Connect Android Device/Host Emulator to React Native via ADB in Docker Container

react-native-community has a docker image including android tools (in /opt/android) and npm package manager. But to use emulator on desktop, VNC Server is needed.

In this edited repo, Xfce4 and VCN Server are used to run emulator running the same container. For this, thanks to queeno who provides Ubuntu with VNC Server without entering password.

But working with emulator takes you longer time than with real android phone. For this, you need two port on your host that are 5037 and 8081 mapping with container.

All the resource of the ports such as 8081 should be in the container, but 5037 on the host.

In the edited container, there is SSH Server running after booting.

Root password is: passwd

For forwarding the port 5037

As you know windows 10 ships with linux kernel. If you are using Wİndows 10 as host, setting openssh server up will make you feel painful. So don't try ssh port listen forward from container to host, but remote forward from host to container.

The edited container ssh port (:22) maps with the port 5022 on the host.

You can forward this on the host like that:

$ ssh -T -N -R5037:127.0.0.1:5037 root@127.0.0.1 -p 5022

After connecting you android device on the host, then if you could see your device in the list after typing on the host console adb device , you would see more than after the same typing on the container.

Try Your First App

$ cd ~
$ react-native init test
$ cd test
$ react-native start

and in the new terminal on the same path:

$ react-native run-android

if you get just white page, you could re-run the last command.

If you want to work on the container desktop, you could use VNC Viewer

IP:PORT 127.0.0.1:5901