Android: How to build a .apk from the terminal?

Question

I am developing a dynamic app generator, so I would need to run the command on a runtime basis using Java on a server

Answer 1

From the Android Developer site:

Managing Projects from the Command Line

Building APK from Command Line

You will need Gradle to build from the command line. Once you have that you can create the APK like this:

Windows:

> gradlew.bat assembleRelease

Unix:

$ ./gradlew assembleRelease

This creates your Android application .apk file inside the project bin/ directory, named -unsigned.apk.

Answer 2

If you may rely on Android SDK, it is as simple as to generate build.xml and some properties file and invoke ant.

You may generate an android project by command android for reference.