[README](assets/README.md)

lib-template-android

This project is meant to be a complete yet minimal template to create new android libraries from scratch.

It is a modular and functional baseline to build a library from, instead of starting from square one and investing time adjusting all the minor details and options (the main objective is to give a ready-to-code project, so that you can focus on the project itself instead of its infrastructure).

It comes preconfigured with multi module support (complex_numbers is meant to be the library, and sample the attached application), testing (Already configured on both modules), custom Android Studio configurations (AAR builds, signing, deployment, updates, testing and remote actions), MavenCentral deployment utilities and github workflows out of the box.

In order to keep the project simple, there is really nothing inside it, it is strictly gradle, vcs, deploying, scripting and testing structure, which should encompass your library's/application's code.

The project contains 3 modules:

• complex_numbers: This is the library module. It implements Complex Numbers as a showcase. This is the module that should eventually be deployed.
• sample: This is a blank Android app (it depends directly on :complex_numbers), ideally for prototyping/emulation purposes.
• buildSrc: This module contains shared gradle configuration files, and can be customized to fit your needs.

Versions and Specifications

The project depends on gradle 7.4.1. You need JDK Version 11 (>=) to build and use this project. It targets java version 8.

Setup

Import the project in Android Studio and let it sync and build.

There will be a few TODOs scattered throughout the project for things you should be modifying/adding/deleting.

First thing first, you want to be renaming :complex_numbers to your library name. To achieve this, follow these 5 steps:

1. Rename complex_numbers occurrences in gradle files (namely in sample/build.gradle, complex_numbers/build.gradle, and optionally in publish_mavencentral.gradle). Run a Find In Files search for "complex_numbers" if you want to automate this. Leave it as it is inside settings.gradle;
2. Rename complex_numbers occurrences in github workflow files (namely in .github/workflows/push_tests.yaml);
3. Rename the library module. This can be done via Right click on the module name -> Refactor -> Rename -> Rename Module, or from the Project Structure UI;
4. Rename complex_numbers occurrences in settings.gradle;
5. Refactor package names, copyright & comments to match your library/author.

Repeat the process for the :sample module if necessary.

Create more library/app modules if necessary, by copying the already existing ones.

At this point you have the template up and running, ready to be worked on.

It is recommended to run dependencyUpdates to check what is updated and what not (Gradle version, plugin, kotlin version and dependencies).

Github Workflows

The project contains 3 github workflows.

• Build & APK generation on push & pull_request [on by default]
• Test execution on push & pull_request [on by default]
• Publishing on MavenCentral on release creation [off by default]

Deploying

If you intend to deploy your library to MavenCentral (assuming your accounts and GPG keys are correctly configured, more (required to understand) detail in the guides below) you can do it in two different ways:

• Via local commands (the project is equipped with a dependency to deploy AARs). The Gradle task is called publishReleasePublicationToSonatypeRepository. Your data in this case has to be filled in local.properties, to be kept off vcs, and it naturally must match your publication data for the deployment to work.

  signing.keyId=                # Your GPG Key ID
  signing.password=             # Your Key Passphrase
  signing.secretKeyRingFile=    # Your GPG Key file path
  ossrhUsername=                # Account Username
  ossrhPassword=                # Account Password
  sonatypeStagingProfileId=     # These two shoudld match, they are your profile id.
  stagingProfileId=             # These two shoudld match, they are your profile id.
  

• Via github workflows on releases. You create secrets on your repository for each one of these entries, which will be used by the workflow under .github/workflows_disabled/publish.yaml (Has to be moved to workflows) to esecute the deployment.

  OSSRH_USERNAME                # Account Username
  OSSRH_PASSWORD                # Account Password
  SIGNING_KEY_ID                # Your GPG Key ID
  SIGNING_PASSWORD              # Your Key Passphrase
  SIGNING_SECRET_KEY_RING_FILE  # Your GPG Key file path
  SONATYPE_STAGING_PROFILE_ID   # These two shoudld match, they are your profile id.
  

The deployment utility which comes with the project works with serial 1-module deployment. This means that if you have multiple modules, you can:

• Create and customize different publishing gradle files (like scripts/publishing/publish_mavencentral.gradle), one for each module;
• Manually change parameters on that one file, and run one publishing operation for each module.

Sources

This template is available and would not be possible without the hard work of:

• @zsmb13 (https://getstream.io/blog/publishing-libraries-to-mavencentral-2021)
• @GetStream (https://github.com/GetStream/stream-chat-android)
• @afollestad (https://github.com/afollestad/library-template-android)

Recommended reads

• Organizing Gradle Projects