Install Android WebNFC via Mac USB Link

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Build and install the Android app onto your phone from macOS · pgp.webnfc.pages.dev

Web NFC Bridge wraps the PGP Web NFC site in a WebView and adds native NFC read/write, plus a Format tag button for low-level Type 4 tag formatting. You develop and install from your Mac; the app runs on an Android phone with NFC (API 26+).

Install from Mac (USB)

Recommended — build from source or push a downloaded APK to a connected Android phone.

1. One-time Mac setup (Homebrew)

Copy the whole block below and paste it into Terminal once — each line runs in order. First-time setup can take several minutes (Homebrew downloads). 

brew install openjdk@17
brew install --cask android-commandlinetools

export JAVA_HOME="/opt/homebrew/opt/openjdk@17/libexec/openjdk.jdk/Contents/Home"
export ANDROID_HOME="/opt/homebrew/share/android-commandlinetools"
export ANDROID_SDK_ROOT="$ANDROID_HOME"
export PATH="$JAVA_HOME/bin:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$PATH"

yes | sdkmanager --licenses
sdkmanager "platform-tools" "platforms;android-35" "build-tools;35.0.0"

The export lines only apply to that Terminal window. Add them to ~/.zshrc if you want adb and sdkmanager available in every new session. Steps 2–4 below are separate (phone setup, then install).

2. Enable USB debugging on Android

  1. ① Open Settings → About phone.
  2. ② Tap Build number seven times to enable Developer options.
  3. ③ Go to Settings → System → Developer options.
  4. ④ Turn on USB debugging.
  5. ⑤ Connect the phone to your Mac with a USB cable.
  6. ⑥ On the phone, tap Allow when asked to trust this computer.

3. Verify the connection

adb devices

You should see your device listed as device (not unauthorized).

4. Install onto the phone

Pick one of the options below — you do not run all of them.

A — Download and install in one go (downloads the APK from this site, then installs via USB):


        


        
B — Download the APK, then install via USB

        
Save the file to ~/Downloads, then run the install commands.

        Download webnfc-bridge.apk
        

          
          
        

        

          

            
          

          
adb install -r ~/Downloads/webnfc-bridge.apk
adb shell am start -n dev.webnfc.bridge/.MainActivity

        


        
C — Build and install (you have the full webnfc-bridge project folder in ~/Downloads):

        

          

            
          

          
cd ~/Downloads/webnfc-bridge/android
./build-apk.sh

        

        

          Adjust the path if you unpacked webnfc-bridge somewhere else. No git required.
        

      


      
5. Create a debug signing key (only if building fails)

      

        

          Skip this step if you installed the downloaded APK with adb install or on the phone directly.
          Only run it when ./build-apk.sh errors because ~/.android/debug.keystore is missing.
        

        

          

            
          

          
mkdir -p ~/.android
keytool -genkeypair -v \
  -keystore ~/.android/debug.keystore \
  -alias androiddebugkey \
  -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 \
  -storepass android -keypass android \
  -dname "CN=Android Debug,O=Android,C=US"

        

      


      
Install on phone only (no Mac)

      

        
Download the APK on your phone, then open it to install.

        Download webnfc-bridge.apk
        

          
          
        

        
    
          
  1. Open the download link above on your Android phone (or copy the URL into the phone browser).
    2. 
          
  2. Tap Install. Allow installs from your browser if prompted.
    3. 
          
  3. Open Web NFC Bridge from the app drawer.
    4. 
        

      


      
After install