Blog
Android dev, QA, AI tools, and solo building.
Automating Google Play Store Listings with Claude Code
AI Pair Programming: What It Gets Right and Where
Giving Claude Context About Your Android Codebase: A Practical Guide
Writing Claude Skills That Actually Work (With Examples)
Loading a thousand-item list all at once is how apps run out of memory and feel sluggish. Paging 3 loads data in chunks as the user scrolls. Here's how it fits together with Compose, Room, and a network source.
Material You lets your app adopt colors from the user's wallpaper while still keeping a brand identity. Here's how dynamic color works in Compose, how to support it without losing your brand, and the dark-theme details that matter.
Jetpack Glance lets you build home-screen widgets with a Compose-like API instead of clunky RemoteViews. Here's how it works, the constraints that make widgets different from app UI, and how to keep them updated efficiently.
Accessibility isn't a feature you bolt on at the end — it's a set of small habits during development. Here's how I make Compose apps work with TalkBack, large fonts, and switch access without much extra effort.
Ktor is a clean, coroutine-native HTTP client that shines especially in Kotlin Multiplatform projects. Here's how I set it up for Android — serialization, auth, retries, and error handling — and when I'd still pick Retrofit.
When Row, Column, and Box can't express your design, Compose's Layout composable and custom modifiers let you measure and place children yourself. Here's how the measure-and-place model works and when to reach for it.
Getting a build into testers' hands shouldn't require the Play Store review queue. Here's how I use Firebase App Distribution for fast beta cycles, how it compares to Play's internal testing, and when to use each.
KMP lets you share business logic between Android and iOS while keeping native UI on each. Here's what's actually worth sharing, what to leave native, and the realistic trade-offs from shipping it.
Root and tamper detection raises the cost of attacking your app, but it's a deterrent, not a wall. Here's a realistic look at what to check, how to respond proportionally, and why Play Integrity beats DIY checks.
Any API key you ship in an APK can be extracted — full stop. Here's how I actually handle keys in Android: which ones can live in the app, which must go behind a backend, and how to keep them out of git either way.
R8's obfuscation won't stop a determined reverse engineer, but it removes the easy wins and raises the cost of attacking your app. Here's what it actually protects, its limits, and how to configure it without breaking your build.
Certificate pinning hardens your app against man-in-the-middle attacks, but done wrong it can brick your app on a cert rotation. Here's when it's worth it, how to implement it safely, and the backup-pin discipline that prevents outages.
SharedPreferences and DataStore are where small but sensitive values quietly accumulate. Here's how I keep that local storage secure — what to encrypt, what to keep in the Keystore, and what not to store at all.
The Android vulnerabilities I see most often in real apps aren't exotic — they're exported components, insecure storage, and sloppy intents. Here's how to prevent the common ones before they ship.
Adding Google Maps to a Compose app is straightforward once you know the Maps Compose library — markers, camera control, custom styling, and the performance and lifecycle gotchas that bite people first.
Firebase can run your whole backend or quietly balloon your app and your bill. Here's the lean subset I actually use across production Android apps, and the services I deliberately leave out.
The pull toward cramming every feature into one app is strong, especially solo. Here's why I deliberately build small, focused apps instead — what it costs, what it buys, and how it shapes a sustainable portfolio.
An honest look at how a solo Android developer makes money from small apps in 2026 — the models that work, the ones that quietly don't, and how to pick one without alienating the users you worked to earn.
One-star reviews feel personal, but they're the cheapest product feedback and PR you'll ever get. Here's how I respond to turn angry users around, lift my rating, and reassure everyone reading the reviews later.
How I test Compose UIs without the suite turning brittle — what to assert, how the testing APIs work, the synchronization model that makes flakiness rare, and where UI tests stop earning their keep.
