---
title: Android
description: Android Platform Guide
---
{/* cSpell: ignore xbuild textfields abifilters gradlew logcat armeabi androideabi myproject libapp */}

import LangRefLink from '@slint/common-files/src/components/LangRefLink.astro';
import Link from '@slint/common-files/src/components/Link.astro';
import { Image } from 'astro:assets';
import { Tabs, TabItem } from '@astrojs/starlight/components';

Slint supports building Android applications in both Rust and C++.
Also see the <LangRefLink lang="rust-slint" relpath="android/">android module</LangRefLink> in the Rust API documentation.

## Project Setup

<Tabs syncKey="dev-language">
<TabItem label="Rust" icon="seti:rust">

Slint uses the [android-activity crate](https://github.com/rust-mobile/android-activity) as the interface to
the operating system, which is re-exported as `slint::android::android_activity`. To get started, follow these steps:

First, your project needs to be a library crate. Add the following to your `Cargo.toml`:

```toml
[lib]
crate_type = ["cdylib"]
```

You also need to select the version of android-activity you want to use:

```toml
[dependencies]
slint = { version = "1.18.0", features = ["backend-android-activity-06"] }
```

This feature compiles with any target\_os and can safely be enabled anywhere.

Second, in your `lib.rs`, add this function:

```rs
#[cfg(target_os = "android")]
#[unsafe(no_mangle)]
fn android_main(app: slint::android::AndroidApp) {
    slint::android::init(app).unwrap();
    let main_window = ...; // window generated by the Slint macros
    main_window.run().unwrap();
}
```

You can also add an Android event
([`android_activity::PollEvent`](https://docs.rs/android-activity/latest/android_activity/enum.PollEvent.html))
listener by replacing the call to `slint::android::init` with `slint::android::init_with_event_listener`.

That's all of the necessary code changes. In the next section, we're going to set up the environment to
build the project.

</TabItem>
<TabItem label="C++" icon="seti:cpp">

A Slint C++ Android application is a standard CMake project (see the <Link type="getting_started" label="getting started tutorial" />) with an Android-specific Gradle wrapper.
The C++ code lives at the project root and works for both desktop and Android builds.
The only Android-specific difference in CMake is building a shared library instead of an executable:

```cmake
if(ANDROID)
    add_library(app SHARED main.cpp)
else()
    add_executable(app main.cpp)
endif()
```

When Slint is configured with the Android NDK toolchain, its `CMakeLists.txt` automatically:
- Detects the Android target and maps the ABI to the correct Rust target.
- Selects Slint's Android backend and a suitable renderer.
- Sets the Material style as default.

The `android/` subdirectory contains the Gradle project that wraps the CMake build:

```
my-app/
├── CMakeLists.txt                # Builds your app (desktop & Android)
├── main.cpp                      # Your application code
├── main.slint                    # Your Slint UI
├── android/
│   ├── build.gradle.kts          # Gradle config: SDK versions, CMake path
│   ├── settings.gradle.kts
│   ├── gradle.properties
│   └── src/main/
│       └── AndroidManifest.xml
```

### android/build.gradle.kts

```kotlin
plugins {
    id("com.android.application") version "8.7.0"
}

android {
    namespace = "com.myproject.app"
    compileSdk = 35

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId = "com.myproject.app"
        // API 26 (Android 8.0) is the minimum supported by the Slint Android backend.
        minSdk = 26
        targetSdk = 35

        ndk {
            // Add other ABIs as needed: "armeabi-v7a", "x86_64", "x86"
            abiFilters += "arm64-v8a"
        }
    }

    externalNativeBuild {
        cmake {
            path = file("../CMakeLists.txt")
            version = "3.22.1"
        }
    }
}
```

### android/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml

```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <application
        android:label="My Slint App"
        android:hasCode="false">
        <activity
            android:name="android.app.NativeActivity"
            android:exported="true"
            android:configChanges="orientation|screenSize|keyboardHidden">
            <meta-data
                android:name="android.app.lib_name"
                android:value="app" />
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
    </application>
</manifest>
```

:::note[Note]
The `android:value="app"` must match the CMake library name in `add_library(app SHARED ...)`.
Mismatches cause the app to crash on startup with `couldn't find "libapp.so"`.
:::

</TabItem>
</Tabs>

## Android Setup

The Android development workflow centers around the `adb` command line tool. Use it to connect to
Android devices and emulators to upload and run applications (and do other things not relevant here).

