn't enabled. See [`resizeMode`](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/appwidgets#resizemode). Likewise, the `minResizeHeight` attribute is ignored if it is greater than `minHeight` or if vertical resizing isn't enabled.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| `maxResizeWidth` and `maxResizeHeight`                                            | Specify the widget's recommended maximum size. If the values aren't a multiple of the grid cell dimensions, they are rounded up to the nearest cell size. The `maxResizeWidth` attribute is ignored if it is smaller than `minWidth` or if horizontal resizing isn't enabled. See [`resizeMode`](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/appwidgets#resizemode). Likewise, the `maxResizeHeight` attribute is ignored if it is greater than `minHeight` or if vertical resizing isn't enabled. Introduced in Android 12.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| `resizeMode`                                                                      | Specifies the rules by which a widget can be resized. You can use this attribute to make home screen widgets resizable horizontally, vertically, or on both axes. Users touch \& hold a widget to show its resize handles, then drag the horizontal or vertical handles to change its size on the layout grid. Values for the `resizeMode` attribute include `horizontal`, `vertical`, and `none`. To declare a widget as resizable horizontally and vertically, use `horizontal|vertical`.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |

#### Example

To illustrate how the attributes in the preceding table affect widget sizing,
assume the following specifications:

- A grid cell is 30 dp wide and 50 dp tall.
- The following attribute specification is provided:

    <appwidget-provider xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
        android:minWidth="80dp"
        android:minHeight="80dp"
        android:targetCellWidth="2"
        android:targetCellHeight="2"
        android:minResizeWidth="40dp"
        android:minResizeHeight="40dp"
        android:maxResizeWidth="120dp"
        android:maxResizeHeight="120dp"
        android:resizeMode="horizontal|vertical" />

**Starting with Android 12:**

Use the `targetCellWidth` and `targetCellHeight` attributes as the default
size of the widget.

The widget's size is 2x2 by default. The widget can be resized down to 2x1 or
up to 4x3.

**Android 11 and lower:**

Use the `minWidth` and `minHeight` attributes to compute the default size of
the widget.

The default width = `Math.ceil(80 / 30)` = 3

The default height = `Math.ceil(80 / 50)` = 2

The widget's size is 3x2 by default. The widget can be resized down to 2x1 or
up to full screen.
| **Note:** The actual widget size computation is more complex than the preceding formula because it also includes widget margins and spacing between the grid cells.

### Additional widget attributes

The following table describes the `<appwidget-provider>` attributes pertaining
to qualities other than widget sizing.

|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Attributes and description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ||
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `updatePeriodMillis`                                                   | Defines how often the widget framework requests an update from the `AppWidgetProvider` by calling the `onUpdate()` callback method. The actual update isn't guaranteed to occur exactly on time with this value, and we recommend updating as infrequently as possible---no more than once an hour---to conserve the battery. For the full list of considerations to pick an appropriate update period, see [Optimizations for updating widget content](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/advanced#update-widgets).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| `initialLayout`                                                        | Points to the layout resource that defines the widget layout.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| `configure`                                                            | Defines the activity that launches when the user adds the widget, letting them configure widget properties. See [Enable users to configure widgets](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/configuration). Starting in Android 12, your app can skip the initial configuration. See [Use the widget's default configuration](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/configuration#use-default) for details.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| `description`                                                          | Specifies the description for the widget picker to display for your widget. Introduced in Android 12.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| `previewLayout` (Android 12) and `previewImage` (Android 11 and lower) | - Starting in Android 12, the `previewLayout` attribute specifies a scalable preview, which you provide as an XML layout set to the widget's default size. Ideally, the layout XML specified as this attribute is the same layout XML as the actual widget with realistic default values. - In Android 11 or lower, the `previewImage` attribute specifies a preview of what the widget looks like after it's configured, which the user sees when selecting the app widget. If not supplied, the user instead sees your app's launcher icon. This field corresponds to the `android:previewImage` attribute in the `<receiver>` element in the `AndroidManifest.xml` file. **Note:** We recommend specifying both the `previewImage` and `previewLayout` attributes so that your app can fall back to using `previewImage` if the user's device doesn't support `previewLayout`. For more details, see [Backward compatibility with scalable widget previews](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/enhance#bc-previews). |
| `autoAdvanceViewId`                                                    | Specifies the view ID of the widget subview that is auto-advanced by the widget's host.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| `widgetCategory`                                                       | Declares whether your widget can be displayed on the home screen (`home_screen`), the lock screen (`keyguard`), or both. For Android 5.0 and higher, only `home_screen` is valid.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| `widgetFeatures`                                                       | Declares features supported by the widget. For example, if you want your widget to use its default configuration when a user adds it, specify both the [`configuration_optional`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetProviderInfo#WIDGET_FEATURE_CONFIGURATION_OPTIONAL) and [`reconfigurable`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetProviderInfo#WIDGET_FEATURE_RECONFIGURABLE) flags. This bypasses launching the configuration activity after a user adds the widget. The user can still [reconfigure the widget](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/configuration#reconfigure-widgets) afterward.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |

