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MarekWo
28d74476e7
Replaces the debug APK with a release build signed with the project key (CN=Marek Wojtaszek, valid to 2081, v1+v2 schemes, not debuggable), so every later version installs over this one instead of forcing a reinstall. Docs catch up with what the app can now do: QR scanning works on https instances, downloads land in the phone's Downloads folder, and the address form is a non-destructive screen you can reach deliberately. New SHA-256, size, permission list and the signing fingerprint to verify against. Also silences the Kotlin warning for the deprecated shouldOverrideUrlLoading overload kept for Android 5.x - source-only, the APK is unaffected. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
189 lines
7.9 KiB
Markdown
189 lines
7.9 KiB
Markdown
# mc-webui for Android
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A small companion app that opens **your own** mc-webui instance full screen — no
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address bar, no browser tabs, its own icon in the app drawer. It looks and works
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like a native app, because underneath it is the same web interface you already
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use in the browser.
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The app contains no mesh logic of its own: it asks once for the address of your
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mc-webui server and displays it. Everything still runs on your server and your
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MeshCore device.
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The app is **not distributed through Google Play** — you download the `.apk`
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file from this repository and install it yourself. That is a normal and
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supported way to install Android apps, but Android will warn you a few times
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along the way. The steps below cover those warnings.
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---
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## What you need
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- **Android 5.0 (Lollipop) or newer**
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- A running **mc-webui** instance the phone can reach — either on the same local
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network (e.g. `http://192.168.1.100:5000`) or published over the internet
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through a reverse proxy (e.g. `https://mc-webui.example.com`)
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---
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## Step 1: Download the app
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| **File** | [`android/mc-webui-wrapper.apk`](../android/mc-webui-wrapper.apk) |
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| **Direct link** | https://github.com/MarekWo/mc-webui/raw/main/android/mc-webui-wrapper.apk |
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| **Size** | 4.6 MB |
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| **App version** | 1.0 |
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| **Package** | `it.wojtaszek.mc.wrapper` |
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| **SHA-256** | `eaeccbb2016f67517adb2940375604b327ba049fe69ae5682f8f0881de888f08` |
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Download it directly on the phone, or copy it over from a computer.
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**Optional — verify the file.** Only worth doing if you got the file from
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somewhere other than this repository:
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```bash
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# Linux / macOS
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sha256sum mc-webui-wrapper.apk
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# Windows (PowerShell)
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Get-FileHash mc-webui-wrapper.apk -Algorithm SHA256
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```
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The result must match the SHA-256 above.
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---
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## Step 2: Allow installation from unknown sources
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Android only installs apps from Google Play unless you allow the app that is
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doing the installing — usually your browser or the Files app — to install
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others. You grant that permission once, and it applies to that app only.
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**The easy way** — just start the installation (Step 3). When Android says
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*"For your security, your phone is not allowed to install unknown apps from
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this source"*, tap **Settings**, turn on **Allow from this source**, and press
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back. The installation continues.
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**Up front, if you prefer** — Settings → **Apps** → **Special app access** →
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**Install unknown apps** → pick the browser or file manager you will use →
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**Allow from this source**. The exact wording varies by manufacturer (Samsung,
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Xiaomi, and others each name it slightly differently).
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---
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## Step 3: Install
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1. Open the downloaded `mc-webui-wrapper.apk` — from the browser's download
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notification, or from **Files → Downloads**
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2. Tap **Install**
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3. **Play Protect** may show *"Unsafe app blocked"* or *"App scan
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recommended"*. This is Google's standard notice for apps that did not come
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from the Play Store — it is not a detection of anything in the app. Choose
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**More details → Install anyway** (or **Don't send / Install** if it offers
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to upload the file for scanning)
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4. Tap **Open**, or launch **mc-webui** from the app drawer
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To remove it later: long-press the icon → **Uninstall**, like any other app.