The easiest way to install the Android development environment is to download and install
[Android Studio](https://developer.android.com/studio). In the settings pane, navigate to the Android
SDK page and install all SDK versions you need. We recommend to use the latest version available,
because it can be configured to be backwards-compatible with older versions of Android. This manager
is available in the settings in "Languages & Frameworks" > "Android SDK".

import androidSdkManager from '/src/assets/android/android_sdk_manager.png';

<Image src={androidSdkManager} style={{width: "500px"}} alt="Screenshot Android SDK Manager" />

Also note the SDK location on top, this path might have to be used for the `ANDROID_HOME` environment
variable if the build tools can't detect it automatically.

In the SDK Manager, also install:
- The Android NDK (under the "SDK Tools" tab).
- Only when building C++ applications: CMake (under the "SDK Tools" tab).

Set up these environment variables so the build can find the NDK:

```sh
export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Android/Sdk
export ANDROID_NDK_ROOT=$ANDROID_HOME/ndk/<version>
```

### Rust Toolchain

Slint is written in Rust, so a Rust toolchain is needed to compile it for Android.
Install Rust via the [Rust Getting Started Guide](https://www.rust-lang.org/learn/get-started), then add the Android target:

```sh
rustup target add aarch64-linux-android
```

Add other targets if you need to support additional ABIs:

```sh
rustup target add armv7-linux-androideabi  # armeabi-v7a
rustup target add x86_64-linux-android     # x86_64 (emulator)
rustup target add i686-linux-android       # x86 (emulator)
```

Add the `platform-tools` directory to your `PATH` so that the `adb` tool is available on the command
line.

To get the list of Android devices, simulators and emulators currently attached to your machine, run

```sh
adb devices
```

You can connect to a physical device on the network by using

```sh
adb connect <host>
```

The `host` is the IP address of the device. Note that it has to have development mode enabled for
this.

### Virtual Device Setup

We recommend developing using a virtual device first, because it speeds up the development cycle.
However, eventually you have to also test on a device to make sure that the interface is usable on a
touch screen and to check if all text is large enough, etc.

To create and run a virtual device, use the Virtual Device Manager available in Android Studio. You
can open it from its main screen under "More Actions":

import virtualDeviceManagerMenuItem from '/src/assets/android/android_virtual_device_manager_menu.png';

<Image src={virtualDeviceManagerMenuItem} style={{width: "500px"}} alt="Screenshot Virtual Device Manager Menu Item" />

You can create any number of devices with different configurations here:

import virtualDeviceManager from '/src/assets/android/android_virtual_device_manager.png';

<Image src={virtualDeviceManager} style={{width: "500px"}} alt="Screenshot Virtual Device Manager" />

A good approach is to have one device with the minimum API level supported by your application and
another one with the latest release to make sure it runs on both.

Running virtual devices connect to `adb` automatically.

#### Virtual Keyboard

Note that depending on the device template you pick, the virtual devices created here might use a
hardware keyboard by default, which is not helpful for testing your application. Unfortunately, we
were unable to locate a way to disable it in the Virtual Device Manager directly.

To fix this, click on the three vertical dots next to the device in the manager to open up the menu
and select "Show on disk". In the directory that now opens, open the file `config.ini` in your
favorite text editor. Navigate to the line `hw.keyboard=yes` and change it to `hw.keyboard=no`, then
save the file.

The next challenge is that there is still no keyboard:

import virtualKeyboardStylus from '/src/assets/android/android_virtual_keyboard_stylus.png';

<Image src={virtualKeyboardStylus} style={{width: "300px"}} alt="Screenshot Stylus Support" />

Disable the stylus input in the keyboard settings:

import keyboardSettings from '/src/assets/android/android_keyboard_settings.png';

<Image src={keyboardSettings} style={{width: "300px"}} alt="Screenshot Keyboard Settings" />

Select "Write in textfields" in the list and then disable that feature. This enables the
regular virtual keyboard.

