Slint Android Rust Template

A minimal template for building Android apps using Slint and Rust, with a modern component-based UI library.

Features

• Android app project with Rust backend and Slint UI
• Modular UI components in crates/slint-ui
• Ready-to-use build scripts for Rust+Android
• Example integration with Gradle and JNI

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Rust (with cargo and rustup)
• cargo-generate (cargo install cargo-generate)
• Android SDK & NDK (set ANDROID_HOME and ANDROID_NDK_HOME)
• Java (JDK 11+, 17 recommended)

Generate a New Project from This Template

You can use cargo generate to create a new project from this template. Replace <branch> with main or any other branch you want to use.

cargo generate --git https://github.com/javiercont97/android_template_slint_rust.git --branch <branch> --name my_slint_app

For example, to use the main branch:

cargo generate --git https://github.com/javiercont97/android_template_slint_rust.git --branch main --name my_slint_app

Build and Run

1. Enter your new project directory:

   cd my_slint_app

2. Build and install the APK on a connected device or emulator:

   ./scripts/android.sh run

   Or just build the APK:

   ./scripts/android.sh build

Customization

• Edit UI components in crates/slint-ui/ui/components/
• Add your Rust logic in crates/slint-android/src/
• Update Gradle and AndroidManifest as needed in android/

Android DevTools & Version Requirements

Android SDK & NDK Setup

• Install Android Studio or the standalone command line tools.
• Install the following via the SDK Manager:
  • Android SDK Platform (API 33 or newer recommended)
  • Android SDK Build-Tools (e.g., 34.0.0 or newer)
  • Android NDK (r25 or newer recommended)
• Set environment variables in your shell profile (e.g., ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc):

  export ANDROID_HOME="$HOME/Android/Sdk"
  export ANDROID_NDK_HOME="$ANDROID_HOME/ndk/<ndk-version>"
  export PATH="$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$PATH"

• You can find the NDK version folder under $ANDROID_HOME/ndk/.

Minimum Android Version

• minSdkVersion: 30 (Android 11)
• targetSdkVersion: 33 or newer (configurable in android/app/build.gradle.kts)

Java/JDK

• Java 17 is recommended for Android development (best compatibility with modern tools and Gradle).
• Java 11 is also supported if you need maximum compatibility, but Java 17+ is preferred for new projects.

Device/Emulator

• You can use a physical device (enable USB debugging) or an emulator (API 23+).
• For best results, use an emulator with an x86_64 or arm64 image matching your build target.

Troubleshooting

• If you encounter build errors, ensure your SDK/NDK paths and versions are correct.
• Use sdkmanager --list to check installed components.
• For more help, see the Android developer docs or the Slint Android book.

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) Users

• You can use either a Linux-side Android SDK/NDK (recommended for builds) or point to your Windows SDK install for device/emulator management.
• Set both environment variables in your WSL shell profile:

  export ANDROID_HOME="$HOME/Android/Sdk"           # WSL/Linux SDK path
  export WIN_ANDROID_SDK="/mnt/c/Users/<User>/AppData/Local/Android/Sdk"  # Windows SDK path

• The scripts will auto-detect and use the Windows adb.exe and emulator.exe if available, which is much faster for running the Android emulator on Windows than inside WSL.
• You can build in WSL and run/debug on a Windows emulator for best performance.
• Both setups are supported, but using the Windows-side emulator is strongly recommended for speed and compatibility.

License

MIT

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