## Use the AppWidgetProvider class to handle widget broadcasts

The `AppWidgetProvider` class handles widget broadcasts and updates the widget
in response to widget lifecycle events. The following sections describe how to
declare `AppWidgetProvider` in the manifest and then implement it.

### Declare a widget in the manifest

First, declare the `AppWidgetProvider` class in your app's `AndroidManifest.xml`
file, as shown in the following example:  

    <receiver android:name="ExampleAppWidgetProvider"
                     android:exported="false">
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.appwidget.action.APPWIDGET_UPDATE" />
        </intent-filter>
        <meta-data android:name="android.appwidget.provider"
                   android:resource="@xml/example_appwidget_info" />
    </receiver>

The `<receiver>` element requires the `android:name` attribute, which specifies
the `AppWidgetProvider` used by the widget. The component must not be exported
unless a separate process needs to broadcast to your `AppWidgetProvider`, which
usually isn't the case.

The `<intent-filter>` element must include an `<action>` element with the
`android:name` attribute. This attribute specifies that the `AppWidgetProvider`
accepts the
[`ACTION_APPWIDGET_UPDATE`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager#ACTION_APPWIDGET_UPDATE)
broadcast. This is the only broadcast that you must explicitly declare. The
[`AppWidgetManager`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager)
automatically sends all other widget broadcasts to the `AppWidgetProvider` as
necessary.

The `<meta-data>` element specifies the `AppWidgetProviderInfo` resource and
requires the following attributes:

- `android:name`: specifies the metadata name. Use `android.appwidget.provider` to identify the data as the `AppWidgetProviderInfo` descriptor.
- `android:resource`: specifies the `AppWidgetProviderInfo` resource location.

### Implement the AppWidgetProvider class

The `AppWidgetProvider` class extends
[`BroadcastReceiver`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/BroadcastReceiver) as a
convenience class to handle widget broadcasts. It receives only the event
broadcasts that are relevant to the widget, such as when the widget is updated,
deleted, enabled, and disabled. When these broadcast events occur, the following
`AppWidgetProvider` methods are called:

[`onUpdate()`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetProvider#onUpdate(android.content.Context,%20android.appwidget.AppWidgetManager,%20int%5B%5D))
:   This is called to update the widget at intervals defined by the
    `updatePeriodMillis` attribute in the `AppWidgetProviderInfo`. See the [table
    describing additional widget attributes](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/appwidgets#other-attributes) in this page for
    more information.
:   This method is also called when the user adds the widget, so it performs the
    essential setup such as defining event handlers for
    [`View`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/view/View) objects or starting jobs to load data to
    display in the widget. However, if you declare a configuration activity without
    the `configuration_optional` flag, this method is *not* called when the user
    adds the widget, but it *is* called for the subsequent updates. It is the
    responsibility of the configuration activity to perform the first update when
    configuration is complete. See [Enable users to configure app widgets](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/configuration) for more information.
:   The most important callback is `onUpdate()`. See [Handle events with the
    `onUpdate()` class](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/appwidgets#handle-events) in this page for more information.

[`onAppWidgetOptionsChanged()`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetProvider#onAppWidgetOptionsChanged(android.content.Context,%20android.appwidget.AppWidgetManager,%20int,%20android.os.Bundle))

:   This is called when the widget is first placed and any time the widget is
    resized. Use this callback to show or hide content based on the widget's size
    ranges. Get the size ranges---and, starting in Android 12,
    the list of possible sizes a widget instance can take---by calling
    [`getAppWidgetOptions()`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager#getAppWidgetOptions(int)),
    which returns a [`Bundle`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/Bundle) that includes the
    following:

