Developer setup for Mattermost mobile apps

The following instructions apply to the mobile apps for iOS and Android built in React Native. Download the iOS version here and the Android version here. Source code can be found at the GitHub Mattermost Mobile app repository.

If you run into any issues getting your environment set up, check the Troubleshooting section of the product docs for common solutions.

Environment setup 

The following instructions apply to both iOS and Android mobile apps. On macOS, we recommend using Homebrew as a package manager.

Install NodeJS and NPM 

We recommend using NodeJS v18 and npm v8. Many of our team use nvm to manage npm and NodeJS versions.

brew install nvm

nvm install --lts=hydrogen

Install Watchman 

Watchman is a file watching program. When a file changes, Watchman triggers an action, such as re-running a build command if a source file has changed.

The minimum required version of Watchman is 4.9.0.

brew install watchman

Install react-native-cli tools 

npm -g install react-native-cli

Install Ruby 

Install Git 

brew install git

Additional setup for iOS 

Install Xcode to build and run the app on iOS. The minimum required version is 11.0.

Additional setup for iOS on M1 macs 

1. Follow the React Native environment setup docs until the cocoapods point, then stop.
2. Specify the correct version of Xcode in the terminal: sudo xcode-select --switch /Applications/Xcode.app
3. In the Rosetta terminal, change to the mattermost-mobile/ios directory and run:

   sudo arch -x86_64 gem install ffi
   sudo gem install cocoapods
   arch -x86_64 pod install
   

4. If you need to use the Xcode app (e.g., to build, sign, and transfer the app to an iOS device), be sure to start it in Rosetta mode.

Additional setup for Android 

Download and install Android Studio or Android SDK CLI tools 

Download and install the Android Studio app or the Android SDK command line tools

Environment variables 

Make sure you have the following environment variables configured for your platform:

export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Library/Android/sdk
export PATH=$ANDROID_HOME/emulator:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$ANDROID_HOME/tools:$PATH

source ~/.bash_profile

export ANDROID_HOME=/home/<username>/Android/Sdk
export PATH=$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$PATH
export PATH=$ANDROID_HOME/tools:$PATH

source ~/.bash_profile

Install the SDKs and SDK tools 

In the SDK Manager using Android Studio or the Android SDK command line tool, ensure the following are installed:

• SDK Tools (you may have to select Show Package Details to expand packages):

  • Android SDK Build-Tools 31
  • Android Emulator
  • Android SDK Platform-Tools
  • Android SDK Tools
  • Google Play services
  • Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator (HAXM installer)
  • Support Repository
    • Android Support Repository
    • Google Repository

  

• SDK Platforms (you may have to select Show Package Details to expand packages)

  • Android 12 or above
    • Google APIs
    • SDK Platform
      • Android SDK Platform 31 or above
    • Intel or Google Play Intel x86 Atom_64 System Image
  • Any other API version that you want to test

  

Obtain the source code 

In order to develop and build the Mattermost mobile apps, you’ll need to get a copy of the source code. Forking the mattermost-mobile repository will also make it easy to contribute your work back to the project in the future.

1. Fork the mattermost-mobile repository on GitHub.

2. Clone your fork locally:

   a. Open a terminal

   b. Change to a directory you want to hold your local copy

   c. Run git clone https://github.com/<username>/mattermost-mobile.git if you want to use HTTPS, or git clone git@github.com:<username>/mattermost-mobile.git if you want to use SSH

3. Change the directory to mattermost-mobile.

   cd mattermost-mobile
   

4. Install the project dependencies with npm install