android-capacitor

Overview

This template is created to be a starting point for developing mobile applications using web technologies.

It uses capacitorjs to generate an Android app. Currently, it is simply a development tool that generates apps in debug mode (not production-ready app).

Motivation

Today, there many web-based development environments like GitHub Codespaces, StackBlitz and more with GitHub intergration. Anyone can build & test websites on the go, whenever they are. You don't have to install anything. But you need a good internet connection.

To build Android apps, you need to set up quite a number of tools and most importantly of all, a good pc (8GB RAM, 8GB disk space and more). Take a look at the recommended computer specifications on this page here.

So if you are building something awesome but on a resource-constrained device or limited environment (internet cafe or school computer lab), here's a solution. Leverage GitHub Actions to build Android apps using capacitorjs. Download the app from GitHub Releases on mobile and enjoy 🚀

Usage

1. First of all, add a build script in your package.json file, for example vite build while using vite.

2. Secondly, edit the capacitor.config.ts file. Edit the config object to suit your project. The webDir key takes the folder in which your bundled files are located for example dist.

In case you have no build step, add "build": "echo no build" under scripts in your package.json file. Make webDir in capacitor.config.ts correspond to the folder in which your project files are located for example src.

3. Place the app icon in resources/ folder and name it icon.png. It should be at least 1024x1024 in dimensions. For new projects, replace the existing file.

4. Ensure that your have the .github/workflows/build.yml file. You can rename it incase of naming collisions. Then do the following;

   Allow the workflow to create a release:

   • Go to your repository on GitHub, click on Settings.
   • In the left sidebar, select Actions > General.
   • Under Workflow permissions, select Read and write permissions.
   • Click Save.

5. To generate the app;

   • Create a git new tag for example initial release with tag name v0.0.1, run

   git tag v0.0.1

   • Push the tag to GitHub

   git push origin v0.0.1

   This will trigger the workflow and generate your app in the GitHub Releases.

6. Repeat step 5 using a new tag every time you want to re-build the app.

7. Enjoy 🚀

Demo

I developed a counter app to demonstrate the workflow: source code on github

Contributing

In case of any issue or bug, please open a new issue here.

License

Released under MIT License

Copyright © 2024 Henry Hale