lbry-android development environment inside docker

scripts/lbry-android.sh is a bash script to create a docker container for lbry-android development.

This is a hybrid approach where the apk is built inside docker, but you run Android Studio, adb, and the app hot-reload bundler, directly on your host.

Features

Clones lbry-android source code to a directory on the host, and mounts it inside the container.
Installs all build dependencies inside the container, leaving your host computer clean.
Mounted .buildozer directory to save container space. (Docker containers should stay under 10GB, and .buildozer is too big, so it has to stay in a mounted host directory instead.)
The biggest downloads are cached in .buildozer-downloads directory so you can easily remove .buildozer and not have to re-download the large cryostax NDK more than once.
Instructions for installing on a real Android device, and for setting up hot-reload.
Only a handful of commands to go from zero->hero.

Requirements

Install all of the following on your host computer:

Tested on Linux x86_64 with BASH.
Install Android Studio.
- The normal install auto-creates a directory in $HOME/Android/Sdk to store SDK downloads in your home directory.
Install nodejs.
Install yarn.
Install Docker.
Install sudo and give your user account access to run sudo docker.

Install

Clone lbry-android:

LBRY_GIT=$HOME/git/vendor/lbryio/
mkdir -p $LBRY_GIT
git clone https://github.com/lbryio/lbry-android.git $LBRY_GIT/lbry-android
cd $LBRY_GIT/lbry-android
git submodule update --init --recursive

Install a bash alias to the scripts/lbry-android.sh script:

echo "alias lbry-android=$LBRY_GIT/lbry-android/scripts/lbry-android.sh" >> $HOME/.bashrc

source ~/.bashrc

Usage

First create the base docker image:

lbry-android docker-build

(If anytime you change the docker build scripts in the scripts subdirectory, you should rebuild the image again.)

Setup buildozer and install dependencies:

lbry-android setup

Build the apk:

lbry-android build

The apk will be built and end up in the lbry-android/bin/ subdirectory.

Running on a real Android device

Once you have the apk built, you can install it on a real Android device to start testing.

Follow the Android documentation for enabling USB debugging on your device.

Once you have enabled debugging, do the following:

Plug your device into a USB port on the host computer.
Run:

~/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb devices

ADB should list your device like so:

[ryan@t440s lbry-android]$ adb devices
List of devices attached
HT71R0000000	device

The first time you connect, you should see a modal dialog on the device asking to confirm the host id. You must approve it, or adb will fail to connect.
If after trying several times, adb is still not connecting to your device, and adb lists your device as unauthorized, you may need to follow this advice and delete your $HOME/.android directory.
Install the apk (whatever the current version is called) to the device:

~/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb install ./bin/browser-0.7.5-debug.apk

Open the app on your device, and follow the initial steps to get to the main lbry-android browser page.
Create a tcp tunnel over the adb bridge, for the app to handle live-reload:

~/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb reverse tcp:8081 tcp:8081

Start the live-reload server on the host:

cd app/
yarn install
yarn start

With your device currently running the lbry-android app, shake the device from side to side, and a menu will appear. Choose Enable Hot Reloading.
The app should reload itself.
Now make a change to the source code to test hot reload. From the host, open up the main page view source code: app/src/component/uriBar/view.js. Find the line that reads Search movies, music, and more (This is the main search bar at the top of the app.) - Change some of the text and save the file.
If hot-reload is working, within a few seconds the phone should reload the page automatically and show the change that you made.
If the hot-reload does not work, try closing the app (dismiss the window from the tab overview, via android square button) and reload the app.

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