Getting started

This page covers everything you need to clone, configure, and run the Android app on a device or emulator.

Prerequisites

Tool	Version
Android Studio	Hedgehog or newer
JDK	17 (Gradle uses JVM 11 target; JDK 17 runs Gradle fine)
Android device or emulator	API 26+
Firebase project	with Email/Password, Google, and Phone sign-in enabled
Backend access	At minimum a running local backend or STAGING_API_KEY from Railway

One-time setup

1. Clone the repo.

   git clone git@github.com:FluxonLabs/scryon-android.git
   cd scryon-android

2. Add google-services.json to the app/ folder. It's gitignored — never commit it.

3. Create local.properties at the repo root and fill in the environment keys — see Configuration for the full reference.

   Minimal setup to use the devDebug flavor against a local backend:

   sdk.dir=/Users/<you>/Library/Android/sdk
   DEV_BASE_URL=http://192.168.1.xxx:8080/   # your Mac's Wi-Fi IP
   DEV_API_KEY=dev-local-key
   FIREBASE_WEB_CLIENT_ID=<id>.apps.googleusercontent.com

   To use stagingDebug against the Railway staging service instead:

   STAGING_API_KEY=<key-from-railway>
   FIREBASE_WEB_CLIENT_ID=<id>.apps.googleusercontent.com

4. Select your build variant in Android Studio: Build → Select Build Variant and pick devDebug (local) or stagingDebug (Railway staging).

5. Build → Rebuild Project, then run on a device or emulator (API 26+).

The app builds without Firebase: the google-services plugin is applied conditionally on the presence of google-services.json. With no Firebase, the AuthGate renders the LoginScreen with a "Firebase not configured" hint.

Build flavors

The app has three flavors so you can target different environments without touching source code:

Flavor	App ID	Launcher label	Backend
dev	com.scryon.dev	Scryon Dev	Local Mac
staging	com.scryon.staging	Scryon Staging	Railway staging
prod	com.scryon	Scryon	Railway prod

All three install as separate apps on the same device. Never test against prod — it points to real user data.

Local debugging (end-to-end in two commands)

1. Start the backend

cd ../scryon-backend
./dev.sh              # without pyannote (default)
./dev.sh --pyannote   # with pyannote speaker separation

The script starts Postgres, prints your Mac's Wi-Fi IP, and runs the backend on http://localhost:8080. See Backend local setup for .env.local key setup.

2. Install the app

# from the scryon-android repo root
./dev.sh           # builds + installs devDebug → "Scryon Dev"
./dev.sh staging   # builds + installs stagingDebug → "Scryon Staging"

Before first run — set your Mac's IP in local.properties:

ipconfig getifaddr en0   # e.g. 192.168.1.105

# local.properties
DEV_BASE_URL=http://192.168.1.105:8080/

Only needs updating when your IP changes (new network, router reconnect).

---

Build & run from the command line

# --- dev (local backend) ---
./gradlew :app:installDevDebug          # most common day-to-day command
./gradlew :app:assembleDevDebug         # APK only

# --- staging ---
./gradlew :app:installStagingDebug
./gradlew :app:assembleStagingRelease   # for tester distribution

# --- prod (Play Store) ---
./gradlew :app:bundleProdRelease        # AAB → upload to Play Console

# --- other ---
./gradlew :app:compileDevDebugKotlin    # fast type-check, no resources
./gradlew :app:testDebugUnitTest        # unit tests (scaffold only today)

Useful flags:

Flag	Effect
--info / --debug	Gradle verbosity
-PDEV_API_KEY=…	Override a key at invocation time (CI)

HttpLoggingInterceptor is at Level.BODY in debug builds, Level.NONE in release. Credentials are always redacted.

First-run smoke test

Using devDebug with the local backend running:

1. Open the app — the AuthGate redirects you to the LoginScreen.
2. Sign in with email / Google / phone.
3. The app calls GET /api/users/me, which lazily provisions a backend row on first call.
4. The Calls tab discovers any call-style recordings already on the device. If empty, the app shows a friendly empty-state.
5. Tap Transcribe on a recording. The first time, the app asks for READ_CALL_LOG (optional). The recording disappears from Calls and a synthetic Uploading row appears in Transcribed.
6. Wait for the row to progress: Queued → Transcribing → Analyzing → Completed.
7. Tap the completed row to see the transcript and analysis.

If anything in steps 2–7 fails, see Troubleshooting.

Related docs

Resource	Link
Android repo	github.com/FluxonLabs/scryon-android
Backend repo	github.com/FluxonLabs/scryon-backend
Staging backend	api-staging.scryon.app
Prod backend	api.scryon.app
API reference	API overview
Configuration reference	Configuration