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A simple project to help people install Android .apk files in the (then recently added) Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA). This was not trivial without the use of adb.exe (the official Android debugger tool from Android’s platform-tools).
This project was the first of its kind, from what I gather. Over 9,500 downloads on GitHub.
Problem
Users that want to download and install .APK's from anywhere - even app stores that aren't available under the WSA (which at the time of creating was just the Amazon store). You need to connect and use the Android debugger adb.exefrom the officialplatform-tools` suite to install applications, as it requires elevated permissions.
Features
- Associates with .apk: So it can automatically open and install
.apkfiles, and add itself to the Windows context menu. - Low-level C#: No extra runtimes required, and small download.
Solution
The CURL library is used to download the latest version of the platform-tools, and is extracted using zlib. This is stored in %AppData%, and replaced if it goes missing.
Once the user associates with the context menu, file extension, or just runs the program with the .apk path in the CLI, it connects ADB to the WSA installation, then, assuming a successful connection, installs the .apk.
The program listens to the stdout from ADB, and bases responses off that. Super simple, and it just works.
