A translation layer that allows running android apps on a Linux system

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dependencies on debian: sudo apt install libglib2.0-dev libgtk-4-dev libasound2-dev libopenxr-dev libportal-dev libsqlite3-dev

dependencies you might have to build from source:

• https://github.com/Mis012/skia/tree/with-patches-applied
  (can also use the prebuilt in https://www.nuget.org/api/v2/package/SkiaSharp.NativeAssets.Linux/2.88.5 if it's compatible with your distro)

some apps depend on the following (though the translation layer itself currently does not):

• https://gitlab.com/android_translation_layer/libopensles-standalone/

build instructions:

1. compile and install https://gitlab.com/android_translation_layer/dalvik_standalone (art branch) (you can run it from builddir, but it requires some additional env variables)
2. mkdir builddir
3. meson builddir
4. ninja -C builddir

then, to run from builddir:
cd builddir
and
RUN_FROM_BUILDDIR= LD_LIBRARY_PATH=./ ./android-translation-layer /path/to/test_apks/org.happysanta.gd_29.apk -l org/happysanta/gd/GDActivity
(for an example of a full game working that can be distributed along this) or
RUN_FROM_BUILDDIR= LD_LIBRARY_PATH=./ ./android-translation-layer path/to/test_apks/gles3jni.apk -l com/android/gles3jni/GLES3JNIActivity
(for a sample app using OpenGL from native code to do it's rendering)

the test apks are available at https://gitlab.com/android_translation_layer/atl_test_apks

to install:
meson install

to run after installataion:
ANDROID_APP_DATA_DIR=[data dir] android-translation-layer [path to apk] [-l activity to launch]
or just
android-translation-layer [path to apk] [-l activity to launch]
to use the default data dir of ~/.local/share/android_translation_layer/

NOTE: some apps don't like runtime changes to resolution.
to sidestep this, we allow for specifying the initial resolution. example with custom width/height: android-translation-layer path/to/org.happysanta.gd_29.apk -l org/happysanta/gd/GDActivity -w 540 -h 960

NOTE: on X11, Gtk might decide to use GLX, which completely messes up our EGL-dependent code. Use GDK_DEBUG=gl-egl to force the use of EGL.

when it doesn't work:
if you are trying to launch a random app, chances are that we are missing implementations for some
stuff that it needs, and we also don't have (sufficiently real looking) stubs for the stuff it says
it needs but doesn't really.
the workflow is basically to see where it fails (usually a Class or Method was not found) and to create
stubs which sufficiently satisfy the app so that it continues trying to launch.
once the app launches, you may find that some functionality (UI elements, ...) is missing; to enable
such functionality, you need to convert the relevant stubs to actual implementation.
you can look at simple widgets (e.g. TextView, or ImageView) to see how to implement a widget such that
it shows up as a Gtk Widget.

for more specific instructions, see doc/QuickHelp.md for general description of the architecure, see doc/Architecture.md

if you want to contribute, and find the codebase overwhelming, don't hesitate to open an issue so we can help you out and possibly write more documentation.

screenshot:

Roadmap:

• fix issues mentioned above

• fix ugly hacks

• implement more stuff (there is a lot of it, and it won't get done if nobody helps... ideally pick a simple-ish application and stub/implement stuff until it works)

• explore using bubblewrap to enforce the security policies that google helpfully forces apps to comply with (and our own security policies, like no internet access for apps which really shouldn't need it and are not scummy enough to refuse to launch without it)

Tips:

• the correct format for changing verbosity of messages going through android's logging library is ANDROID_LOG_TAGS=*:v (where * is "all tags" and v is "verbosity verbose or lesser"
  (note that specifying anything other than * as the tag will not work with the host version of liblog)