Version: 6.x

Fix Android Launch From Home

note

This documentation is a work in progress. It should suffice to fix this particular issue but additional changes are likely to be made.

Cordova and Capacitor applications, when launched on an Android device, will startup and display the webview your application is served in. However, for Auth Connect this may not be the behavior you want when a user is on the login page: you will likely want your application to return to the login page.

To make this behavior possible you'll need to alter your Cordova or Capacitor application using the following instructions.

Capacitor

Launching a Capacitor app on an Android device typically initiates the display of your application's content in a webview. However, if the user is in the process of authentication and leaves the app it might not display the login page in the same state when the user returns. To fix this behavior you would want the app to direct users back to the login page instead of the application's content in such scenarios. To achieve this, specific modifications are necessary, as outlined in the following steps.

Go to your Capacitor Android project and navigate to the directory that contains your application's package. Your path will be something like android/app/src/main/java/io/ionic/starter/. However, the end of the path will reflect your unique bundle ID.

Create a new Java file in this folder named LauncherActivity.java.

LauncherActivity.java


_16package io.ionic.starter;
_16
_16import android.content.Intent;
_16import android.os.Bundle;
_16import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;
_16
_16public class LauncherActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
_16    @Override
_16    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
_16        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
_16        Intent i = new Intent(this, MainActivity.class);
_16        i.replaceExtras(this.getIntent());
_16        startActivity(i);
_16        finish();
_16    }
_16}

Copy and paste the provided code into the new activity file (LauncherActivity.java).

LauncherActivity.java


_16package your.project.identifier;
_16
_16import android.content.Intent;
_16import android.os.Bundle;
_16import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;
_16
_16public class LauncherActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
_16    @Override
_16    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
_16        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
_16        Intent i = new Intent(this, MainActivity.class);
_16        i.replaceExtras(this.getIntent());
_16        startActivity(i);
_16        finish();
_16    }
_16}

Replace io.ionic.starter with your project's identifier.

LauncherActivity.java

AndroidManifest.xml


_12<activity
_12    android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden|keyboard|screenSize|locale|smallestScreenSize|screenLayout|uiMode"
_12    android:name="io.ionic.starter.MainActivity"
_12    android:label="@string/title_activity_main"
_12    android:theme="@style/AppTheme.NoActionBarLaunch"
_12    android:launchMode="singleTask"
_12    android:exported="true">
_12    <intent-filter>
_12        <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
_12        <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
_12    </intent-filter>
_12</activity>

Navigate to the AndroidManifest.xml file which is located at the following file path android/app/src/main/ and locate the activity section.

LauncherActivity.java

AndroidManifest.xml


_21<activity android:name="io.ionic.starter.LauncherActivity"
_21    android:label="@string/title_activity_main"
_21    android:theme="@style/AppTheme.NoActionBarLaunch"
_21    android:exported="true">
_21    <intent-filter>
_21        <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
_21        <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
_21    </intent-filter>
_21</activity>
_21<activity
_21    android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden|keyboard|screenSize|locale|smallestScreenSize|screenLayout|uiMode"
_21    android:name="io.ionic.starter.MainActivity"
_21    android:label="@string/title_activity_main"
_21    android:theme="@style/AppTheme.NoActionBarLaunch"
_21    android:launchMode="singleTask"
_21    android:exported="true">
_21    <intent-filter>
_21        <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
_21        <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
_21    </intent-filter>
_21</activity>

Update the AndroidManifest.xml to set the new Activity as the launcher activity. Add an intent-filter to LauncherActivity to define it as the launcher.

LauncherActivity.java

AndroidManifest.xml


_17<activity android:name="io.ionic.starter.LauncherActivity"
_17    android:label="@string/title_activity_main"
_17    android:theme="@style/AppTheme.NoActionBarLaunch"
_17    android:exported="true">
_17    <intent-filter>
_17        <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
_17        <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
_17    </intent-filter>
_17</activity>
_17<activity
_17    android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden|keyboard|screenSize|locale|smallestScreenSize|screenLayout|uiMode"
_17    android:name="io.ionic.starter.MainActivity"
_17    android:label="@string/title_activity_main"
_17    android:theme="@style/AppTheme.NoActionBarLaunch"
_17    android:launchMode="singleTask"
_17    android:exported="true">
_17</activity>

Remove the intent-filter on the MainActivity that previously defined it as the launcher.

