Build the Android app

App details

Property	Value
App name	`FlashcardAI`
Android package	`com.flashcardai.app`
Version	`1.0.8`
Expo SDK	`55`
React Native	`0.83.2`

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+ and npm
For local APK builds: Android SDK, Java 17 (JDK)
For EAS cloud builds: an Expo account and the EAS CLI

Development testing with Expo Go

The fastest way to test the app is with Expo Go — no APK build required. Install Expo Go on your Android device, start the dev server, and scan the QR code.

cd appAndroid
npm install
npx expo start

Scan the QR code shown in the terminal with the Expo Go app on your Android device.

Build a release APK

Local build
EAS cloud build

Build the APK directly on your machine using Gradle.

Prerequisites

Android SDK installed
Java 17 (JDK) installed
Update the paths in build_apk_release.bat to match your local SDK and JDK locations

Steps

Navigate to the appAndroid directory

cd appAndroid

Run the release build script

build_apk_release.bat

The script:

Clears the Metro bundler cache
Runs gradlew clean to wipe old Gradle outputs
Runs gradlew assembleRelease to bundle the JS and compile the APK

Locate the output

The script renames the APK to include the version number. The final file is at:

appAndroid\android\app\build\outputs\apk\release\FlashcardAI-Android-v<version>.apk

Debug APK

For development testing, you can build a debug APK instead:

build_apk_debug.bat

Output goes to:

appAndroid\android\app\build\outputs\apk\debug\

Use Expo Application Services (EAS) to build the APK in the cloud — no Android SDK or JDK required locally.

Prerequisites

An Expo account
EAS CLI installed:
```
npm install -g eas-cli
```

Steps

eas login

Navigate to the appAndroid directory

cd appAndroid

Start a production build

eas build --platform android --profile production

The production profile in eas.json has autoIncrement: true, which automatically bumps the version code on each build.

Download the APK

When the build completes, EAS provides a download link in the terminal and on the Expo dashboard.

EAS build profiles (eas.json)

{
  "build": {
    "development": {
      "developmentClient": true,
      "distribution": "internal"
    },
    "preview": {
      "distribution": "internal"
    },
    "production": {
      "autoIncrement": true
    }
  }
}

Profile	Use case
`development`	Internal testing with dev client
`preview`	Internal distribution for QA
`production`	Release build with auto version increment

Build the .NET desktop app

Build the recommended Windows desktop app

Build the Python desktop app

Build the legacy Python desktop app

Get Started

Core Features

Configuration

Building & Deploying

App details

Prerequisites

Development testing with Expo Go

Build a release APK

Prerequisites

Steps

Debug APK

Prerequisites

Steps

EAS build profiles (eas.json)

Build the .NET desktop app

Build the Python desktop app

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Features

Configuration

Building & Deploying

​App details

​Prerequisites

​Development testing with Expo Go

​Build a release APK

​Prerequisites

​Steps

​Debug APK

​Prerequisites

​Steps

​EAS build profiles (eas.json)

Build the .NET desktop app

Build the Python desktop app

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

App details

Prerequisites

Development testing with Expo Go

Build a release APK

Prerequisites

Steps

Debug APK

Prerequisites

Steps

EAS build profiles (eas.json)