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The Listem Project with MongoDB Atlas and Realm

This repository contains a super simple, minimalist list Android app written in C# using .NET 8 MAUI, the CommunityToolkit, and MongoDB Atlas with Realm and Flexible Sync. It also contains a UI test project for end-to-end testing using Appium and NUnit 4. It was created to learn how to create and publish an Android app.

Screenshots

Overview

  • A super basic, minimalist app for lists, targeting Android
  • Users can register and log in without requiring an email address (only a username and password are needed)
  • Users can share lists with other users through the app and collaborate on them
  • Lists can be somewhat customised by adding categories or list types (e.g. changing type to shopping list exposes a quantity control in the UI)
  • A list's content can be exported to the clipboard as text
  • List items can be imported from a comma-separated string from the clipboard and merged with the current list
  • Native confirmation prompts are used for destructive actions
  • The app features a light theme (default) and an initial dark theme
  • Icons used are CC0 from iconsDB.com or self-made
  • Colour scheme and topography inspired by Mailin Hülsmann's Tennis App - UX/UI Design Case Study

More screenshots

How to configure your environment for development

Note

I explored creating an ASP.NET Core backend (see branch use-backend-api) but I didn't find an easy solution to deal with data synchronisation and conflict management (e.g. offline vs online changes, especially to shared lists). This eventually led me to implement MongoDB Atlas with Realm and Flexible Sync because it allows for offline-first development, deals with conflict resolution, and even offers authorisation/authentication.

  1. Set environment variables for builds and running tests
    1. ANDROID_HOME - the absolute path of the Android SDK
    2. LISTEM_DEBUG_APK - the absolute path of the debug APK, used by UI tests only
    3. LISTEM_RELEASE_APK - the absolute path of the release APK, used by UI tests only
    4. ANDROID_KEY_PASS - the password for the keystore used to sign the APK
    5. ANDROID_STORE_PASS - the password for the key used to sign the APK
  2. Run dotnet restore in the base directory to restore all dependencies

How to build the APK

Create APK with:

cd Listem.Mobile ; dotnet publish -f:net8.0-android -c:Release /p:AndroidSdkDirectory=$env:ANDROID_HOME

This assumes that the Android SDK is installed and the ANDROID_HOME environment variable is set.

APK file can then be found in ShoppingList\bin\Release\net8.0-android\publish\ and installed directly on any Android phone.

How to publish the app to the Google Play Store

  1. Create a keystore with e.g. keytool -genkey -v -keystore listem.keystore -alias listem -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 and set the password as environment variable(s) accordingly
  2. Publish and sign the app: 
    cd Listem.Mobile ; dotnet publish -f:net8.0-android -c:Release /p:AndroidSdkDirectory=$env:ANDROID_HOME /p:AndroidSigningKeyPass=$env:ANDROID_KEY_PASS /p:AndroidSigningStorePass=$env:ANDROID_STORE_PASS
  3. Follow the usual steps to upload to the Google Play Console e.g. see Microsoft - Publish a .NET MAUI app for Android

How to run UI tests

Note

I am unable to get Appium to install the APK correctly on the device/emulator. It appears the app is corrupted when doing this. That's why, to run the tests, you need to install the APK on the device/emulator yourself before running the tests. If the APK is ever installed by Appium, the device needs to be wiped and the APK installed again without Appium for the app to get beyond the splash screen.

Prerequisites:

  1. Install Appium, e.g. with npm i -g appium
  2. Install an Appium Android driver: appium driver install uiautomator2

To run the tests:

  1. Install the APK on the device/emulator
  2. Navigate to the Listem.UITests project with cd Listem.UITests
  3. Run the tests via your IDE or with dotnet test

For building any further tests, consider installing Appium Inspector in order to debug elements. Run Appium with appium and open the inspector, using the following config to connect to a running session:

{
  "platformName": "Android",
  "appium:automationName": "UiAutomator2"
}