CustomerCapture – Development Environment Setup Guide

Required Administrator Permissions

Students will need administrator permissions for:

1. Installing Node.js and npm
2. Installing Android Studio and SDKs
3. Setting system environment variables
4. Running Android emulators

Note: Installing expo-CLI globally is optional – you can always run Expo commands via npx without admin rights.

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System Requirements

• Windows 10/11 or macOS 12+
• Minimum 8 GB RAM (16 GB recommended)
• At least 20 GB free disk space
• Intel or AMD processor with virtualization support
• Virtualization enabled in BIOS (for Android emulator)

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Complete Setup Instructions

1. Node.js Installation

1. Download Node.js LTS (v18.x or later) from https://nodejs.org/
2. Run the installer.
3. Verify:

   node --version
   npm --version

2. Android Studio Setup

1. Download Android Studio from https://developer.android.com/studio
2. Run the installer.
3. In the components selection, ensure:
   • Android SDK
   • Android SDK Platform
   • Android Virtual Device
   • Intel HAXM (or appropriate AMD alternative)
4. After launch:
   1. Tools → SDK Manager
   2. Under SDK Platforms, install:
      • Android 14.0 (API Level 34)
      • Android 13.0 (API Level 33)
   3. Under SDK Tools, ensure:
      • Android SDK Build-Tools
      • Android Emulator
      • Android SDK Platform-Tools
      • Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator (HAXM) or AMD Hypervisor driver

3. Environment Variables Setup

1. ANDROID_HOME
   • Windows:
     • Open System Properties → Advanced → Environment Variables
     • New User or System variable

       Name: ANDROID_HOME  
       Value: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Android\Sdk
       

   • macOS/Linux:

     echo 'export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Library/Android/sdk' >> ~/.bash_profile
     echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools' >> ~/.bash_profile
     source ~/.bash_profile

2. Add platform-tools to PATH
   • Windows variable Path:

     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Android\Sdk\platform-tools
     

   • macOS/Linux, see above.

Tip: After setting variables, open a new terminal and run adb --version to confirm.

4. Expo CLI Installation (Optional Global Install)

You can either:

• Globally install (requires admin):

  npm install -g expo-cli

• Or use npx (no admin needed):

  # in your project folder
  npx expo start

5. Create Android Virtual Device (AVD)

1. In Android Studio, select More Actions → Virtual Device Manager
2. Create Virtual Device → choose Pixel 7 (or similar)
3. Download a system image (API 34 recommended)
4. Finish setup

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Project Setup & Running

1. Clone this repository

   git clone https://github.com/your-org/CustomerCapture.git
   cd CustomerCapture

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Start the app
   • Launch your Android emulator (AVD)
   • Run:

     # if you installed expo-cli globally
     expo start
     # otherwise
     npx expo start

   • Press a to open on the Android emulator, or scan the QR code in Expo Go on your device.

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Troubleshooting Common Issues

“Cannot find module '…\expo\bin\cli'”

• Cause: expo-CLI isn’t installed globally, but you ran expo start.
• Fix:
  • Run npx expo start instead of expo start
  • Or install locally as a dev dependency:

    npm install --save-dev expo-cli

  • Then you can run npx expo start or add an npm script:

    // package.json
    "scripts": {
      "start": "expo start"
    }

    and run:

    npm run start

Android Emulator Performance

• Ensure virtualization (Intel HAXM or AMD Hypervisor) is enabled in BIOS
• Allocate ≥ 2 GB RAM to the AVD
• Close other heavy applications

NPM Installation Issues

• npm cache clean --force
• Verify proxy/firewall allows npm registry

Expo Connection Issues

• Start emulator before expo start
• adb devices should list your emulator
• Restart Metro bundler: close the terminal, then npm run start/npx expo start

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Network Requirements

• Unrestricted access to:
  • npmjs.com
  • expo.dev
  • github.com
  • Google Play services
• Ensure localhost ports 19000–19002 are open

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Learn More

• Expo docs
• Expo tutorial
• Expo Discord

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Get Started

1. npm install
2. npx expo start
3. Edit files in the app/ directory (file-based routing)