Android build

Tauri 2's key differentiator. Same codebase produces an APK.

1. Prereqs

• Android Studio
• SDK Manager → Platform 34 · NDK (Side by side) · Cmdline-Tools
• Env vars:

export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Library/Android/sdk   # macOS example
export NDK_HOME=$ANDROID_HOME/ndk/26.1.10909125
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/latest/bin:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools

2. Rust targets

rustup target add aarch64-linux-android armv7-linux-androideabi i686-linux-android x86_64-linux-android

aarch64 is what most devices use.

3. Init

pnpm tauri android init

Generates src-tauri/gen/android/. Keep edits minimal; Tauri syncs it.

4. Dev

pnpm tauri android dev

Needs emulator or connected device.

5. Release

pnpm tauri android build

Outputs APK / AAB in src-tauri/gen/android/app/build/outputs/apk/.

6. Signing

keytool -genkey -v -keystore release-key.keystore \
  -alias my-app-key -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

src-tauri/gen/android/key.properties:

password=...
keyAlias=my-app-key
storePassword=...
storeFile=../../release-key.keystore

Never commit the keystore.

7. Permissions

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

Opt into only what you use. Google Play will ask why for each permission.

8. Icons

src-tauri/icons/
pnpm tauri icon ./path/to/icon.png

9. Gotchas

• NDK version drift — check Tauri docs
• Missing Rust targets
• Lost signing key → new app listing
• Missing manifest permissions → runtime fails

10. Submission checklist

• minSdkVersion ≥ 24
• Current targetSdkVersion
• 64-bit (aarch64) included
• Keystore safely stored
• Privacy policy URL ready

Closing

Your first Android build is mostly NDK / SDK / signing setup. Block half a day. After that, pnpm tauri android build.

Next

• 06-ocr-stt-tts