BigFred Android Client

Native Android app that displays the BigFred UI in a WebView, with LAN hub discovery.

Requirements

• JDK 17+
• Android SDK (API 35), minSdk 29
• Android Studio Ladybug+ or Gradle from the command line

Build

cd bigfred-android-client

# Optional: SDK location
# echo "sdk.dir=/path/to/Android/Sdk" > local.properties

make apk      # release APK → app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk
make test     # unit tests (JVM)
make debug    # debug APK
make help     # list targets

Release signing (optional; without it the debug keystore is used):

export BIGFRED_STORE_FILE=/path/to/keystore.jks
export BIGFRED_STORE_PASSWORD=...
export BIGFRED_KEY_ALIAS=...
export BIGFRED_KEY_PASSWORD=...
make apk

In Android Studio: Open → bigfred-android-client directory → Run on a device/emulator.

CI / Release

On push / PR, .github/workflows/ci.yml runs make test + make apk and publishes the release-apk artifact.

On push of a v* tag, .github/workflows/release.yml waits for CI, creates a GitHub Release (if missing), and attaches the APK (gh release upload --clobber).

Optional secrets for release signing:

Secret	Description
BIGFRED_STORE_FILE_CONTENT	Keystore .jks contents encoded as base64
BIGFRED_STORE_PASSWORD	Keystore password
BIGFRED_KEY_ALIAS	Key alias
BIGFRED_KEY_PASSWORD	Key password

Without BIGFRED_STORE_FILE_CONTENT, CI signs the APK with the debug keystore (suitable for local install / sideload).

Behavior

1. Cold start — if a server URL is saved and GET / succeeds, the app opens WebView immediately.
2. Discovery — in parallel:
   • mDNS / http://bigfred.local:8080/
   • NSD _http._tcp (BigFred instances)
   • fallback {subnet}.120:8080
   • manual host/port entry
3. The selected address is stored in DataStore; change it from the side menu → Server settings.
4. WebView loads the local BigFred SPA (JS, DOM storage, cleartext HTTP).
5. While the WebView screen is shown, WifiManager.WIFI_MODE_FULL_LOW_LATENCY is held.

Permissions

INTERNET, ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE, ACCESS_WIFI_STATE, CHANGE_WIFI_MULTICAST_STATE, WAKE_LOCK.