    - [`OPTION_APPWIDGET_MIN_WIDTH`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager#OPTION_APPWIDGET_MIN_WIDTH): contains the lower bound on the width, in dp units, of a widget instance.
    - [`OPTION_APPWIDGET_MIN_HEIGHT`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager#OPTION_APPWIDGET_MIN_HEIGHT): contains the lower bound on the height, in dp units, of a widget instance.
    - [`OPTION_APPWIDGET_MAX_WIDTH`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager#OPTION_APPWIDGET_MAX_WIDTH): contains the upper bound on the width, in dp units, of a widget instance.
    - [`OPTION_APPWIDGET_MAX_HEIGHT`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager#OPTION_APPWIDGET_MAX_HEIGHT): contains the upper bound on the height, in dp units, of a widget instance.
    - [`OPTION_APPWIDGET_SIZES`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager#OPTION_APPWIDGET_SIZES): contains the list of possible sizes (`List<SizeF>`), in dp units, that a widget instance can take. Introduced in Android 12.

[`onDeleted(Context, int[])`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetProvider#onDeleted(android.content.Context,%20int%5B%5D))

:   This is called every time a widget is deleted from the widget host.

[`onEnabled(Context)`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetProvider#onEnabled(android.content.Context))

:   This is called when an instance of the widget is created for the first time.
    For example, if the user adds two instances of your widget, this is only called
    the first time. If you need to open a new database or perform another setup that
    only needs to occur once for all widget instances, then this is a good place to
    do it.

[`onDisabled(Context)`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetProvider#onDisabled(android.content.Context))

:   This is called when the last instance of your widget is deleted from the
    widget host. This is where you clean up any work done in `onEnabled(Context)`,
    such as deleting a temporary database.

[`onReceive(Context, Intent)`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetProvider#onReceive(android.content.Context,%20android.content.Intent))

:   This is called for every broadcast and before each of the preceding callback
    methods. You normally don't need to implement this method, because the default
    `AppWidgetProvider` implementation filters all widget broadcasts and calls the
    preceding methods as appropriate.

You must declare your `AppWidgetProvider` class implementation as a broadcast
receiver using the `<receiver>` element in the `AndroidManifest`. See [Declare a
widget in the manifest](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/appwidgets#Manifest) in this page for more information.

#### Handle events with the onUpdate() class

The most important `AppWidgetProvider` callback is `onUpdate()`, because it is
called when each widget is added to a host, unless you use a configuration
activity without the `configuration_optional` flag. If your widget accepts any
user interaction events, then register the event handlers in this callback. If
your widget doesn't create temporary files or databases, or perform other work
that requires clean-up, then `onUpdate()` might be the only callback method you
need to define.

For example, if you want a widget with a button that launches an activity when
tapped, you can use the following implementation of `AppWidgetProvider`:  

### Kotlin

```kotlin
class ExampleAppWidgetProvider : AppWidgetProvider() {

    override fun onUpdate(
            context: Context,
            appWidgetManager: AppWidgetManager,
            appWidgetIds: IntArray
    ) {
        // Perform this loop procedure for each widget that belongs to this
        // provider.
        appWidgetIds.forEach { appWidgetId ->
            // Create an Intent to launch ExampleActivity.
            val pendingIntent: PendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(
                    /* context = */ context,
                    /* requestCode = */  0,
                    /* intent = */ Intent(context, ExampleActivity::class.java),
                    /* flags = */ PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT or PendingIntent.FLAG_IMMUTABLE
            )

            // Get the layout for the widget and attach an onClick listener to
            // the button.
            val views: RemoteViews = RemoteViews(
                    context.packageName,
                    R.layout.appwidget_provider_layout
            ).apply {
                setOnClickPendingIntent(R.id.button, pendingIntent)
            }

            // Tell the AppWidgetManager to perform an update on the current
            // widget.
            appWidgetManager.updateAppWidget(appWidgetId, views)
        }
    }
}
```

### Java

```java
public class ExampleAppWidgetProvider extends AppWidgetProvider {

    public void onUpdate(Context context, AppWidgetManager appWidgetManager, int[] appWidgetIds) {
        // Perform this loop procedure for each widget that belongs to this
        // provider.
        for (int i=0; i < appWidgetIds.length; i++) {
            int appWidgetId = appWidgetIds[i];
            // Create an Intent to launch ExampleActivity
            Intent intent = new Intent(context, ExampleActivity.class);
            PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(
                /* context = */ context,
                /* requestCode = */ 0,
                /* intent = */ intent,
                /* flags = */ PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT | PendingIntent.FLAG_IMMUTABLE
            );

            // Get the layout for the widget and attach an onClick listener to
            // the button.
            RemoteViews views = new RemoteViews(context.getPackageName(), R.layout.example_appwidget_layout);
            views.setOnClickPendingIntent(R.id.button, pendingIntent);

            // Tell the AppWidgetManager to perform an update on the current app
            // widget.
            appWidgetManager.updateAppWidget(appWidgetId, views);
        }
    }
}
```

