ZIPtoAPK documentation
Everything between a folder of web files and an Android app that behaves: what the ZIP must look like, how the build works, the path and routing rules a framework build needs, what the WebView can and cannot do, how to debug it on a real phone, and how to ship it. Every page opens with a TL;DR.
Start here
Quickstart
Prepare the folder, zip it correctly, run three pre-flight checks, build and install — the whole loop on one page.
6 min 02How it works
The upload, the cloud build and the WebView runtime that serves your files from a real https origin.
8 min 03ZIP requirements
Formats, size limits, how the start page is chosen, file-name rules and the MIME types the app serves.
7 minGetting started3 docs
The quick path to a first APK, how the build and the runtime work, and the rules every ZIP must follow.
Quickstart
Prepare the folder, zip it correctly, run three pre-flight checks, build and install — the whole loop on one page.
6 min readHow it works
The upload, the cloud build and the WebView runtime that serves your files from a real https origin.
8 min readZIP requirements
Formats, size limits, how the start page is chosen, file-name rules and the MIME types the app serves.
7 min readPreparing your site4 docs
Paths, routing, framework settings and PWAs — the changes that make a web build behave inside an app.
Paths reference
How every kind of URL resolves inside the app — and why a leading slash is the most common blank-screen bug.
7 min readSPA routing
Why history-mode routes show a blank or 404 screen in the app, and the router settings that fix it.
7 min readFramework recipes
Per-framework settings and traps: base path, routing, environment variables, PWA plugins and what to zip.
9 min readPWA to APK
What happens to manifest.json, the service worker, install prompts and push when a PWA becomes an APK — and the TWA alternative.
7 min readRuntime behaviour4 docs
What the app does with network access, APIs, device features, links and downloads.
Offline-first checklist
Every network dependency a bundled site can have, how to find it and what to do about each — ending with the airplane-mode test.
7 min readAPIs, CORS & sign-in
Allow the app's origin in CORS, prefer tokens over cookies, and pick sign-in methods Google allows in a WebView.
8 min readDevice features & permissions
Which web APIs need a permission, which just work, and which Chrome features are missing from the WebView.
6 min readLinks, downloads & pop-ups
What relative, external, target=_blank, tel:/mailto: and app links do in the app — and how to handle downloads and PDFs.
6 min readTesting & shipping3 docs
Debugging on desktop and on the phone, performance and size, and a release test plan.
Debugging your app
Reproduce the /web/ serving conditions in desktop Chrome, then add an on-device console to a test build for phone-only bugs.
7 min readPerformance & size
Why a bundled app can still feel slow, and the fixes that make it both faster to open and smaller to download.
6 min readTest before release
Pre-build checks, a 15-minute device test script, upgrade testing and Google Play's internal and closed testing tracks.
7 min readReference1 doc
Symptom-to-fix tables for the builder, the build and the app.
Unzip it on a phone today
Upload the ZIP, name the app, pick an icon — and download a signed APK a few minutes later. Free builds, no watermark, no Android Studio.
site.zip → app-release.apk