LauncherActivity.java

AndroidManifest.xml


_17<activity android:name="io.ionic.starter.LauncherActivity"
_17    android:label="@string/title_activity_main"
_17    android:theme="@style/AppTheme.NoActionBarLaunch"
_17    android:exported="true">
_17    <intent-filter>
_17        <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
_17        <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
_17    </intent-filter>
_17</activity>
_17<activity
_17    android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden|keyboard|screenSize|locale|smallestScreenSize|screenLayout|uiMode"
_17    android:name="io.ionic.starter.MainActivity"
_17    android:label="@string/title_activity_main"
_17    android:theme="@style/AppTheme.NoActionBarLaunch"
_17    android:launchMode="singleTask"
_17    android:exported="false">
_17</activity>

On the MainActivity change exported to false and make sure to keep launchMode as singleTask.

Copy and paste the provided code into the new activity file (LauncherActivity.java).

Replace io.ionic.starter with your project's identifier.

Navigate to the AndroidManifest.xml file which is located at the following file path android/app/src/main/ and locate the activity section.

Update the AndroidManifest.xml to set the new Activity as the launcher activity. Add an intent-filter to LauncherActivity to define it as the launcher.

Remove the intent-filter on the MainActivity that previously defined it as the launcher.

On the MainActivity change exported to false and make sure to keep launchMode as singleTask.

LauncherActivity.java


_16package io.ionic.starter;
_16
_16import android.content.Intent;
_16import android.os.Bundle;
_16import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;
_16
_16public class LauncherActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
_16    @Override
_16    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
_16        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
_16        Intent i = new Intent(this, MainActivity.class);
_16        i.replaceExtras(this.getIntent());
_16        startActivity(i);
_16        finish();
_16    }
_16}

Be sure to run npx cap sync after applying these changes.

To test that you have correctly applied these changes:

Launch your application with an Android device.
Go to the login page.
Return to the home screen of your Android device.
Launch your app again by pressing the icon.
Your application should now open displaying the login page in the state it was left in.

Cordova

There are a few steps to apply on a Cordova project.

Create a scripts folder in your project.
Create a file called LaunchActivity.java in the scripts folder and paste below in the contents.
Replace the line package io.ionic.starter with the id from your config.xml


_16package io.ionic.starter;
_16
_16import android.content.Intent;
_16import android.os.Bundle;
_16import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;
_16
_16public class LauncherActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
_16    @Override
_16    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
_16        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
_16        Intent i = new Intent(this, MainActivity.class);
_16        i.replaceExtras(this.getIntent());
_16        startActivity(i);
_16        finish();
_16    }
_16}

Create a file called update-launcher.js in the scripts folder and paste the below file
Set the path of LAUNCHER_DESTINATION in update-launcher.js to match your id from config.xml


