Creating Folders in the App Drawer or Home Screen using Nova Launcher on Android

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Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: March 10, 2025

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Creating a Folder on Your Home Screen

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Creating a Folder in Your App Drawer

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Tips

Is your app drawer or Home screen too cluttered, making it too hard to find stuff? With Nova Launcher Prime, you can organize apps into custom folders in your app drawer. This wikiHow article teaches you how to create folders in the app drawer with Nova Launcher Prime and on the Home Screen with Nova Launcher.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Creating a Folder on Your Home Screen

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1
Drag an app onto another app. Tap and hold an app on your Home screen until you can move it. Drag and drop it onto another app that you want to be in the same folder. A folder containing the two apps will be automatically created.
- Creating a folder on the Home screen does not require the purchase of Nova Launcher Prime. Only creating folders in the app drawer is a Prime-locked feature.
Tap Edit Name with the folder open to change the folder's name.

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You can drag and drop more apps onto the folder to add them.
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Change your folder settings. You can change the color and layout of your folders from "Nova Settings". Open your App Drawer, tap "Nova Settings", and then tap the Folders option.
- You can change the way the preview icons are displayed as well as the background shape/color by tapping "Folder icon appearance".
- You can toggle and edit the app names/colors by tapping "Icon Layout".

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Creating a Folder in Your App Drawer

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1
Head to "Nova Settings." Do this by tapping and holding a blank space on your wallpaper then tapping the gear icon when it appears. You can also tap to open "Nova Settings" from the app drawer.
- Making folders in your App Drawer requires Nova Launcher Prime, which is a one-time upgrade purchase in Nova Launcher.
It's usually the second option in the menu.
You'll have to scroll down the menu to find this under the "Apps" section header.
" This feature allows you to group and organize the apps in the app drawer, so if you're looking for an app, you can find it quickly.
Give it a name and decide if you want the apps in this folder to also appear in the main tab, then tap Add. You can also change the color of the folder and text by tapping the circle next to the name. If you have the switch next to "Managed by Nova" on, then your launcher will pick an appropriate color scheme based on the surrounding colors.
A menu will drop down.
It's usually the option in the middle of the menu.
A checkmark will appear in the selected apps.
Your created folders will usually appear in the first slots when you open the app drawer.^{[1]
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Tips

If Nova Launcher isn't remaining your default launcher, you'll need to change some settings, but this varies from model to model of Android. The quickest way to do this is to open Settings and search for "Home app" and select Nova Launcher. For some phones, this is in Settings > Apps and Notifications > Advanced > Default Apps, or Settings > Apps > Default Apps, or Settings > Apps > ⋮ > Default Apps, or Settings > Home > Advanced > Nova Launcher.

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If you don't have Nova Launcher Prime, there are other ways you can organize your Android, like grouping screen apps and creating shortcuts.

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You can make groups and folders even if you're using the default launcher that your phone uses.

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