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You created an android app with python using Kivy or Kivymd, but it is still in .py format. How do you convert it into an installable .apk?
![How to Convert Python Code into an Android .apk [that doesn't crash!] | Kivymd, Buildozer Tutorial](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.hashnode.com%2Fres%2Fhashnode%2Fimage%2Fupload%2Fv1648456341919%2FE-SngyhL8.png&w=3840&q=75)
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You created an android app with python using Kivy or Kivymd, but it is still in .py format. How do you convert it into an installable .apk file that dose'nt crash for reasons you can't figure out and do it as quickly as possible? Don't worry, I got you covered. Read on.
I created a simple rock-paper-scissor app with python using the kivy and kivymd packages (you can check out it's code here). And then I went on a frustating journey of trying to convert it into an installable android app that doesn't crash as soon as you open it. I did it. In this post I'll simplify the process for you and how to make sure your app dose not crash.
If you have no experience with Kivy or Kivymd, you can get started with this tutorial which teaches you to create a simple application in 9 minutes.
But even though the apps that you create using python and kivymd look great and have material design. They are still in .py format. So how do you convert your python programs into installable .apk files?
This is where the buildozer and Google Collab comes in. Buildozer is a tool for packaging mobiles application easily. It automates the entire build process and downloads the prerequisites like python-for-android, Android SDK, NDK, etc. And Google Colaboratory, or “Colab” for short, allows you to write and execute any python code through the browser. It requires no setup to use and provides free access to computing resources including GPUs from Google.
Here is a simple step-by-step process for converting .py to .apk
Open this colab notebook, and you will find some prewritten commands. But don't execute any command yet! Come back here after checking it out and wait for my commands ;-)
Start executing the commands one by one until you reach this command !buildozer init, don't execute it yet.
After you import your .py file, rename it to main.py otherwise buildozer won't recognize which python program it has to work on.
When you run the !buildozer init command, it will generate a buildozer.spec file, open it by double clicking on it. You can edit the contents of this file to change the package name of your app, application name, app icon, splash screen image, your baby's diapers and much more. Skim through it, see what changes you can make. But don't execute the !buildozer -v android debug command yet!!
I did all this and then I executed the next command, which is !buildozer -v android debug. It generated a .apk file, I happily transfered it to my phone and installed. But when I opened it, it crash. I tried debugging my app, I ventured into the deep forests of Stackoverflow and Quora discussions of people who were having similar problems, but nothing worked. It took me two days to figure it out. Here's how I solved the problem.
In the contents of buildozer.spec file there is a requirements section. And along with python3,kivy and kivymd you have to add pillow to the requirements. Okay, now, What the hell is pillow!? I don't remember using any package named "pillow" in my code. Well, turns out, pillow or PIL (Python Image Library) is python package which kivymd depends on for stuff. So this is how the requirements section of your buildozer.spec should look like (bottom image):
Don't forget to save your buildozer.spec file after making changes.
Run the !buildozer -v android debug and wait. It will probably take more than 15 minutes. It will ask you for confirmation by entering "y" one or two times in the middle of the process, so look out for that.
Once it's done all the processing, you'll see a new folder has appeared on the left hand side by the name bin. Inside the bin you will find a .apk file, transfer it in your phone. Install it, test it, and hopefully it doesn't crash.
