This is not a thorough guide for how to build WebView, but is the fastest way to get a local build of WebView up and running.
Googlers should see internal instructions. External contributors should switch to a public (and finalized) Android release (there's no workaround).
See general Android instructions for:
depot_toolsEasiest configuration is to choose a Google APIs emulator running Android N or higher. See Device Setup for instructions.
Assuming you took the advice from above, configure GN args (run gn args out/Default) as follows:
# Minimal target_os = "android" target_cpu = "x86" # Assuming you chose an x86 emulator # This package name is whitelisted for debuggable (userdebug) devices, and lets # devs install a WebView provider without the usual signature checks. This only # works on N+. system_webview_package_name = "com.google.android.apps.chrome"
$ autoninja -C out/Default system_webview_apk
# Install the APK $ out/Default/bin/system_webview_apk install # Tell Android platform to load a WebView implementation from this APK $ out/Default/bin/system_webview_apk set-webview-provider
That it! Your APK should be installed and should be providing the WebView implementation for all apps on the system. If you want to verify this, look at the steps for building the System WebView Shell. The version number in the shell's top bar should match the version number in your local copy of //chrome/VERSION.
If the install command succeeded but something else is wrong, the best way to troubleshoot the problem is to query the state of the on-device WebViewUpdateService:
# If you don't have `adb` in your path, you can source this file to use # the copy from chromium's Android SDK $ source build/android/envsetup.sh # Only available on O+ $ adb shell dumpsys webviewupdate Current WebView Update Service state Fallback logic enabled: true Current WebView package (name, version): (com.google.android.apps.chrome, 75.0.3741.0) Minimum WebView version code: 303012512 Number of relros started: 1 Number of relros finished: 1 WebView package dirty: false Any WebView package installed: true Preferred WebView package (name, version): (com.google.android.apps.chrome, 75.0.3741.0) WebView packages: Valid package com.android.chrome (versionName: 58.0.3029.125, versionCode: 303012512, targetSdkVersion: 26) is installed/enabled for all users Valid package com.google.android.webview (versionName: 58.0.3029.125, versionCode: 303012500, targetSdkVersion: 26) is NOT installed/enabled for all users Invalid package com.chrome.beta (versionName: 74.0.3729.23, versionCode: 372902311, targetSdkVersion: 28), reason: No WebView-library manifest flag Invalid package com.chrome.dev (versionName: 54.0.2840.98, versionCode: 284009811, targetSdkVersion: 24), reason: SDK version too low Invalid package com.chrome.canary (versionName: 75.0.3741.0, versionCode: 374100010, targetSdkVersion: 25), reason: SDK version too low Valid package com.google.android.apps.chrome (versionName: 75.0.3741.0, versionCode: 2, targetSdkVersion: 28) is installed/enabled for all users
This APK does not contain a WebView implementation. Make sure you're building system_webview_apk.
This shouldn't happen for userdebug builds. If it does, add this GN arg:
# Any number >= "Minimum WebView version code": android_override_version_code = "987654321"
The targetSdkVersion of your APK is too low (it must be >= the platform‘s API level). This shouldn’t happen for local builds using tip-of-tree chromium on public OS versions (see note).
This shouldn‘t happen for userdebug devices, and there’s no workaround for user devices. Make sure you have a userdebug device (you can check with adb shell getprop ro.build.type).
This is the correct state. If this is not the “preferred WebView package” or the “current WebView package”, call set-webview-implementation again.
This shouldn't happen for com.google.android.apps.chrome (the recommended package name). If you need to use a different package name, you may be able to workaround this by enabling “redundant packages” (adb shell cmd webviewupdate enable-redundant-packages), reinstalling, and running set-webview-provider again.
Otherwise, please reach out to the team.
Either your package didn‘t install (see below) or you chose a package which is not in the WebView provider whitelist. Double-check the package name in your GN args. If you’re on AOSP (any OS level), choose "com.android.webview". If you‘re on L-M, choose "com.google.android.webview". In either case, you’ll likely need to remove the preinstalled WebView APK.
Check the “Current WebView package” in the dumpsys output. You're probably hitting one of the cases above.
This is probably because you‘ve already installed Chrome Debug (ex. with the Google-only monochrome_apk target, or through a Google-only official build). This guide borrows that app’s package name, but the locally compiled APK may not have the same signing key, causing the adb install error. You should remove the conflicting package with out/Default/bin/system_webview_apk uninstall, and then try installing WebView again.
This could fail for an even wider variety of reasons than already listed. Please reach out to the team.
Try building Chromium. If that doesn't work, please reach out to the chromium team for general guidance. If system_webview_apk is the only troublesome target, please reach out to the WebView team (see previous section).
Proceed at your own risk. Building and installing WebView is, for a variety of reasons, complex. If you‘ve deviated from any of these instructions (and don’t know what you‘re doing) there’s a good chance of making mistakes (some of which don't have any error messages).
If you can't follow the quick start guide for some reason, please consult our general build instructions.