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https://github.com/node-on-mobile/node-on-android

Make Node.JS apps for Android
https://github.com/node-on-mobile/node-on-android

Last synced: 3 months ago
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Make Node.JS apps for Android

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README 

        
# Node on Android



Make Node.js apps for Android (Currently only supports ARM64)



## Installing



First install the command line tool from npm



``` sh

npm install -g node-on-android

```



Or get it from git:



```

git clone https://github.com/node-on-mobile/node-on-android

cd cli/

npm i

```



You also need to fetch the Android SDK if you haven't (See "Get just the command line tools" [here](https://developer.android.com/studio/index.html))

and unpack them somewhere.



Then install `apktool` from brew or similar



``` sh

brew install apktool

```



That's it! You are now ready to write Node.js apps for Android.



## Building an app



Node on android works by running your Node.js inside the android app using a shared library.

It then bundles a WebView that hosts your UI code. All UI is just classic html/css/js.



In the node app you can require `node-on-android` to get access to the WebView.

You can use this to load an html page in the WebView



``` js

// in the node app

var android = require('node-on-android')



// will load localhost:1000 in the webview

android.loadUrl('http://localhost:10000')

```



You can call `loadUrl` as many times as you want. It'll just change the WebView address.



Here is an example app



``` js

// save me as my-app/index.js

var http = require('http')

var android = require('node-on-android')



var server = http.createServer(function (req, res) {

  res.end(`

    

    

      
Welcome to Node.js hacking on Android


    

    

  `)

})



server.listen(0, function () {

  android.loadUrl(`http://localhost:${server.address().port}`)

})

```



To bundle up the Node.js app into an apk file use the command line tool



```

node-on-android ./my-app -o my-app.apk -b ./path/to/android/build/tools

```



If you installed Android Studio on Mac the build tools are usually installed in a path similar to `~/Library/Android/sdk/build-tools/26.0.1/`.



After the above succeds you should be able to install my-app.apk on your Android phone

and run the Node.js app.



Happy mobile hacking!



## Instructions for GNU/Linux



To install `apktool` go to the [apktool website](https://ibotpeaches.github.io/Apktool/install/) and follow the installation guide for linux. Here it is in script form (but make sure you get the latest versions):



```

cd /tmp

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iBotPeaches/Apktool/master/scripts/linux/apktool

wget https://bitbucket.org/iBotPeaches/apktool/downloads/apktool_2.2.4.jar

mv apktool_2.2.4.jar apktool.jar

chmod 755 apktool apktool.jar

sudo mv apktool apktool.jar /usr/local/bin/

```



In order to get the `appsigner` and `zipalign` commands you'll need to download the Android SDK tools and use the `sdkmanager` commmand.



On GNU/Linux you can download the sdk-tools package from the [android website](https://developer.android.com/studio/index.html), e.g. [sdk-tools-linux-3859397.zip](https://dl.google.com/android/repository/sdk-tools-linux-3859397.zip) and extract it to e.g. /opt/android-sdk-tools



Then to install the required `appsigner` and `zipalign` tools first use the sdkmanager command to list available packages:



```

/opt/android-sdk-tools/bin/sdkmanager --list

```



Find the latest `build-tools` version listed and install it with e.g:



```

/opt/android-sdk-tools/bin/sdkmanager --sdk_root=/opt/android-sdk-tools 'build-tools;26.0.1'

```



Make sure you run the previous command as a user that has write access to your sdk directory (in this case `/opt/android-sdk-tools/bin`.



Now you should have `zipalign` and `apksigner` available in:



```

/opt/android-sdk-tools/build-tools/26.0.1

```



You can use this path as your `-b` argument for the `node-on-android` command but you should really put `zipalign` and `apksigner` in your path like so:



```

cd /usr/local/bin

sudo ln -s /opt/android-sdk-tools/build-tools/26.0.1/zipalign

sudo ln -s /opt/android-sdk-tools/build-tools/26.0.1/apksigner

```



## Example



There is an example app ready to try in the `example/` directory.



First ensure that the dependencies are installed:



```

cd cli/

npm i

cd ..

```



You will also need to change the `-b` argument in build command in `example/package.json` if you don't have symlinks to `zipalign` and `apksigner` in `/usr/local/bin`.



```

cd example/

npm run build

```



To send it to your phone, enable adb debug mode on your android device, connect it over USB and run:



```

adb install build/example.apk

```



The app will show up in your app list as "Node On Android". You can also launch it using:



```

adb shell

am start -n com.mafintosh.nodeonandroid/com.mafintosh.nodeonandroid.MainActivity

```



## License



MIT