Android Apps

Overview

Android apps can be built using several approaches. With Claude Code, you can vibe code Android apps regardless of which technology you choose.

Choose Your Tech Stack

React Native (Recommended for web developers)

If you know JavaScript/React, this is your fastest path.

Pros:

• Build for Android and iOS with one codebase
• Use JavaScript and React
• Large ecosystem
• Hot reload for fast development

Cons:

• Larger app size than native
• Some platform-specific code needed

Flutter (For beautiful UIs)

Google’s UI framework for building cross-platform apps.

Pros:

• Beautiful, customizable UIs
• Single codebase for Android and iOS
• Fast performance
• Great documentation

Cons:

• Learn Dart programming language
• Larger app size

Native Kotlin (For maximum performance)

Build pure Android apps with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose.

Pros:

• Best performance
• Full access to Android APIs
• Smallest app size
• Modern development with Jetpack Compose

Cons:

• Android only
• Steeper learning curve

Setup: React Native

Prerequisites

Make sure you have:

• Node.js installed
• Android Studio installed
• Android SDK configured

Create a new app

npx react-native@latest init MyApp
cd MyApp

Start Claude Code

claude

Run on Android

npm run android

Example prompts

"Create a login screen with email and password inputs"

"Add a bottom tab navigator with Home, Search, and Profile tabs"

"Implement AsyncStorage to save user preferences"

"Create a list view that fetches data from an API"

"Add push notifications using Firebase"

"Implement dark mode theme switching"

Setup: Flutter

Prerequisites

Install Flutter from flutter.dev 

Create a new app

flutter create my_app
cd my_app

Start Claude Code

claude

Run on Android

flutter run

Example prompts

"Create a Material Design app with a bottom navigation bar"

"Add a form with validation for user registration"

"Implement state management using Provider"

"Create a list view with pull-to-refresh"

"Add local storage using SharedPreferences"

"Implement a custom theme with primary and secondary colors"

Setup: Native Kotlin

Prerequisites

Install Android Studio from developer.android.com/studio 

Create a new project

1. Open Android Studio
2. New Project → Empty Activity
3. Choose Kotlin as language
4. Select minimum SDK (API 24 recommended)

Start Claude Code

cd path/to/your/project
claude

Example prompts

"Create a login screen using Jetpack Compose"

"Add a RecyclerView to display a list of items"

"Implement Room database for local data storage"

"Create a ViewModel with LiveData for the home screen"

"Add Retrofit for API calls"

"Implement dependency injection with Hilt"

Common Features

Navigation

Add navigation between screens:

claude "implement navigation between Login, Home, and Profile screens"

API Integration

Connect to backend services:

claude "fetch user data from https://api.example.com/users and display it"

Local Storage

Save data locally:

claude "save user preferences locally and load them on app start"

Camera Access

Use device camera:

claude "add a button that opens the camera and lets users take a photo"

Push Notifications

Send notifications:

claude "integrate Firebase Cloud Messaging for push notifications"

Location Services

Access GPS:

claude "get user's current location and show it on a map"

Styling and UI

Material Design

Follow Android design guidelines:

claude "create a Material Design 3 theme with custom colors"

Responsive Layouts

Support different screen sizes:

claude "make this layout responsive for tablets and phones"

Custom Components

Build reusable components:

claude "create a reusable card component for displaying user profiles"

Testing

Unit Tests

claude "write unit tests for the UserViewModel class"

Integration Tests

claude "write integration tests for the login flow"

Building and Deployment

Generate APK

# React Native
cd android && ./gradlew assembleRelease
 
# Flutter
flutter build apk
 
# Native Kotlin (use Android Studio or)
./gradlew assembleRelease

Generate App Bundle (for Google Play)

# React Native
cd android && ./gradlew bundleRelease
 
# Flutter
flutter build appbundle
 
# Native Kotlin
./gradlew bundleRelease

Upload to Google Play

claude "help me prepare my app for Google Play Store submission"

Pro Tips

• Start with React Native if you know JavaScript
• Use Android Studio emulators for testing
• Test on multiple screen sizes
• Follow Material Design guidelines
• Keep APK size small by removing unused dependencies
• Use ProGuard/R8 for code shrinking in production
• Test on different Android versions (minimum API 24)

Permissions

Handle Android permissions properly:

claude "add camera permission request before opening camera"

Deep Linking

Enable deep links to your app:

claude "implement deep linking so my app opens when users click myapp:// URLs"

Example Project Ideas

• Todo list app with cloud sync
• Weather app with location services
• Social media feed
• E-commerce shopping app
• Fitness tracker
• Chat application
• Recipe app with camera for photos
• Expense tracker

Debugging

Use Claude to debug:

claude "my app crashes when I click the submit button, here's the error log: [paste error]"

Next Steps

1. Choose your framework (React Native recommended for beginners)
2. Set up your development environment
3. Create a new project
4. Start Claude and begin vibe coding
5. Test on an emulator or real device
6. Deploy to Google Play when ready