This `AppWidgetProvider` defines only the `onUpdate()` method, using it to
create a [`PendingIntent`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/PendingIntent) that launches
an [`Activity`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity) and attaches it to the widget's
button using [`setOnClickPendingIntent(int,
PendingIntent)`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/widget/RemoteViews#setOnClickPendingIntent(int,%0Aandroid.app.PendingIntent)). It includes a loop that iterates through each entry
in `appWidgetIds`, which is an array of IDs that identify each widget created by
this provider. If the user creates more than one instance of the widget, then
they all update simultaneously. However, only one `updatePeriodMillis` schedule
is managed for all instances of the widget. For example, if the update schedule
is defined to be every two hours, and a second instance of the widget is added
one hour after the first one, then they're both updated on the period defined by
the first, and the second update period is ignored. They both update every two
hours, not every hour.
| **Note:** Because `AppWidgetProvider` is an extension of `BroadcastReceiver`, your process isn't guaranteed to keep running after the callback methods return. See [`BroadcastReceiver`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/BroadcastReceiver) for information about the broadcast lifecycle. If your widget setup process can take several seconds---such as when performing web requests---and you require that your process continues, consider starting a `Task` using [WorkManager](https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/workmanager) in the `onUpdate()` method. From within the task, you can perform your own updates to the widget without worrying about the `AppWidgetProvider` closing down due to an [Application Not Responding](https://developer.android.com/guide/practices/responsiveness) (ANR) error.

See the
[`ExampleAppWidgetProvider.java`](https://android.googlesource.com/platform/development/+/master/samples/ApiDemos/src/com/example/android/apis/appwidget/ExampleAppWidgetProvider.java)
sample class for more details.

### Receive widget broadcast intents

`AppWidgetProvider` is a convenience class. If you want to receive the widget
broadcasts directly, you can implement your own `BroadcastReceiver` or override
the
[`onReceive(Context,Intent)`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetProvider#onReceive(android.content.Context,%0Aandroid.content.Intent)) callback. The intents you need to care about are the
following:

- [`ACTION_APPWIDGET_UPDATE`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager#ACTION_APPWIDGET_UPDATE)
- [`ACTION_APPWIDGET_DELETED`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager#ACTION_APPWIDGET_DELETED)
- [`ACTION_APPWIDGET_ENABLED`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager#ACTION_APPWIDGET_ENABLED)
- [`ACTION_APPWIDGET_DISABLED`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager#ACTION_APPWIDGET_DISABLED)
- [`ACTION_APPWIDGET_OPTIONS_CHANGED`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/AppWidgetManager#ACTION_APPWIDGET_OPTIONS_CHANGED)

## Create the widget layout

You must define an initial layout for your widget in XML and save it in the
project's `res/layout/` directory. Refer to [Design
guidelines](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/overview#design) for details.

Creating the widget layout is straightforward if you're familiar with
[layouts](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/declaring-layout). However, be aware that widget
layouts are based on [`RemoteViews`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/widget/RemoteViews),
which doesn't support every kind of layout or view widget. You can't use custom
views or subclasses of the views that are supported by `RemoteViews`.

`RemoteViews` also supports [`ViewStub`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/view/ViewStub),
which is an invisible, zero-sized `View` you can use to lazily inflate layout
resources at runtime.

### Support for stateful behavior

Android 12 adds support for stateful behavior using the following
existing components:

- [`CheckBox`](https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/android/widget/CheckBox)

- [`Switch`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/widget/Switch)

- [`RadioButton`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/widget/RadioButton)

The widget is still stateless. Your app must store the state and register for
state change events.
![Example of shopping list widget showing stateful behavior](https://developer.android.com/static/images/appwidgets/home.png) **Figure 3.** Example of stateful behavior. **Note:** Always explicitly set the current checked state using `RemoteViews.setCompoundButtonChecked`, or you might encounter unexpected results when your widget is dragged or resized.

The following code example shows how to implement these components.  

