BearMod Android App

Build and Deployment Automation

This project uses GitHub Actions to automate the build, test, and deployment process. Automation has been implemented as a top priority to ensure code quality and facilitate continuous development.

Implemented Workflows

1. Continuous Integration (CI)

• File: .github/workflows/android-ci.yml
• Purpose: Automatically build the application on each push or pull request.
• Features:
  • Automatic setup of the development environment (JDK, Android SDK, NDK)
  • Dependency caching to speed up builds
  • Execution of the custom autoBuild task
  • Publication of build artifacts

2. Automated Testing

• File: .github/workflows/android-test.yml
• Purpose: Run unit and instrumented tests.
• Features:
  • Execution of unit tests with JUnit
  • Execution of instrumented tests on an Android emulator
  • Publication of test results

3. Automated Deployment

• File: .github/workflows/android-release.yml
• Purpose: Generate and publish application versions.
• Features:
  • Triggered when creating a tag with the format v* (e.g., v1.0.0)
  • Automatic APK signing
  • Creation of a new GitHub release with the signed APK

Custom autoBuild Task

A custom Gradle task called autoBuild has been implemented that:

1. Verifies the development environment configuration
2. Cleans the project
3. Builds the debug version
4. Runs unit tests
5. Handles errors robustly

How to Use the Automation

For Developers

1. Make your changes in a separate branch
2. Create a Pull Request to main
3. The automation will run the build and tests
4. Once approved and merged, the changes will go to main

To Create a New Version

1. Make sure all changes are in the main branch
2. Create a new tag with the format v1.x.x:

   git tag v1.0.0
   git push origin v1.0.0

3. The release workflow will be triggered automatically
4. A new release will be created on GitHub with the signed APK

Keystore Setup for App Signing

Using an Existing Keystore

If you already have a keystore file (like BearOwner.jks), you can use the provided PowerShell script to prepare it for GitHub Actions:

# Run from the project root directory
.\scripts\prepare-keystore.ps1 -KeystorePath "C:\path\to\your\keystore.jks" -KeyAlias "your_key_alias" -KeystorePassword "your_keystore_password" -KeyPassword "your_key_password"

This script will encode your keystore file to base64 and provide instructions for setting up GitHub secrets.

GitHub Secrets Configuration

For the automatic signing process to work, you must configure the following secrets in your GitHub repository:

• SIGNING_KEY: The signing key in Base64 format
• KEY_ALIAS: The key alias
• KEY_STORE_PASSWORD: The keystore password
• KEY_PASSWORD: The key password

Local Development

For local development, you can place your keystore file in the keystore directory and update the signingConfigs section in app/build.gradle.kts with your keystore details.

Note: Never commit your actual keystore files or passwords to the repository. The .gitignore file is configured to exclude .keystore and .jks files from version control.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with the automation:

1. Check the execution logs in the "Actions" tab of GitHub
2. Make sure all necessary environment variables are configured
3. Verify that the APK signing secrets are correctly configured

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With this implementation, the build, test, and deployment process is fully automated, allowing for faster and more reliable development.