Android App Without Android Studio Android Command Line Tools | demo android project bash script

How to Create an Android App Without Android Studio (SDK 14–35, Manual Gradle Setup)

==============================
ANDROID WEBVIEW APP (MANUAL)
SDK 14 → 35 | NO ANDROID STUDIO
GRADLE VIA SDKMAN
==============================


1. CREATE PROJECT DIRECTORY
---------------------------
$ mkdir WebLinkApp
$ cd WebLinkApp

About:
Root folder for the Android project.


2. INSTALL SDKMAN (FOR GRADLE)
------------------------------
$ curl -s "https://get.sdkman.io" | bash

About:
SDKMAN is used to manage Gradle versions cleanly.


3. ENABLE SDKMAN
----------------
$ nano ~/.profile
$ nano ~/.bashrc

Add at bottom (if missing):
---------------------------
source "$HOME/.sdkman/bin/sdkman-init.sh"
---------------------------

Apply:
$ source ~/.bashrc

Verify:
$ sdk version

About:
Without this, `sdk` command will not work.


4. INSTALL GRADLE 8.4
---------------------
$ sdk install gradle 8.4

Verify:
$ gradle -v

About:
Gradle 8.4 is compatible with modern Android plugins.


5. CREATE GRADLE WRAPPER
-----------------------
$ gradle wrapper

About:
Creates ./gradlew and gradle/wrapper files.


6. CREATE PROJECT STRUCTURE
---------------------------
$ mkdir app
$ mkdir -p app/src/main/java
$ mkdir -p app/src/main/res/values
$ mkdir -p app/src/main/res/layout

About:
Manual Android projects require this structure.


7. CREATE settings.gradle
-------------------------
$ nano settings.gradle

Paste:
-------------------------
rootProject.name = "WebLinkApp"
include(":app")
-------------------------

About:
Registers the app module.


8. CREATE ROOT build.gradle
---------------------------
$ nano build.gradle

Paste:
-------------------------
buildscript {
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
}

allprojects {
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
}
-------------------------

About:
Defines dependency repositories.


9. CREATE gradle.properties
---------------------------
$ nano gradle.properties

Paste:
-------------------------
org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx2048m
android.useAndroidX=true
android.enableJetifier=true
-------------------------

About:
Required for AndroidX and memory config.


10. CREATE app/build.gradle
---------------------------
$ nano app/build.gradle

Paste:
-------------------------
plugins {
    id 'com.android.application'
}

android {
    namespace "com.linktoapp.app"
    compileSdk 35

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "com.linktoapp.app"
        minSdk 14
        targetSdk 35
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0"
    }

    buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled false
        }
    }

    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_17
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_17
    }
}

dependencies {
    implementation "androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.6.1"
}
-------------------------

About:
Main Android build configuration.


11. CREATE AndroidManifest.xml
------------------------------
$ nano app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml

Paste:
-------------------------
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

    <application
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:theme="@style/Theme.AppCompat.NoActionBar">

        <activity
            android:name=".MainActivity"
            android:exported="true">

            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN"/>
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"/>
            </intent-filter>

        </activity>

    </application>

</manifest>
-------------------------

About:
Do NOT use package="" here.


12. CREATE strings.xml
----------------------
$ nano app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml

Paste:
-------------------------
<resources>
    <string name="app_name">Web Link App</string>
</resources>
-------------------------

About:
Fixes app_name resource error.


13. CREATE LAYOUT FILE
----------------------
$ nano app/src/main/res/layout/activity_main.xml

Paste:
-------------------------
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<WebView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:id="@+id/webview"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"/>
-------------------------

About:
Fullscreen WebView.


14. CREATE JAVA PACKAGE
-----------------------
$ mkdir -p app/src/main/java/com/linktoapp/app
$ nano app/src/main/java/com/linktoapp/app/MainActivity.java

Paste:
-------------------------
package com.linktoapp.app;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.webkit.WebView;
import android.webkit.WebViewClient;
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

        WebView webView = new WebView(this);
        setContentView(webView);

        webView.getSettings().setJavaScriptEnabled(true);
        webView.setWebViewClient(new WebViewClient());

        webView.loadUrl("https://example.com");
    }
}
-------------------------

About:
Change URL here to change the loaded link.


15. BUILD RELEASE APK
---------------------
$ ./gradlew clean assembleRelease

Output:
-------------------------
app/build/outputs/apk/release/
-------------------------


16. CREATE KEYSTORE
-------------------
$ keytool -genkeypair -v \
-keystore mykey.jks \
-keyalg RSA \
-keysize 2048 \
-validity 10000 \
-alias mykey

About:
Used for manual APK signing.


