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+# Running the Android client locally
+
+The Android app is the same Vue frontend and Rust core as the desktop, built by
+Tauri v2 mobile. This sheet is the local setup; CI's copy of it is the
+`ci-tauri-android` image (see `ci-requirements.md`).
+
+**Open this directory in Android Studio:**
+
+```
+desktop/src-tauri/gen/android
+```
+
+Two things must be true first, and both fail confusingly if they aren't.
+
+## 1. Gradle must run on JDK 17
+
+Android Studio defaults to its own bundled JDK, which is currently 25. That
+produces:
+
+> Incompatible Gradle JVM version — The project's Gradle version 8.14.3 is
+> incompatible with the Gradle JVM version 25 currently selected to run Gradle
+> build.
+
+Fix: `Settings → Build, Execution, Deployment → Build Tools → Gradle → Gradle
+JDK` → **17**. If none is listed, `Download JDK…` → version 17, vendor Eclipse
+Temurin.
+
+Prefer 17 explicitly over Android Studio's "apply a compatible JDK" quick-fix,
+which will likely pick 21. 17 is what `ci-tauri-android` pins, and matching it
+means a local build and a CI build resolve identically.
+
+**Why 8.14.3 and not Gradle 9:** `cargo tauri android init` generated the wrapper
+pin, and Gradle 9 removed `project.exec`, which the generated
+`buildSrc/.../BuildTask.kt` still uses. The wrapper, the AGP pin and that file are
+all tracked in this repo, so the bump is ours to make whenever it is worth doing —
+it is scaffolding we inherited, not a requirement of Tauri. Tauri's own Android
+layer targets `compileSdk 36` and registers back handling through
+`OnBackPressedDispatcher`, so the library is current; only the template trails.
+
+## 2. The Gradle glue has to be generated once
+
+`settings.gradle` does `apply from: 'tauri.settings.gradle'`, and that file — with
+`app/tauri.build.gradle.kts`, `app/tauri.properties`,
+`app/src/main/assets/tauri.conf.json` and the compiled `.so` files — is generated
+per build and gitignored. A fresh clone does not have them, and settings
+evaluation happens before any Gradle task, so the sync fails before anything can
+generate them.
+
+From `desktop/src-tauri`:
+
+```sh
+cargo tauri android build --debug --target x86_64
+```
+
+After that, Android Studio syncs cleanly.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+Gradle shells out to `cargo tauri android android-studio-script` on every build,
+so the Rust toolchain is required on the machine running Android Studio — the CI
+image cannot stand in for it.
+
+```sh
+rustup toolchain install 1.97.1
+rustup target add aarch64-linux-android x86_64-linux-android
+cargo install tauri-cli --version 2.11.4 --locked
+```
+
+Via the SDK Manager, matching `CI-tauri-android/versions.env`:
+
+| | version | why it matters |
+|---|---|---|
+| Platform | API 36 | `compileSdk` / `targetSdk` |
+| Build-Tools | 35.0.0 | AGP 8.11's default |
+| **NDK** | 28.2.13676358 | the Rust core cannot cross-compile without it |
+| Platform-Tools | latest | `adb` |
+
+```sh
+export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Android/Sdk
+export NDK_HOME=$ANDROID_HOME/ndk/28.2.13676358
+```
+
+Node is needed too — `beforeBuildCommand` runs `npm ci && npm run build`, because
+`generate_context!` compiles the frontend into the binary.
+
+## Emulator
+
+Create an AVD with an **x86_64** system image, API 24 or newer (`minSdk = 24`).
+CI builds arm64-v8a and x86_64, so either runs, but x86_64 executes natively on a
+desktop instead of being translated.
+
+## The dev loop
+
+Android Studio's Run button rebuilds the whole Rust core each time. For
+iteration, with an emulator already running:
+
+```sh
+cd desktop/src-tauri
+cargo tauri android dev
+```
+
+That starts Vite, wires `adb reverse` so the emulator reaches
+`localhost:5173`, and hot-reloads frontend changes without a rebuild. Android
+Studio earns its keep for the debugger, logcat and layout inspection.
+
+## Known gaps, so they are not mistaken for bugs
+
+- **Safe areas / viewport** are not handled yet (task 2706) — content may sit
+  under a notch or the gesture bar. Deliberately left until a device could
+  verify it.
+- **`android:enableOnBackInvokedCallback`** is absent from the manifest, so
+  predictive-back animations will not engage on Android 13+. Tauri registers the
+  dispatcher correctly; only the opt-in flag is missing.
+- **`android:usesCleartextTraffic`** is templated in app-wide. A
+  `networkSecurityConfig` resource is the better shape — see Scribe note 2437,
+  which hit this on Minstrel.
+- Debug builds are large and slow to start. Do not read either as the product.