How to make a launcher

Just develop a normal app and then add a couple of lines to the app's manifest file.

First you need to add the following attribute to your activity:

            android:launchMode="singleTask"

Then add two categories to the intent filter :

            <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />            <category android:name="android.intent.category.HOME" />

The result could look something like this:

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>    <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"        package="com.dummy.app"        android:versionCode="1"        android:versionName="1.0" >        <uses-sdk            android:minSdkVersion="11"            android:targetSdkVersion="19" />        <application            android:allowBackup="true"            android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"            android:label="@string/app_name"            android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >            <activity                android:name="com.dummy.app.MainActivity"                android:launchMode="singleTask"                android:label="@string/app_name" >                <intent-filter>                    <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />                    <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />                    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />                    <category android:name="android.intent.category.HOME" />                </intent-filter>            </activity>        </application>    </manifest>

It's that simple!

They're examples provided by the Android team, if you've already loaded Samples, you can import Home screen replacement sample by following these steps.

File > New > Other >Android > Android Sample Project > Android x.x > Home > Finish

But if you do not have samples loaded, then download it using the below steps

Windows > Android SDK Manager > chooses "Sample for SDK" for SDK you need it > Install package > Accept License > Install