Introduction

The purpose of this guide is to help whomever is interested in running the LBRY Android application from scratch on their device, but they're main computing platform is not Linux but macOS.

Estimated build time

25 - 40 minutes (depending on Internet connection speeds)

What do you need?

A computer running the latest OS
Internet access to download modules and packages
At least 15GB of free disk space
Docker
Patience

Step 1/6

Create an application on Firebase. In the Android package name field, input io.lbry.browser. Download the resulting google-services.json file and keep it safe, you'll be needing it later.

Step 2/6

Start the docker application and paste all of these lines into Terminal:

docker run -it lbry/android-base:latest /bin/bash
wget "https://www.crystax.net/download/crystax-ndk-10.3.2-linux-x86_64.tar.xz" -P ~/.buildozer/android/
tar -xvf ~/.buildozer/android/crystax-ndk-10.3.2-linux-x86_64.tar.xz -C ~/.buildozer/android/
rm -rf ~/.buildozer/android/crystax-ndk-10.3.2/platforms/android-9
ln -s ~/.buildozer/android/crystax-ndk-10.3.2/platforms/android-21 ~/.buildozer/android/crystax-ndk-10.3.2/platforms/android-9
git clone https://github.com/lbryio/lbry-android
cd lbry-android
git submodule update --init --recursive
cp buildozer.spec.sample buildozer.spec
cd app;npm i;cd ..
cp scripts/build-target-python.sh ~/.buildozer/android/crystax-ndk-10.3.2/build/tools/build-target-python.sh
cp scripts/mangled-glibc-syscalls.h ~/.buildozer/android/crystax-ndk-10.3.2/platforms/android-21/arch-arm/usr/include/crystax/bionic/libc/include/sys/mangled-glibc-syscalls.h
cd p4a/pythonforandroid/bootstraps/lbry/build/templates
apt install nano -y

Step 3/6

Copy the contents of the google-services.json you downloaded earlier and paste them into Terminal after running the next command:

nano google-services.json

Type ^X to save and exit.

Step 4/6

Paste more lines and I guess check your email, this will take some time:

cd /lbry-android/app
./bundle.sh
cd ..
buildozer android debug

When the build is complete, you should see a message like: [INFO]: # APK renamed to browser-0.7.3-debug.apk. You will need this filename for the next step.

Step 5/6

In a separate Terminal window:

docker ps # get container name
docker cp CONTAINER_NAME:/lbry-android/bin/STEP_4_FILENAME ~/Desktop/ # copies STEP_4_FILENAME to your Desktop

Step 6/6

Download Android File Transfer and install it.
On your Android device, install File Explorer.
Plug in your Android device and swipe down from the top into the "USB for file transfer" settings (or similar name on your device) and make sure "Transfer files" is selected.
Open Android File Transfer on your computer and drag and drop STEP_4_FILENAME from your Desktop to the Downloads folder on the Android device.
Back on the Android device, navigate to STEP_4_FILENAME in the Downloads folder and tap it to begin installation.

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