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---
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## Step 4: Connect to your instance
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On the first run the app asks for the address of your server:
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<p align="center">
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<img src="../images/android-wrapper-setup.jpg" width="300" alt="mc-webui Android app - server address screen">
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</p>
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Type the full address, including the protocol and — for a local instance — the
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port:
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| Your setup | What to enter |
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| mc-webui on the local network | `http://192.168.1.100:5000` |
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| Behind a reverse proxy with a certificate | `https://mc-webui.example.com` |
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| On a non-standard port behind a proxy | `https://mc-webui.example.com:8443` |
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Then tap **SAVE & CONNECT**.
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> **Type `http://` explicitly for local instances.** If you leave the protocol
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> out, the app assumes `https://` and the connection to a plain local server
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> will fail.
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The address is remembered, so every later launch goes straight into mc-webui.
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### Changing the address later
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Press **Back** on the first mc-webui page and the app asks what you want:
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**Change server** brings up the address form, **Exit** closes the app, **Cancel**
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stays where you were. (Deeper inside the interface, Back simply goes back a
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page, as in a browser.)
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The address form also appears on its own when the app cannot reach the server —
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wrong address, server down, phone off the network. Either way the form opens
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**pre-filled with the address you are using**, and nothing is overwritten until
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you tap **SAVE & CONNECT**: a dropped connection never costs you the address.
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---
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## What works, and what doesn't
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Everything you do in mc-webui itself works as in the browser: channels, direct
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messages, contacts, the console, My Repeaters, the Path Analyzer, maps,
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settings, themes. Links to other sites — a URL in a message, the packet
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analyzer — open in your normal browser, so the app stays on your instance.
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Two things depend on how your instance is reachable, and one is not available
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at all:
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| Feature | In the app |
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| **Notifications** for new messages | **Not available.** The app has no access to the browser's notification system. If you want notifications, also install mc-webui as a **PWA** in Chrome ([how](user-guide.md#installing-as-pwa)) — the app and the PWA can live side by side |
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| **Scanning a QR code** (Add Contact → Scan QR) | **Works on `https://` instances.** Android asks for camera permission the first time. Over plain `http://` the camera stays blocked — that is a browser rule, not an app limitation, and Chrome on the same phone behaves identically. Use **Paste URI** or **Manual entry** there |
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| **Downloading files** (e.g. database backups) | **Works.** Files land in the phone's **Downloads** folder, with the usual download notification |
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| **HTTPS with a self-signed certificate** | **Refused,** with an "SSL error" message. Use a valid certificate (e.g. Let's Encrypt), or plain `http://` on the local network |
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---
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## Security notes
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- **Install the `.apk` only from this repository** (or from the project's
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GitHub Releases page). An `.apk` from anywhere else is a different app, no
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matter what it is called
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- The app stores exactly one thing on the phone: **the server address you
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typed**. No messages, keys, or contacts — those stay on your server and your
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MeshCore device
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- **Plain `http://` is allowed** so that local instances work without a
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certificate. On a home network that is fine; over the internet, put mc-webui
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behind a reverse proxy with HTTPS and some form of access control — the app
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adds no authentication of its own
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- **Permissions:** internet access; the camera, only when you use QR scanning
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and only after you allow it; and file storage on Android 9 and older, only
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for saving a download. Nothing else — no contacts, no location, no background
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services
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- Every release is **signed with the same key** (certificate SHA-256
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`42:58:57:b3:60:0c:1b:89:2f:8d:3b:2a:5c:46:8b:fe:17:c0:d2:1f:6c:12:24:33:a4:e1:1b:51:be:9b:d2:30`),
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which is also why updates install straight over the previous version
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---
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## How it is built
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A minimal Android WebView wrapper: one screen for the server address, one
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full-screen WebView for mc-webui itself, and a saved preference between them.
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No analytics, no third-party services, no background activity — when the app is
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closed, nothing of it runs.
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The complete source is in [`android/src/`](../android/src), and
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[`android/README.md`](../android/README.md) describes how to build it yourself
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if you would rather not trust a prebuilt `.apk`.
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---
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## See also
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- [User Guide](user-guide.md) — everything the interface itself can do
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- [PWA Notifications](user-guide.md#pwa-notifications) — the browser-based
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alternative, with notification support
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- [Troubleshooting](troubleshooting.md) — when the server itself misbehaves
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