_167var ANDROID_PROJECT_ROOT = 'platforms/android/app/src/main';
_167var LAUNCHER_DESTINATION = 'platforms/android/app/src/main/java/io/ionic/starter';
_167var LAUNCHER_SOURCE = 'scripts/LauncherActivity.java';
_167var fs = require('fs');
_167var path = require('path');
_167var xml2js = require('xml2js');
_167
_167function copyJavaLauncher() {
_167  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
_167    fs.access(LAUNCHER_DESTINATION, (err) => {
_167      if (err) {
_167        reject('INVALID LAUNCHER DESTINATION');
_167        return;
_167      }
_167      copyFile(LAUNCHER_SOURCE, path.join(LAUNCHER_DESTINATION, 'LauncherActivity.java'));
_167    });
_167  });
_167}
_167
_167function copyFile(src, dest) {
_167  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
_167    let readStream = fs.createReadStream(src);
_167
_167    readStream.once('error', (err) => {
_167      reject(err);
_167    });
_167
_167    readStream.once('end', () => {
_167      resolve('done');
_167    });
_167
_167    readStream.pipe(fs.createWriteStream(dest));
_167  });
_167}
_167
_167function readManifest() {
_167  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
_167    fs.readFile(path.join(ANDROID_PROJECT_ROOT, 'AndroidManifest.xml'), 'utf-8', (err, input) => {
_167      if (!!err) {
_167        reject(err);
_167      } else {
_167        resolve(input);
_167      }
_167    });
_167  });
_167}
_167
_167function writeManifest(data) {
_167  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
_167    fs.writeFile(path.join(ANDROID_PROJECT_ROOT, 'AndroidManifest.xml'), data, (err) => {
_167      if (!!err) {
_167        reject(err);
_167      } else {
_167        resolve();
_167      }
_167    });
_167  });
_167}
_167
_167function convertToJson(input) {
_167  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
_167    xml2js.parseString(input, (err, result) => {
_167      if (!!err) {
_167        reject(err);
_167      } else {
_167        resolve(result);
_167      }
_167    });
_167  });
_167}
_167
_167function convertToXML(input) {
_167  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
_167    let builder = new xml2js.Builder();
_167    let xml = builder.buildObject(input);
_167    resolve(xml);
_167  });
_167}
_167
_167function removeLegacyActivityIntent(data) {
_167  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
_167    let applications = data.manifest.application;
_167    if (!applications) {
_167      reject();
_167      return;
_167    }
_167    applications.forEach((application) => {
_167      if (!!application.activity) {
_167        application.activity.forEach((activity) => {
_167          if (activity['intent-filter']) {
_167            activity['intent-filter'].forEach((intent, idx) => {
_167              let shouldRemove = false;
_167              if (intent.action) {
_167                intent.action.forEach((action) => {
_167                  if (action['$']['android:name'].includes('MAIN')) {
_167                    shouldRemove = true;
_167                  }
_167                });
_167              }
_167              if (shouldRemove) {
_167                delete activity['intent-filter'][idx];
_167              }
_167            });
_167          }
_167        });
_167      }
_167    });
_167    resolve(data);
_167  });
_167}
_167
_167function addLauncherActivityIntent(data) {
_167  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
_167    let applications = data.manifest.application;
_167    if (!applications) {
_167      reject();
_167      return;
_167    }
_167    applications.forEach((application) => {
_167      if (typeof application.activity === 'undefined') {
_167        application.activity = [];
_167      }
_167      application.activity.push({
_167        $: {
_167          'android:name': 'LauncherActivity',
_167          'android:label': '@string/app_name',
_167          'android:theme': '@android:style/Theme.DeviceDefault.NoActionBar',
_167          'android:exported': 'true',
_167        },
_167        'intent-filter': [
_167          {
_167            action: {
_167              $: {
_167                'android:name': 'android.intent.action.MAIN',
_167              },
_167            },
_167            category: {
_167              $: {
_167                'android:name': 'android.intent.category.LAUNCHER',
_167              },
_167            },
_167          },
_167        ],
_167      });
_167    });
_167    resolve(data);
_167  });
_167}
_167
_167module.exports = function (context) {
_167  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
_167    readManifest()
_167      .then((input) => convertToJson(input))
_167      .then((data) => removeLegacyActivityIntent(data))
_167      .then((data) => addLauncherActivityIntent(data))
_167      .then((data) => convertToXML(data))
_167      .then((input) => writeManifest(input))
_167      .then(() => copyJavaLauncher())
_167      .then((data) => {
_167        resolve('done');
_167      })
_167      .catch((err) => {
_167        console.log(err);
_167        reject('done');
_167      });
_167  });
_167};

Next step is to install xml2js with:


_10npm install xml2js --save-dev

Finally update config.xml by adding the following line underneath <platform name="android">:


_10<hook src="scripts/update-launcher.js" type="after_platform_add" />

This script will run when you add the Android platform is added so to test it you can run: ionic cordova platform remove android ionic cordova platform add android

note

Be sure that the package line in LaunchActivity.java and the LAUNCHER_DESTINATION match what is used for your id in config.xml.

Testing

To test that you have correctly applied these changes:

Launch your application with an Android device
Go to the login page
Return to the home screen of your Android device
Launch your app again by pressing the icon
Your application should now open displaying the login page in the state it was left in

Capacitor​

Cordova​

Testing​

Contents

Capacitor

Cordova

Testing