> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/freerdp/freerdp/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Building for Android

> Build the FreeRDP Android app from source using the NDK build script and Android Studio.

The FreeRDP Android port consists of three parts:

* **Android Java GUI** — located in `client/Android/Studio`
* **Native FreeRDP libraries** — built with the Android NDK and CMake
* **JNI bindings** — `client/Android/android_freerdp.c` and the corresponding Java class `LibFreeRDP.java`

<Note>
  More documentation may be found at the [FreeRDP Compilation wiki](https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/wiki/Compilation).
</Note>

## Build requirements

### For the native JNI libraries

* CMake >= 3.13 — install via Android SDK Manager (**SDK Tools** section)
* Android NDK >= r15c

### For the Java GUI

* Android SDK
* Android Studio (recommended) or Gradle

### Optional dependencies

* **cJSON** — required for logging in to Azure accounts
* **MIT or Heimdal Kerberos** — for Kerberos authentication
* **libjpeg** — for JPEG support ([akallabeth/jpeg8d](https://github.com/akallabeth/jpeg8d) has been tested)

<Warning>
  FreeRDP requires OpenSSL libraries, which are not part of the Android NDK. They must be pre-built manually. The `android-build-freerdp.sh` script handles this automatically.
</Warning>

## Building the native libraries

From the repository root, run the build script passing the paths to your NDK and SDK installations:

```bash theme={null}
./scripts/android-build-freerdp.sh \
  --ndk <ANDROID_NDK> \
  --sdk <ANDROID_SDK>
```

Replace `<ANDROID_NDK>` and `<ANDROID_SDK>` with the absolute paths on your machine.

The script will fetch and build:

* OpenSSL
* OpenH264
* libjpeg
* The FreeRDP native libraries

### Supported ABIs

The default configuration builds for all four common ABIs:

| ABI           | Description           |
| ------------- | --------------------- |
| `armeabi-v7a` | 32-bit ARM            |
| `arm64-v8a`   | 64-bit ARM            |
| `x86`         | 32-bit x86 (emulator) |
| `x86_64`      | 64-bit x86 (emulator) |

The default build configuration is at `scripts/android-build.conf` and produces **debug** builds targeting API level 21 and above.

### Release builds

For release binaries (with older Android API support), build the 32-bit and 64-bit architectures separately using the dedicated conf files:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash 32-bit architectures theme={null}
  ./scripts/android-build-freerdp.sh \
    --ndk <ANDROID_NDK> \
    --sdk <ANDROID_SDK> \
    --conf ./scripts/android-build-32.conf
  ```

  ```bash 64-bit architectures theme={null}
  ./scripts/android-build-freerdp.sh \
    --ndk <ANDROID_NDK> \
    --sdk <ANDROID_SDK> \
    --conf ./scripts/android-build-64.conf
  ```
</CodeGroup>

When the script completes, the built libraries are placed at:

```
client/Android/Studio/freeRDPCore/src/main/jniLibs/
```

Android Studio will pick them up automatically from that location.

## Building the APK

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Android Studio">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Import the project">
        Open Android Studio and choose **Open** (or **Import Project**). Navigate to `client/Android/Studio` inside the repository and select it.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Build">
        Use the standard **Build > Make Project** menu or run the app directly on a device or emulator.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Gradle (command line)">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Change to the Studio directory">
        ```bash theme={null}
        cd client/Android/Studio
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="Build the APK">
        ```bash theme={null}
        ./gradlew build
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="List available tasks">
        ```bash theme={null}
        ./gradlew tasks
        ```
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## CMake preload configuration

The repository ships `ci/cmake-preloads/config-android.txt` with the settings used in CI. Key options:

```cmake theme={null}
set(CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE "$ANDROID_NDK/build/cmake/android.toolchain.cmake" CACHE PATH "ToolChain file")
set(FREERDP_EXTERNAL_SSL_PATH $ENV{ANDROID_SSL_PATH} CACHE PATH "android ssl")
set(WITH_KRB5 OFF CACHE BOOL "Kerberos support")
set(WITH_CLIENT_SDL OFF CACHE BOOL "SDL client")
set(WITH_SERVER OFF CACHE BOOL "ci default")
set(WITH_X11 OFF CACHE BOOL "ci default")
set(WITH_MANPAGES OFF CACHE BOOL "ci default")
```

## Updating the JNI bindings

Whenever the FreeRDP C API changes or you need additional functionality exposed to Java:

1. Edit `client/Android/android_freerdp.c` and add the new function to the `methods` struct.
2. Edit `client/Android/Studio/freeRDPCore/src/main/java/com/freerdp/freerdpcore/services/LibFreeRDP.java` to mirror the change.