17. SIGN APK (NO GRADLE)
-----------------------
$ apksigner sign \
--ks mykey.jks \
--ks-key-alias mykey \
--out app-release-signed.apk \
app-release-unsigned.apk


18. ZIPALIGN APK
----------------
$ $ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/build-tools/34.0.0/zipalign -v 4 \
app-release-signed.apk \
app-release-final.apk


19. INSTALL APK
---------------
$ adb install app-release-final.apk


20. CHANGE WEBSITE LINK
----------------------
Edit:
MainActivity.java

Change:
webView.loadUrl("https://yourlink.com");


21. CHANGE APP NAME
------------------
Edit:
app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml


22. CHANGE PACKAGE NAME
----------------------
Edit:
- namespace in app/build.gradle
- applicationId in app/build.gradle
- Java folder path
- package line in MainActivity.java


==============================
END OF GUIDE
=====================================================================

=====================================================================
BASH SCRIPT TO CREATE PROJECT (copy it to app.sh) run to see help
=====================================================================

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -e

clear='\033[0m'
IGreen='\033[0;92m'
IYellow='\033[0;93m'
IRed='\033[0;91m'

# -----------------------------
# Arguments
# -----------------------------
PACKAGE_NAME="$1"
APP_NAME="$2"
SDK_VERSION="$3"
JAVA_INPUT="$4"

if [ $# -ne 4 ]; then
  echo
  echo -e "${IGreen}=======================================================${clear}"
  echo -e "${IGreen}==========${IYellow} CREATE CUSTOM ANDROID PROJECT ${IGreen}==========${clear}"
  echo -e "${IGreen}=======================================================${clear}"
  echo
  echo -e "Usage  : ./app.sh <package> <appname> <sdk> <java>"
  echo -e "Example: ./app.sh com.abcd.game mygame 35 java17"
  echo -e "JAVA   : java8 | java11 | java17 | java21"
  echo -e "SDK    : 21+ (recommended 31–36)"
  echo
  exit 1
fi

# -----------------------------
# Java version mapping
# -----------------------------
case "$JAVA_INPUT" in
  java8)  JAVA_VERSION="1_8" ;;
  java11) JAVA_VERSION="11" ;;
  java17) JAVA_VERSION="17" ;;
  java21) JAVA_VERSION="21" ;;
  *)
    echo -e "${IRed}❌ Invalid Java version: $JAVA_INPUT${clear}"
    exit 1
    ;;
esac

# -----------------------------
# Derived values
# -----------------------------
PACKAGE_PATH=$(echo "$PACKAGE_NAME" | tr '.' '/')
PROJECT_ROOT="$APP_NAME"
APP_MAIN="$PROJECT_ROOT/app/src/main"

# -----------------------------
# Create directories
# -----------------------------
mkdir -p "$APP_MAIN/java/$PACKAGE_PATH"
mkdir -p "$APP_MAIN/res/values"
mkdir -p "$PROJECT_ROOT/app"

# -----------------------------
# settings.gradle
# -----------------------------
cat > "$PROJECT_ROOT/settings.gradle" <<EOF
rootProject.name = "$APP_NAME"
include(":app")
EOF

# -----------------------------
# Root build.gradle
# -----------------------------
cat > "$PROJECT_ROOT/build.gradle" <<EOF
buildscript {
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath "com.android.tools.build:gradle:8.3.2"
    }
}

allprojects {
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
}
EOF

# -----------------------------
# gradle.properties
# -----------------------------
cat > "$PROJECT_ROOT/gradle.properties" <<EOF
org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx2g
android.useAndroidX=true
android.enableJetifier=true
android.suppressUnsupportedCompileSdk=$SDK_VERSION
EOF

# -----------------------------
# app/build.gradle
# -----------------------------
cat > "$PROJECT_ROOT/app/build.gradle" <<EOF
plugins {
    id "com.android.application"
}

android {
    namespace "$PACKAGE_NAME"
    compileSdk $SDK_VERSION

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "$PACKAGE_NAME"
        minSdk 21
        targetSdk $SDK_VERSION
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0"
    }

    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_$JAVA_VERSION
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_$JAVA_VERSION
    }
}

dependencies {
}
EOF

# -----------------------------
# AndroidManifest.xml (FIXED)
# -----------------------------
cat > "$APP_MAIN/AndroidManifest.xml" <<EOF
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="$PACKAGE_NAME">

    <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:theme="@style/Theme.App">

        <activity
            android:name=".MainActivity"
            android:exported="true">

            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>

        </activity>

    </application>
</manifest>
EOF

# -----------------------------
# MainActivity.java
# -----------------------------
cat > "$APP_MAIN/java/$PACKAGE_PATH/MainActivity.java" <<EOF
package $PACKAGE_NAME;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

        TextView tv = new TextView(this);
        tv.setText("Hello from $APP_NAME");
        tv.setTextSize(20);
        setContentView(tv);
    }
}
EOF

# -----------------------------
# strings.xml
# -----------------------------
cat > "$APP_MAIN/res/values/strings.xml" <<EOF
<resources>
    <string name="app_name">$APP_NAME</string>
</resources>
EOF

# -----------------------------
# themes.xml
# -----------------------------
cat > "$APP_MAIN/res/values/themes.xml" <<EOF
<resources>
    <style name="Theme.App" parent="android:Theme.Material.Light.NoActionBar"/>
</resources>
EOF

# -----------------------------
# Done
# -----------------------------
echo
echo -e "${IGreen}✔ Android project created successfully${clear}"
echo -e "${IGreen}✔ Project  : $APP_NAME${clear}"
echo -e "${IGreen}✔ Package  : $PACKAGE_NAME${clear}"
echo -e "${IGreen}✔ SDK      : $SDK_VERSION${clear}"
echo -e "${IGreen}✔ Java     : $JAVA_INPUT${clear}"
echo

=====================================================================
BASH SCRIPT ENDS HERE!
=====================================================================