Chrome App Developer Tool for Mobile (CADT)

The Chrome App Developer Tool for Mobile (CADT) is a distribution of Apache Cordova App Harness that can run Chrome Apps. It is based on the plugins from the Chrome Apps for Mobile project.

CADT is an app for your mobile development device that makes it quick and easy to see your code in action. It provides the Cordova framework of Chrome Apps for Mobile so you can test your code by simply pushing your Chrome App assets to your mobile device (made easy with our tools), which is must faster than packaging up the entire mobile app. This is called live deploy.

With CADT running on your mobile device, live deploy can be initiated from your development computer with either Chrome Dev Editor (CDE) or the Chrome Apps for Mobile command line tool, allowing you to instantly preview the Chrome App you're editing, running right on Android or iOS. When you make a change to the code in your editor, you're a quick push away from seeing it straight on your device.

Installation Using a Pre-Built Binary (Android only)

1. Enable USB debugging on your device (follow step 2 here).
2. Download an APK from here.
3. Run adb install android-armv7-debug.apk (of course, navigating to the appropriate directory first).
   • Note: On Windows, you need vendor-specific device drivers to connect to certain devices.
   • Alternatively, download the .apk using your device's browser.

To start using CADT, follow these instructions for running your Chrome App for Mobile:

Option A: Live deploy with CADT

Things that don't work with CADT

CADT is amazing for rapid iteration cycles, but not everyting works the same as when deploying directly.

• Support for third party plugins (Issue #31)
  • Core cordova plugins work fine for non-cca-based projects, but for cca projects plugins added via cca plugin add are not available in CADT.
• APIs that depend on a Cloud Console project do not work (e.g. chrome.identity, chrome.gcm, google.payments)
  • chrome.identity works for some simple things, but uses a custom project
• Lifecycle-based APIs (such as chrome.alarms) don't work when app is closed
• chrome.i18n works only as of 0.12.0, and only when all locale directories use lowercase and underscores.

Building from Source (iOS or Android - instructions for iOS / Linux)

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/MobileChromeApps/chrome-app-developer-tool.git

2. Create a CADT project using createproject.sh. For instance:

   ./createproject.sh ChromeAppDevTool
   cd ChromeAppDevTool
   cordova build android
   cordova build ios

You can get more info using ./createproject.sh --help.

Release Notes

v0.13.0 (April 5, 2015)

• Use plugins from npm rather than plugins.cordova.io
• Updated crosswalk to v13
• Updated CCA plugins

v0.12.0 (March 24, 2015)

• Enabled Content-Security-Policy for Chrome Apps
• Updated to Crosswalk 11
• Added chrome.bluetooth plugins
• Made harnessclient compatible with node 0.12 as well as 0.10
• Updated versions of all bundled plugins

v0.11.1 (December 12, 2014)

• Pushing large files is even faster
• Updated CCA plugins now work better with Polymer

v0.11.0 (November 18, 2014)

• Fix "Unable to bind to port" message when wifi is disabled.
• Pushing large files is now dramatically faster
• Fix iOS pushes hanging
• Add support for toggling between system / crosswalk webviews via manifest.mobile.json's "webview": "system"
• Fix cordova-android's App plugin not being enabled (e.g. navigator.app.exitApp())
• Fix /deletefiles not working when deleting more than ~10 files.
• iOS: Stop destroying webview on every launch so that remote inspector remains open
• Add a /getfile endpoing to HarnessServer

v0.10.0 (October 22, 2014)

• New plugins:
  • com.google.payments
  • org.chromium.sockets.*
  • org.chromium.system.storage
• Fix /deletefiles not working when deleting more than ~10 files.
• UI tweaks:
  • Nicer permissions page
  • Show list of installed plugins in details page
• iOS: Stopped destroying the webview on every launch.
• Added a /getfile endpoint to HarnessServer
• Delete manifest.json if it causes an exception
• Share manifest.json->config.xml logic with cca via webpack
• Add filesystem location <preferences> to config.xml
• Switch to building with gradle & enable multi-apks

v0.9.0 (September 12, 2014)

• Added basic analytics.
• Updated app icons.

v0.8.2 (August 28, 2014)

• Make createproject.sh delete output directory and rm andrew-create-project.sh
• Rename buildharness.sh -> build-android-release.sh
• Make createproject.sh work even when no dependencies are set up ahead of time
• createproject.sh: include ios by default when host=Darwin
• Remove xwalk as a package.json dep. Use the version within cca instead
• Update list of preloaded plugins
• Install plugins from registry when needed

v0.8.1 (July 11, 2014)

• Fix exception on second launch and stop using plugin whitelist
• Fix wrong path in createproject.sh (failed every time)
• Add ArrayBuffer.slice polyfill for Android pre-KK (#22)
• Update link to Chrome Dev Editor
• Fix line-breaking CSS in About page

v0.8.0 (June 25, 2014)

• Add chrome.alarms and org.apache.cordova.media plugins (mistakenly left out)
• Fix Android back button always quitting the app (now does what you'd expect)
• App now loads only the plugins that an app uses (instead of all installed plugins)
• Initial app push is now much faster for apps with lots of files
• First cut at "Details" and "About" pages
• Deleted notification bubble
• Fix apps not launching when you: push App A, then push App B, then push App A again

v0.7.1 (June 17, 2014)

• Fix crash on launch-after-backbutton (#13)

v0.7.0 (June 17, 2014)

• Speed improvements to initial app push (zippush endpoint)
• Implemented details & about page
• Minor UI tweaks

v0.6.0 (June 17, 2014)

• New name: Chrome App Developer Tool for Mobile
• Default WebView for Chrome Apps is now using Crosswalk, currently based on Chrome/36.0.1985.18
• Changed the Android Launch Mode to singleTop so that clicking icon from launcher doesn't restart the app unnecessarily
• Few updates to the set of plugins we bundle by default
• Fix "failed to start server" when you close the app and start it again
• Displayed IP address now updates when your device's IP changes
• Some minor UI updates

v0.5.1 (June 3, 2014)

• Now bundling all core Cordova plugins
• Use relative times for "last updated"
• Deleted in-app menu in favour of showing the main screen on double two-finger tap
• UI Overhaul

v0.5.0 (May 27, 2014)

• Harness server now written in JS using chrome.socket
• Supports incremental updates to apps for faster pushes
• Server now works on iOS
• Use two-finger double-tap to summon menu instead of three-finger swipe