Android APK packages

Creating an APK package

To create an APK package, use the ADT package command, setting the target type to apk for release builds, apk-debug for debug builds, or apk-emulator for release-mode builds for running on an emulator.

adt     -package 
    -target apk 
    -storetype pkcs12 -keystore ../codesign.p12 
    myApp.apk 
    myApp-app.xml 
    myApp.swf icons

Type the entire command on a single line; line breaks in the above example are only present to make it easier to read. Also, the example assumes that the path to the ADT tool is on your command-line shell’s path definition. (See Path environment variables for help.)

You must run the command from the directory containing the application files. The application files in the example are myApp-app.xml (the application descriptor file), myApp.swf, and an icons directory.

When you run the command as shown, ADT will prompt you for the keystore password. (The password characters you type are not displayed; just press Enter when you are done typing.)

When you bundle the runtime with your app, this captive runtime is used exclusively by your application.

The benefits of packaging with a captive runtime include:

• Produces a self-contained application

• Application is isolated from runtime updates

• Enterprises can certify the specific application and runtime combination

• No separate runtime download and install is required

Creating an APK package for an application that uses native extensions

To create an APK package for an application that uses native extensions, add the -extdir option in addition to the normal packaging options. This option specifies the directory that contains the ANE files that the application uses. For example:

adt     -package 
    -target apk 
    -storetype pkcs12 -keystore ../codesign.p12 
    myApp.apk 
    myApp-app.xml 
    -extdir extensionsDir 
    myApp.swf icons

Creating an APK package that includes its own version of the AIR runtime

To create an APK package that contains both the application and a captive version of the AIR runtime, use the apk-captive-runtime target. This option specifies the directory that contains the ANE files that the application uses. For example:

adt     -package 
    -target apk-captive-runtime 
    -storetype pkcs12 -keystore ../codesign.p12 
    myApp.apk 
    myApp-app.xml 
    myApp.swf icons

Possible drawbacks of this technique include:

• Critical security fixes are not automatically available to users when Adobe publishes a security patch

• Larger application RAM footprint

Creating a debug APK package

To create a version of the app that you can use with a debugger, use apk-debug as the target and specify connection options:

adt     -package 
    -target apk-debug 
    -connect 192.168.43.45 
    -storetype pkcs12 -keystore ../codesign.p12 
    myApp.apk 
    myApp-app.xml 
    myApp.swf icons

The -connect flag tells the AIR runtime on the device where to connect to a remote debugger over the network. To debug over USB, you must specify the -listen flag instead, specifying the TCP port to use for the debug connection:

adt     -package 
    -target apk-debug 
    -listen 7936 
    -storetype pkcs12 -keystore ../codesign.p12 
    myApp.apk 
    myApp-app.xml 
    myApp.swf icons

For most debugging features to work, you must also compile the application SWFs and SWCs with debugging enabled. See Debugger connection options for a full description of the -connect and -listen flags.

On Android, the app must also have permission to access the Internet in order for it to connect to the computer running the debugger over the network. See Android permissions.

Creating an APK package for use on an Android emulator

You can use a debug APK package on an Android emulator, but not a release mode package. To create a release mode APK package for use on an emulator, use the ADT package command, setting the target type to apk-emulator :

adt -package -target apk-emulator -storetype pkcs12 -keystore ../codesign.p12 myApp.apk myApp-app.xml myApp.swf icons

The example assumes that the path to the ADT tool is on your command-line shell’s path definition. (See Path environment variables for help.)

Creating an APK package from an AIR or AIRI file

You can create an APK package directly from an existing AIR or AIRI file:

adt -target apk -storetype pkcs12 -keystore ../codesign.p12 myApp.apk myApp.air

The AIR file must use the AIR 2.5 (or later) namespace in the application descriptor file.