Does Docker build use prebuilt APKs?

Hi, I think I’ve worked this out but I’d like confirmation: does the build process using the Docker image use prebuilt APKs?

If so this means if we change any of the APK sources the best way to test is to build these individually and then sideload onto a device?

So this probably means I need to install bloomin’ Android SDK? I was hoping to be able to avoid that…

@Manoj maybe can give an answer

Yes @madbilly you are right /e/ does use prebuilt apk’s . You can see them in the folder under
/e/src/EELO_0_1/prebuilts/prebuiltapks$
Technically as you are aware you can add prebuilt apks’ by adding additional apks with the following steps:

  1. Download apk. Rename it to something small and meaningfull.
  2. create a folder in prebuiltapk with the apk name for eg. MyApp…this is just as an example
  3. copy the apk into the folder
  4. Add an Android,mk file… use the file in Fdroid folder as a sample - changing the name
    LOCAL_MODULE := MyApp
    LOCAL_SRC_FILES := MyApp.apk
  5. Add the name of the apk you added to the vendor/lineage/config/common.mk file
  6. Add the name of the apk to the ‘CUSTOM_PACKAGES=…’ parameter in the Docker run command

These steps are also mentioned in the README.md file inside prebuiltapk’s folder for these customization details.

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To add to my response you can download the apk’s and add multiple applications in one go. You do not need to make additional changes to the apk. It works as it is. Only be careful where you download the apk’s from. I have not tested this on /e/ but have done this additional of prebuilt apk’s multiple times on LineageOS4MicroG ROM which also uses docker. The principles are the same and it should work.

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Hi @Manoj, my point was that I wanted to mod the included apps and see if my changes worked. The fact there included in the build as prebuilt apks means that if I want to test building/e/ using modded apks I have to install Android studio, build the apps I’ve modded, substitute them in the build source inside the docker image for the existing prebuilt apks then build /e/ using docker.

If I just want to test the modded apps then I have to install Android studio, build them and install them on /e/, but this won’t be a full test of their intended use case.

I just wanted to know what I need to do, that is all.

If you plan to make custom apps then yes you would need to have Android studio or some similar IDE which works for you. In the initial day of the eelo-0.2 branch when i was trying to get it to run on my MiA1 i was having a problem with the bliss launcher crashing. Running it through Android studio and installing it on the phone solved the issue. Off course had to copy a line of code from the net to make it workable …not exactly an android developer :slight_smile: but the point is the apk worked. So yes you would need an IDE of your choice. Also by using custom apks you would not be building an /e/ ROM but your own customized ROM. Ideally you have to go with the default set of prebuilt apks as available in the eelo-0.1 and eelo-0.2 branches. BTW the eelo-0.2 branch is also perfectly build-able for some time now :slight_smile:

Hi @Manoj,
Again I’ve clearly not explained myself very well.

I wanted to work on some issues which were raised in gitlab.e.foundation on some of the apps, not the core OS. To do this and test the changes it is necessary to build and test the app, which as you say needs Android Studio. Since these apps were included in the /e/ ROM as prebuilt APKs then to do a complete test it is necessary to put the new APK (built in Android Studio, after modification to fix the issues) into the docker image and then test that the whole /e/ ROM can build with the new APK.

I am not making a custom ROM, or custom apps, I was working on fixing issues raised in gitlab.

I hope that’s clear.

Thanks for sharing your experience of building /e/ v0.2.

Cheers :slight_smile:

Hi @madbilly,

First of all thank you for your help on /e/. About prebuilt apk, for the moment, we are obliged to follow the process you described to test our fixes. The docker image uses prebuilt apks mentionned in CUSTOM_PACKAGES env variable.
Hope it will help you.

Romain

Hi @rhunault,
@madbilly was suggesting that he wanted to work on the defect fixes only and could spare about 1 hour per week. Also he mentioned in a different post that at present he does not have the time and would get back to us when he had the time to spend on helping /e/ development.
Check the last response in the below link