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MarekWo
f71cac8b2e
A thin WebView wrapper that opens a user's own mc-webui instance full screen, without the browser address bar. It asks once for the server address and remembers it; all logic stays on the server. - android/mc-webui-wrapper.apk (1.0, it.wojtaszek.mc.wrapper, minSdk 21) - docs/android-app.md: download + checksum, "unknown sources" permission, the Play Protect notice, first connection, and the limitations that come with a WebView (no notifications, no QR camera, no file downloads) - README, user guide and whatsnew entries, incl. an app-vs-PWA comparison - *.apk marked binary so the text=auto rule can never touch it Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
172 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
172 lines
6.7 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** | 5.7 MB |
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| **App version** | 1.0 |
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| **Package** | `it.wojtaszek.mc.wrapper` |
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| **SHA-256** | `12e1e388e01a68e0de73672808033a2ff8417df7075a229e3be9eccc6f7ff82c` |
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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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The app returns to the address screen when you press **Back** on the main
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mc-webui page, and also when it cannot reach the server (wrong address, server
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down, phone off the network). Enter the address again — corrected if it was
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wrong, unchanged if the server was simply unreachable — and tap **SAVE &
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CONNECT**.
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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 exactly as in the browser: channels,
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direct messages, contacts, the console, My Repeaters, the Path Analyzer, maps,
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settings, themes. A few things live outside the page and are not wired up in
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this version of the wrapper:
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| Feature | In the app | Instead |
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| **Notifications** for new messages | Not available — the app has no access to the browser notification system | Install mc-webui as a **PWA** in Chrome for notifications ([how](user-guide.md#installing-as-pwa)); the two can live side by side |
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| **Scanning a QR code** (Add Contact → Scan QR) | Not available — the app does not request camera access | **Paste URI** or **Manual entry** on the same screen |
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| **Downloading files** (database backup, saving a QR image) | Does nothing when tapped | Do it from a browser on the phone or from a computer |
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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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- The app requests a single Android permission: **internet access**
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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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---
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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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