daily-notification-plugin/test-apps/SETUP_GUIDE.md

Enhanced Test Apps Setup Guide

Overview

This guide creates minimal Capacitor test apps for validating the Daily Notification Plugin across all target platforms with robust error handling and clear troubleshooting.

Prerequisites

Required Software

• Node.js 18+: Download from nodejs.org
• npm: Comes with Node.js
• Git: For version control

Platform-Specific Requirements

Android

• Android Studio: Download from developer.android.com/studio
• Android SDK: Installed via Android Studio
• Java Development Kit (JDK): Version 11 or higher

iOS (macOS only)

• Xcode: Install from Mac App Store
• Xcode Command Line Tools: xcode-select --install
• iOS Simulator: Included with Xcode

Electron

• No additional requirements: Works on any platform with Node.js

Quick Start

Option 1: Automated Setup (Recommended)

# Navigate to test-apps directory
cd test-apps

# Setup all platforms (run from test-apps directory)
./setup-android.sh
./setup-ios.sh  
./setup-electron.sh

Option 2: Manual Setup

Android Manual Setup

cd test-apps/android-test

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Install Capacitor CLI globally
npm install -g @capacitor/cli

# Initialize Capacitor
npx cap init "Daily Notification Android Test" "com.timesafari.dailynotification.androidtest"

# Add Android platform
npx cap add android

# Build web assets
npm run build

# Sync to native
npx cap sync android

iOS Manual Setup

cd test-apps/ios-test

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Install Capacitor CLI globally
npm install -g @capacitor/cli

# Initialize Capacitor
npx cap init "Daily Notification iOS Test" "com.timesafari.dailynotification.iostest"

# Add iOS platform
npx cap add ios

# Build web assets
npm run build

# Sync to native
npx cap sync ios

Electron Manual Setup

cd test-apps/electron-test

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build web assets
npm run build-web

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue: "Unknown command: cap"

Solution: Install Capacitor CLI globally

npm install -g @capacitor/cli

Issue: "android platform has not been added yet"

Solution: Add the Android platform first

npx cap add android

Issue: "Failed to add Android platform"

Solutions:

1. Install Android Studio and Android SDK
2. Set ANDROID_HOME environment variable
3. Add Android SDK tools to your PATH

Issue: "Failed to add iOS platform"

Solutions:

1. Install Xcode from Mac App Store
2. Install Xcode Command Line Tools: xcode-select --install
3. Ensure you're running on macOS

Issue: Build failures

Solutions:

1. Check Node.js version: node --version (should be 18+)
2. Clear npm cache: npm cache clean --force
3. Delete node_modules and reinstall: rm -rf node_modules && npm install

Platform-Specific Setup

Android Setup Verification

# Check Android Studio installation
which studio

# Check Android SDK
echo $ANDROID_HOME

# Check Java
java -version

Required Environment Variables:

export ANDROID_HOME=/path/to/android/sdk
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/tools:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools

iOS Setup Verification

# Check Xcode installation
xcodebuild -version

# Check iOS Simulator
xcrun simctl list devices

# Check Command Line Tools
xcode-select -p

Electron Setup Verification

# Check Node.js version
node --version

# Check npm
npm --version

# Test Electron installation
npx electron --version

Running the Test Apps

Android

cd test-apps/android-test

# Web development server (for testing)
npm run dev

# Open in Android Studio
npx cap open android

# Run on device/emulator
npx cap run android

iOS

cd test-apps/ios-test

# Web development server (for testing)
npm run dev

# Open in Xcode
npx cap open ios

# Run on device/simulator
npx cap run ios

Electron

cd test-apps/electron-test

# Run Electron app
npm start

# Run in development mode
npm run dev

# Build and run
npm run electron

Testing Workflow

1. Web Testing (Recommended First)

# Test each platform's web version first
cd test-apps/android-test && npm run dev
cd test-apps/ios-test && npm run dev
cd test-apps/electron-test && npm start

2. Native Testing

# After web testing succeeds, test native platforms
cd test-apps/android-test && npx cap run android
cd test-apps/ios-test && npx cap run ios

3. Integration Testing

• Test plugin configuration
• Test notification scheduling
• Test platform-specific features
• Test error handling
• Test performance metrics

Troubleshooting Checklist

General Issues

• Node.js 18+ installed
• npm working correctly
• Capacitor CLI installed globally
• Dependencies installed (npm install)

Android Issues

• Android Studio installed
• Android SDK configured
• ANDROID_HOME environment variable set
• Java JDK 11+ installed
• Android platform added (npx cap add android)

iOS Issues

• Xcode installed (macOS only)
• Xcode Command Line Tools installed
• iOS Simulator available
• iOS platform added (npx cap add ios)

Electron Issues

• Node.js working correctly
• Dependencies installed
• Web assets built (npm run build-web)

Development Tips

Web Development

• Use npm run dev for hot reloading
• Test plugin APIs in browser console
• Use browser dev tools for debugging

Native Development

• Use npx cap sync after making changes
• Check native logs for detailed errors
• Test on both physical devices and simulators

Debugging

• Check console logs for errors
• Use npx cap doctor to diagnose issues
• Verify platform-specific requirements

Next Steps

1. Run Setup Scripts: Execute platform-specific setup
2. Test Web Versions: Validate basic functionality
3. Test Native Platforms: Verify platform-specific features
4. Integration Testing: Test with actual plugin implementation
5. Performance Validation: Monitor metrics and optimizations

Support

If you encounter issues not covered in this guide:

1. Check the Capacitor Documentation
2. Verify platform-specific requirements
3. Check console logs for detailed error messages
4. Ensure all prerequisites are properly installed