Android Distribution

Android distribution in Fenfa is straightforward: upload an APK file, and users download it directly from the product page. Fenfa auto-detects Android devices and shows the appropriate download button.

How It Works

sequenceDiagram
    participant User as Android User
    participant Browser as Mobile Browser
    participant Fenfa as Fenfa Server
    participant Storage as File Storage

    User->>Browser: Open product page
    Browser->>Fenfa: GET /products/:slug
    Fenfa->>Browser: Detect Android, show APK download
    User->>Browser: Tap "Download"
    Browser->>Fenfa: GET /d/:releaseID
    Fenfa->>Storage: Serve APK file
    Storage->>Browser: Download APK
    Browser->>User: "Open" / Install prompt

Unlike iOS, Android does not require a special protocol for installation. The APK file is downloaded directly via HTTP(S), and the user installs it using the system package installer.

Setting Up an Android Variant

Create an Android variant for your product:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/admin/api/products/prd_abc123/variants \
  -H "X-Auth-Token: YOUR_ADMIN_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "platform": "android",
    "display_name": "Android",
    "identifier": "com.example.myapp",
    "arch": "universal",
    "installer_type": "apk"
  }'

Architecture Variants

If you build separate APKs per architecture, create multiple variants:

• Android ARM64 (arch: arm64-v8a)
• Android ARM (arch: armeabi-v7a)
• Android x86_64 (arch: x86_64)

If you ship a universal APK or AAB, a single variant with universal architecture is sufficient.

Uploading APK Files

Standard Upload

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/upload \
  -H "X-Auth-Token: YOUR_UPLOAD_TOKEN" \
  -F "variant_id=var_android" \
  -F "[email protected]" \
  -F "version=2.1.0" \
  -F "build=210" \
  -F "changelog=Added dark mode support"

Smart Upload

Smart upload auto-extracts metadata from APK files:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/admin/api/smart-upload \
  -H "X-Auth-Token: YOUR_ADMIN_TOKEN" \
  -F "variant_id=var_android" \
  -F "[email protected]"

Extracted metadata includes:

• Package name (com.example.myapp)
• Version name (2.1.0)
• Version code (210)
• App icon
• Minimum SDK version

User Installation

When a user visits the product page on an Android device:

1. The page auto-detects the Android platform.
2. The user taps the Download button.
3. The browser downloads the APK file.
4. Android prompts the user to install the APK.

Unknown Sources

Users must enable "Install from unknown sources" (or "Install unknown apps" on newer Android versions) in their device settings before installing APKs from Fenfa. This is a standard Android requirement for sideloaded apps.

Direct Download Link

Each release has a direct download URL that works with any HTTP client:

# Download via curl
curl -LO http://localhost:8000/d/rel_xxx

# Download via wget
wget http://localhost:8000/d/rel_xxx

This URL supports HTTP Range requests for resumable downloads over slow connections.

Next Steps

• Desktop Distribution -- macOS, Windows, and Linux distribution
• Release Management -- Version and manage your APK releases
• Upload API -- Automate APK uploads from CI/CD