## Writing Your Application

<Tabs syncKey="dev-language">
<TabItem label="Rust" icon="seti:rust">

Define your main function and UI in your `lib.rs`:

```rs
#[cfg(target_os = "android")]
#[unsafe(no_mangle)]
fn android_main(app: slint::android::AndroidApp) {
    slint::android::init(app).unwrap();
    let main_window = MainWindow::new().unwrap();
    main_window.run().unwrap();
}
```

You can also add an Android event
([`android_activity::PollEvent`](https://docs.rs/android-activity/latest/android_activity/enum.PollEvent.html))
listener by replacing the call to `slint::android::init` with `slint::android::init_with_event_listener`.

</TabItem>
<TabItem label="C++" icon="seti:cpp">

On Android, the entry point is `slint_main` instead of `main`.
Slint provides the actual `android_main` entry point internally,
and calls your `slint_main` once the platform is initialized.

To share a `main.cpp` between desktop and Android builds, use a preprocessor guard:

```cpp
#ifdef __ANDROID__
extern "C" void slint_main()
#else
int main()
#endif
{
    auto window = MainWindow::create();
    window->run();
}
```

</TabItem>
</Tabs>

## Building and Running

<Tabs syncKey="dev-language">
<TabItem label="Rust" icon="seti:rust">

There are multiple ways to build, upload and run Android apps written in Rust. This page describes a
way using [xbuild](https://github.com/rust-mobile/xbuild). This doesn't use Android Studio at all.

At the time of this writing, the current version of xbuild (0.2.0) is severely outdated and contains
relevant bugs that have been fixed in the master branch. So, don't use `cargo install xbuild` to
install it, use the git version instead:

```sh
cargo install --git https://github.com/rust-mobile/xbuild.git
```

The command line tool for xbuild is simply called `x`. For example, to get a list of devices connected,
use

```sh
x devices
```

Note that unlike `adb` above, this tool also supports iOS devices and simulators. However, for Android
devices it simply talks to `adb`, so if you connect a device using that tool, it will also show up here.

To build your project, navigate to the directory containing your `Cargo.toml` and run

```sh
x run --device <id>
```

Where `<id>` is shown in `x devices` as the leftmost column and is something like `adb:emulator-1234`
for virtual Android devices.

This should build your project, upload it to the device and run it. The target platform is detected
automatically.

To recompile and test changes, press ctrl-c and run the same command again. The running version on the
device is replaced automatically.

### Troubleshooting

If `x run` doesn't work, run `x doctor` to check if you have all required tools installed and that
they're found by xbuild.

### Distribution

There are many ways to distribute Android applications and xbuild supports all of them via `x build`.
To get information about the configuration, use `x build --help`.

For example, to build an .apk file, use something like

```sh
x build --platform android --arch arm64 --format apk --release
```

The apk is then located in `target/x/release/android/<name>.apk`.

</TabItem>
<TabItem label="C++" icon="seti:cpp">

Connect a device or start an emulator, then:

```sh
./gradlew installDebug
```

This builds the native library (Rust + C++),
packages it into an APK,
and installs it on the connected device.

:::note[Note]
The first build takes longer because it compiles Slint and the Skia renderer from source.
Subsequent builds are faster thanks to Cargo's incremental compilation.
:::

### View Logs

```sh
adb logcat -s "slint"
```

### Release Builds

```sh
./gradlew assembleRelease
```

The APK is in `app/build/outputs/apk/release/`.

### Multiple ABIs

To build for multiple ABIs, add them to `abiFilters` in `build.gradle.kts`:

```kotlin
ndk {
    abiFilters += listOf("arm64-v8a", "armeabi-v7a", "x86_64")
}
```

Each ABI requires the corresponding Rust target to be installed,
and triggers a separate Rust compilation that increases build time.

### Troubleshooting

#### `Rust target not installed`

Run `rustup target add aarch64-linux-android` (or the target matching your ABI).

#### `ANDROID_NDK_ROOT not set`

The NDK path must be available to the Rust build.
Set it as an environment variable or ensure the NDK is installed via Android Studio's SDK Manager.

#### Build fails with Skia errors

The Skia renderer requires `clang` to be available on your host system.
Install it with your system package manager.

#### App crashes on startup

Check `adb logcat` for errors.
Common causes:
- The library name in `AndroidManifest.xml` doesn't match the CMake target name.
- The `slint_main` function is missing (it must be `extern "C"`).
- The API level is below 26.

</TabItem>
</Tabs>
