Android App

The Svarla Android app is a native Kotlin client built with Jetpack Compose and Material 3. It connects to the server for signaling and to the MediaBridge for WebRTC audio.

Installing

From your Svarla instance (recommended)

The APK is bundled inside the server container and served directly from your instance. This ensures the app version always matches your server.

1. Open your Svarla server URL in your phone's browser (e.g. https://phone.example.com)
2. You'll see a banner prompting you to download the app, or navigate to the download page manually
3. Tap Download APK and install it
4. If prompted, allow installation from this source in your device settings

TIP

You can also access the APK directly at https://your-server/public/downloads/svarla.apk.

Manual APK download

You can also grab the APK from GitHub Releases. Make sure the version matches your server version.

Building from source

If you want to build the app yourself with your own signing key:

make release-apk
# APK → build-output/svarla-signed.apk

This builds the APK in Docker (reproducible, requires JDK 17 and Android SDK automatically) and signs it with your keystore. See Release Pipeline for full details on key setup.

For a debug build without signing:

make apk BUILD_TYPE=debug
# APK → build-output/app-debug.apk

Connecting to the server

On the login screen, enter:

• Server URL — Your server's address (e.g. https://phone.example.com or http://192.168.1.50:3000)
• Password — The password set via INITIAL_PASSWORD

The app registers the device, syncs history via WebSocket, and is ready to make calls.

Updating the app

When you update your server container, a new APK is included automatically. The app checks your server's version on every launch:

• App older than server — An "Update available" banner appears with a button to open the download page in your browser.
• App newer than server — A warning banner appears indicating the versions are incompatible. Update your server to resolve this.

Simply tap the update banner, download the new APK, and install it over the existing app.

Do not use Obtainium or similar tools

Third-party update tools like Obtainium track GitHub releases independently of your server. This can result in installing an app version that is incompatible with your server. Always update the app from your own Svarla instance to guarantee version compatibility.

Requirements

• Android 8.0+ (API 26)
• Network access to the server (port 3000 or 443)
• Network access to the MediaBridge (port 10443)