### Kotlin

```kotlin
// Check the view.
remoteView.setCompoundButtonChecked(R.id.my_checkbox, true)

// Check a radio group.
remoteView.setRadioGroupChecked(R.id.my_radio_group, R.id.radio_button_2)

// Listen for check changes. The intent has an extra with the key
// EXTRA_CHECKED that specifies the current checked state of the view.
remoteView.setOnCheckedChangeResponse(
        R.id.my_checkbox,
        RemoteViews.RemoteResponse.fromPendingIntent(onCheckedChangePendingIntent)
)
```

### Java

```java
// Check the view.
remoteView.setCompoundButtonChecked(R.id.my_checkbox, true);

// Check a radio group.
remoteView.setRadioGroupChecked(R.id.my_radio_group, R.id.radio_button_2);

// Listen for check changes. The intent has an extra with the key
// EXTRA_CHECKED that specifies the current checked state of the view.
remoteView.setOnCheckedChangeResponse(
    R.id.my_checkbox,
    RemoteViews.RemoteResponse.fromPendingIntent(onCheckedChangePendingIntent));
```

Provide two layouts: one targeting devices running Android 12 or
higher in `res/layout-v31`, and the other targeting previous
Android 11 or lower in the default `res/layout` folder.

## Implement rounded corners

Android 12 introduces the following system parameters to set the
radii of your widget's rounded corners:

- [`system_app_widget_background_radius`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/R.dimen#system_app_widget_background_radius):
  the corner radius of the widget background, which is never larger than
  28 dp.

- Inner radius, which can be calculated from the outer radius and padding.
  See the following snippet:


  ```kotlin
  /**
   * Applies corner radius for views that are visually positioned [widgetPadding]dp inside of the
   * widget background.
   */
  @Composable
  fun GlanceModifier.appWidgetInnerCornerRadius(widgetPadding: Dp): GlanceModifier {

      if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < 31) {
          return this
      }

      val resources = LocalContext.current.resources
      // get dimension in float (without rounding).
      val px = resources.getDimension(android.R.dimen.system_app_widget_background_radius)
      val widgetBackgroundRadiusDpValue = px / resources.displayMetrics.density
      if (widgetBackgroundRadiusDpValue < widgetPadding.value) {
          return this
      }
      return this.cornerRadius(Dp(widgetBackgroundRadiusDpValue - widgetPadding.value))
  }https://github.com/android/snippets/blob/1da1d9d645cd1a8e693981900e04d6bc32287a5c/compose/snippets/src/main/java/com/example/compose/snippets/glance/GlanceSnippets.kt#L877-L896
  ```

  <br />

To calculate a suitable radius for the inner content of your widget, use the
following formula: `systemRadiusValue - widgetPadding`

Widgets that clip their content to non-rectangular shapes should use the
`@android:id/background` as the view ID of the background view that has
`android:clipToOutline` set to `true`.

**Important considerations for rounded corners**

- Third-party launchers and device manufacturers can override the `system_app_widget_background_radius` parameter to be smaller than 28 dp.
- If your widget doesn't use `@android:id/background` or define a background
  that clips its content based on the outline---with `android:clipToOutline` set
  to `true`---the launcher automatically identifies the background and clips the
  widget using a rectangle with rounded corners set to the system radius.

- Non rectangular shapes need to be contained within their rounded rectangular
  resize container so they don't get clipped.

- Starting in Android 16, the AOSP system value for
  `system_app_widget_background_radius` is `24dp`. Launchers and device
  manufacturers may clip the widget to the
  `system_app_widget_background_radius`.

- A widget's inner content must have sufficient padding to support
  `system_app_widget_background_radius` radius values up to `28dp` to avoid
  clipping of the content by the rounded corners.

For widget compatibility with previous versions of Android, we recommend
defining custom attributes and using a custom theme to override them for
Android 12, as shown in the following sample XML files:  

### `/values/attrs.xml`

    <resources>
      <attr name="backgroundRadius" format="dimension" />
    </resources>

### `/values/styles.xml`

    <resources>
      <style name="MyWidgetTheme">
        <item name="backgroundRadius">@dimen/my_background_radius_dimen</item>
      </style>
    </resources>

### `/values-31/styles.xml`

    <resources>
      <style name="MyWidgetTheme" parent="@android:style/Theme.DeviceDefault.DayNight">
        <item name="backgroundRadius">@android:dimen/system_app_widget_background_radius</item>
      </style>
    </resources>

### `/drawable/my_widget_background.xml`

    <shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
      android:shape="rectangle">
      <corners android:radius="?attr/backgroundRadius" />
      ...
    </shape>

### `/layout/my_widget_layout.xml`

    <LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
      ...
      android:background="@drawable/my_widget_background" />