⚡ Nitron

Convert HTML/CSS/JS into a real Android APK — with zero Android knowledge.

Quick Start • Configuration • How It Works • Comparison

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What's New in v1.2.0

• ✅ Linux and Mac support

Note: Linux and Mac support is implemented but not yet tested on physical machines. Community feedback welcome — if you encounter issues, please open a GitHub issue.

• ✅ Custom dev server port (`--port`)
• ✅ Improved permissions validation
• ✅ Multi-page navigation support
• ✅ Tested with React and Vue
• ✅ Android compatibility table
• ✅ Dependency updates and security improvements

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The Problem

Every tool that turns web apps into Android apps eventually forces you to open Android Studio, install Gradle, configure a JDK, and think like an Android developer.

Capacitor says "web-first" — then asks you to install Android Studio.
Cordova says "cross-platform" — then requires 8GB of RAM for a build.
PWAs can't ship on Google Play as real apps.

Nitron makes Android completely invisible — not just simpler.

You write HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You run an npm command. You get a real .apk file. That's it.

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Quick Start

npx nitron init my-app
cd my-app
npm run dev     # to preview locally
npm run build   # to generate APK

Output: dist/app.apk — a real Android APK, ready to install on any device or upload to Google Play.

No Android Studio. No Gradle. No SDK. Just npm and a Java runtime.

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Configuration

All app settings live in a single app.js file:

import { app } from 'nitron'

app.init({
  name: "My App",
  packageId: "com.myname.myapp",
  version: "1.0.0",
  entry: "index.html",
  orientation: "portrait",
  permissions: ["INTERNET", "CAMERA"],
  icon: "./assets/icon.png"
})

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
name	string	required	App display name on the device
packageId	string	required	Unique Android package ID (e.g. com.myname.myapp)
version	string	"1.0.0"	App version
entry	string	"index.html"	HTML entry point loaded by the app
orientation	string	"portrait"	portrait / landscape / auto
statusBar	boolean	true	Show or hide the Android status bar
permissions	string[]	[]	Android permissions (e.g. CAMERA, INTERNET)
icon	string	null	Path to app icon image

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How It Works

Nitron uses a pre-built Android WebView template. When you run npm run build, it executes an 8-step pipeline that produces a signed APK in seconds:

npm run build
      │
      ▼
[1] Read Config       → Parse app.js + package.json
[2] Validate          → Check files exist, fields are valid
[3] Unpack Template   → Extract base WebView APK to temp dir
[4] Inject Assets     → Copy your HTML/CSS/JS into the APK
[5] Patch Manifest    → Write app name, package ID, permissions
[6] Repack            → Zip everything back into .apk format
[7] Sign              → Auto-sign with debug keystore
[8] Output            → dist/app.apk ✓

The entire process takes seconds, uses ~200MB of RAM, and never shows you a single Android error message.

Technical Note: Nitron uses a custom, pure JavaScript AXML binary encoder. This means it generates the binary AndroidManifest.xml natively in Node.js, completely eliminating the need for bulky Android dependencies like apktool or aapt2.

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Framework Compatibility

Nitron seamlessly bundles the output of any web framework. Build your app using your favorite tool, and point Nitron to the output directory (e.g. dist/ or build/).

• React / Vite: 100% compatible. Ensure you use relative paths in your build config (base: './').
• Vue: 100% compatible.
• Vanilla JS: 100% compatible.

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Supported Android Versions

Android Version	API Level	Supported
Android 5.0 (Lollipop)	21	✅ Min supported
Android 9.0 (Pie)	28	✅
Android 11	30	✅
Android 13	33	✅
Android 14	34	✅ Target SDK
Android 16	36	✅ Tested

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Comparison

Feature	Nitron	Capacitor	Cordova	PWA
Needs Android Studio	❌ Never	✅ Always	✅ Always	—
Needs Gradle	❌ Never	✅ Always	✅ Always	—
Needs Java / JDK	⚠️ JRE only(minimal)	✅ Always	✅ Always	—
npm-only workflow	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes
Real APK output	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ No
Google Play ready	⚠️ Need Tests	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ No
Build time	Seconds	Minutes	Minutes	—
RAM during build	~200MB	4–16GB	4–8GB	—
Setup time	~60 seconds	30–60 minutes	30–60 minutes	Fast
Error messages	Web-friendly	Android stacktraces	Android stacktraces	—
iOS Support	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	⚠️ Partial

JRE 8+ required for APK signing. No JDK, no Android SDK, no Gradle.

Project Structure

A Nitron project looks like any web project:

my-app/
├── index.html      ← Your app UI
├── style.css       ← Your styles
├── main.js         ← Your logic
├── app.js          ← Nitron config
└── package.json    ← npm config

No android/ folder. No platforms/. No gradle.properties. Just your web files.

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Current Status

Phase	Status	Description
Phase 1	✅ Complete	CLI scaffold, config reader, validator
Phase 2	✅ Complete	APK Build Pipeline (unpack → inject → sign)
Phase 3	✅ Complete	Developer Experience Polish (init and dev)
Phase 4	✅ Complete	Multi-Target Output (APK + PWA)
Phase 5	✅ Complete	Publishing Helpers, release signing

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Production Release

When you are ready to publish your Android app to Google Play, you need a release keystore.

1. Generate a keystore (only do this once!):

   npx nitron keystore

2. Build for release:

   npx nitron build --release

   You will be prompted for your keystore password, and Nitron will generate a release-signed APK along with a Google Play checklist.

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Multi-Target Output (PWA)

Nitron can build both an Android APK and a Progressive Web App (PWA) from the exact same configuration.

npx nitron build --target android  # Default: Generates dist/app.apk
npx nitron build --target pwa      # Generates dist/pwa/
npx nitron build --target all      # Generates both

When building for --target pwa, Nitron automatically:

• Copies your assets to dist/pwa/
• Generates a fully compliant manifest.json based on app.js
• Generates a service-worker.js that caches all your assets for offline use
• Injects the necessary tags into your index.html

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Requirements

• Node.js 18 or later
• npm (comes with Node.js)
• Java Runtime 8+ (for APK signing only — auto-detected)

That's it. No Android SDK, no Android Studio, no Gradle.

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Nitron is an open-source project and community feedback is what makes it better.

How to contribute

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a new branch: git checkout -b feat/your-feature
3. Make your changes
4. Run the build: npm run build
5. Test locally: node dist/cli.js build
6. Commit and push: git commit -m "feat: your feature"
7. Open a Pull Request

What we need help with

• Testing on Linux and Mac (most needed right now)
• Testing with different web frameworks (React, Vue, Svelte, etc.)
• Testing on different Android versions
• Bug reports and edge cases

Reporting issues

Please open a GitHub issue with:

• Your OS and version
• Node.js version
• The full error message
• Steps to reproduce

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License

MIT © ALightbolt4G