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Learn how to configure a development build for Android devices and emulators using EAS Build.
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In this chapter, we'll create a development build that can run on Android with EAS Build.
The process for creating and running a build on Android devices or emulators is identical, with differences only in the installation of the development build.
For Android, the development build must be in the .apk. While the default Android format is .aab, which is ideal for Google Play Store distribution, it cannot be installed on devices or emulators.
To create a .apk:
In eas.json, make sure that developmentClient
is set to true
under build.development
profile.
Then, run the eas build
command with android
as the platform and development
as the build profile:
-
eas build --platform android --profile development
Tip: Next time you runeas build
command, you can also use-p
to specify the platform. It is short for--platform
.
This command prompts us with the following questions:
android.package
in app.json.After responding, the build will queue up, and we can track its progress via a provided link by the EAS CLI in the Expo dashboard:
The build details page displays the build type, profile, Expo SDK version, app version, version code, last commit hash, and the identity of the developer or account owner who initiated the build.
In the above image, the current status of the Build artifact shows that the build is in progress. Upon completion, this section will offer an option to download the build. The Logs outlines every step taken during the Android build process on EAS Build. For the sake of brevity, we won't explore each step in detail here. To learn more, see Android build process.
Also known as the package name of our Android app, it stores the value in DNS reverse notation format (com.owner.appname
). Each component of this notation should start with a lowercase letter.
For example, our example app has com.owner.stickersmash
where com.owner
is the domain and stickersmash
is our app name.
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Once the build finishes, the Build artifact section gets updated, indicating that the build is complete:
This section provides the methods available for running the development build on an Android device: Expo Orbit and Install button.
Expo Orbit allows for seamless installation of the development build on an Android device. To use this method:
After the build is installed, the Orbit app launches the development build on the device.
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Start the development server by running npx expo start
from the project directory. Once the server is running, press a in the terminal window to open the project:
-
npx expo start
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In the terminal, once the build finishes, EAS CLI prompts us by asking whether we want to run the build on an Android Emulator. Press Y.
Alternatively, Expo Orbit can be used for installation. From Build artifact on the Expo dashboard, click Open with Expo Orbit to install the development build on the Android Emulator.
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Start the development server by running npx expo start
from the project directory. Once the server is running, press a in the terminal window to open the project:
-
npx expo start
Chapter 2: Create and run a cloud build for Android
We successfully used EAS Build to create and run development builds on Android devices and emulators, and learned about .apk and .aab file formats.
In the next chapter, learn how to configure a development build for iOS Simulators using EAS Build and get it running.