Secluso Mobile Application

Developer Quick-Start Guide (Android & iOS)

Use this guide to build the Secluso mobile application from source.
Important: Complete all core setup steps in HOW_TO.md before continuing.

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1. Reference Documentation

• Flutter Docs: flutter.dev
• Firebase Setup for Flutter: firebase.google.com/docs/flutter/setup

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2. Prerequisites

Make sure the following tools are installed:

Tool	Purpose
Flutter SDK (3.x or later)	Cross-platform mobile framework
Rust + rustup	Native library support
Android NDK	Compile Rust code for Android
Visual Studio Code	Recommended IDE
Firebase Account	Required for push notifications

You can verify setup with flutter doctor.

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3. Project Setup (Step-by-Step)

3.1 Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/secluso/secluso.git  
cd secluso

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3.2 Open the Project in Visual Studio Code

• Launch Visual Studio Code
• Open the secluso/ folder
• Install any recommended extensions (Flutter, Rust, Dart)

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3.3 Install Flutter Packages

flutter pub get

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4. Compile Rust Code for Android

From the project root:

cd rust

Add Android build targets:

rustup target add aarch64-linux-android armv7-linux-androideabi i686-linux-android x86_64-linux-android

Build and export to the Android JNI directory:

cargo ndk -o ../android/app/src/main/jniLibs build

This will generate .so files for each architecture and place them in the appropriate folder.

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5. Run on a Physical Android Device

1. Plug in your Android device via USB
2. Enable Developer Mode and USB Debugging
3. Ensure the device is recognized in Visual Studio Code (bottom-right status bar)
4. From the project root, run:

flutter run

This will build and launch the app on your connected device.

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6. Debugging Tips

Problem	Solution
App doesn’t update after flutter run	Run flutter clean first
Rust compilation errors	Ensure targets and NDK are properly set

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7. Early-Stage Android Reproducible Build

The Android project includes a containerized reproducible-build path under tool/repro.

To compare an official Secluso Android release installed on a phone against a local rebuild:

tool/repro/build_with_docker.sh
tool/repro/pull_device_apk.sh
python3 tool/repro/apkdiff.py \
  build/reproducible/device.apk \
  build/reproducible/app-release-unsigned.apk

For the full reproducible-build workflow, signed-release path, and internal reproducibility test (tool/repro/check_reproducibility.sh), see tool/repro/README.md.

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8. Special F-Droid Android Build

The app supports a special Android build mode for F-Droid that forces UnifiedPush and excludes Firebase from the Android dependency graph.

Build it with:

tool/fdroid/build_fdroid_apk.sh

What this does:

• Forces Android push transport to UnifiedPush
• Excludes the Android firebase_core and firebase_messaging plugin projects
• Excludes the direct native com.google.firebase:firebase-messaging dependency
• Generates an F-Droid-specific GeneratedPluginRegistrant without Firebase or integration_test

Important note:

• The Dart packages firebase_core and firebase_messaging still remain in pubspec.yaml for normal App Store / Play builds.
• That does not break the F-Droid build by itself. Flutter/Dart imports are resolved at the Dart package level, while Android plugin registration is a separate native step.
• In the F-Droid build, the Firebase Android plugins are not registered, and the Android push flow is routed through UnifiedPush instead of FCM.
• Because the F-Droid runtime avoids the FCM code paths, the remaining Dart imports do not trigger Firebase runtime errors on Android.

Verification commands:

SECLUSO_FDROID_BUILD=1 ./android/gradlew -p android app:properties --console=plain
SECLUSO_FDROID_BUILD=1 ./android/gradlew -p android app:dependencies --configuration debugRuntimeClasspath --console=plain

On the F-Droid build, the runtime classpath should include project :unifiedpush_android and should not include firebase_core, firebase_messaging, or com.google.firebase:*.

Submission prep files for Fdroid are available here:

• fastlane/metadata/android/en-US/
• fdroid/com.secluso.mobile.yml

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Need help or want to contribute? Visit the Secluso GitHub Repository.