Getting Started

Get up and running with Snapbug in minutes. This guide covers SDK installation, initialization, and connecting to the Desktop app.

Requirements

  • Android device with USB debugging enabled
  • ADB installed and available in your PATH
  • Snapbug Desktop app installed on your computer
  • Kotlin 2.0.0 or higher
  • SDK and Desktop app versions must be aligned
warning

On macOS, you may need to follow additional instructions to allow the Desktop app to run. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway if prompted.

Install the Desktop App

Download the latest Snapbug Desktop app for your platform from the Releases page.

Download the .dmg file, open it, and drag Snapbug to your Applications folder.

Install the SDK

Add the Snapbug SDK to your Android project. Use debugImplementation for the full SDK and releaseImplementation for the no-op variant so Snapbug is completely stripped from production builds.

Using Version Catalog (recommended)

Add to your gradle/libs.versions.toml:

[versions]
snapbug = "1.4.0"
 
[libraries]
snapbug = { module = "io.github.opensnapbug:snapbug", version.ref = "snapbug" }
snapbug-no-op = { module = "io.github.opensnapbug:snapbug-no-op", version.ref = "snapbug" }

Then in your module's build.gradle.kts:

dependencies {
    debugImplementation(libs.snapbug)
    releaseImplementation(libs.snapbug.no.op)
}

Without Version Catalog

dependencies {
    debugImplementation("io.github.opensnapbug:snapbug:1.4.0")
    releaseImplementation("io.github.opensnapbug:snapbug-no-op:1.4.0")
}

Initialize the SDK

Call Snapbug.initialize() in your Application class or app entry point.

class MyApplication : Application() {
    override fun onCreate() {
        super.onCreate()
        Snapbug.initialize(this)
    }
}

Connect to the Desktop App

  1. Launch the Snapbug Desktop app.
  2. Connect your Android device via USB (or run on an emulator).
  3. Run your app with the SDK initialized.
  4. Snapbug Desktop will automatically detect and connect to your device.
info

Make sure ADB is running and your device is visible via adb devices before launching the Desktop app.

Next Steps

Once connected, explore the available plugins:

Connect Devicearrow_forward