Adblock Android SDK

An Android library project, tests, settings fragments and demo application for AdblockWebView.

Updating the dependencies

Adblock Android SDK has dependencies that aren't in this repository. To update those, call:

./ensure_dependencies.py

Library

An Android library that provides the core functionality of Adblock Plus. You can find it in the 'adblock-android' directory.

Using as a Gradle dependency

Make sure you have jcenter() in the list of repositories and then add the following dependency:

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.adblockplus:adblock-android:3.0'
}

In general case it's suggested to use the most recent version.

Building

Requirements

The Android SDK
Android SDK Build tools 28.0.3
The Android NDK, 16b

Edit 'buildToolsVersion' in 'build.gradle' files if necessary.

Building of libadblockplus

First, make sure all the prerequisites are installed. Second, one needs to build V8 required for libadblockplus. See libadblockplus/README or V8 documentation on how to build V8 or fetch precompiled one. For the latter, run in 'libadblockplus' directory:

make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=arm Configuration=release get-prebuilt-v8
make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=arm64 Configuration=release get-prebuilt-v8
make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=ia32 Configuration=release get-prebuilt-v8

Make sure to set ANDROID_NDK_ROOT environment variable to point to Android NDK installation, eg.:

export ANDROID_NDK_ROOT=/Users/developer/ndk/android-ndk-r16b

After that we can build libadblockplus:

make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=arm Configuration=release
make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=arm64 Configuration=release
make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=ia32 Configuration=release

Building from command-line

In the project root directory create the file local.properties and set sdk.dir and ndk.dir to where you installed it, e.g.:

sdk.dir = /some/where/sdk
ndk.dir = /some/where/ndk

In the project root directory run:

./gradlew assembleDebug

This will generate *.aar artifacts in the '.../build/outputs/aar/' directories:

adblock-android-abi_all-... - AAR for all the ARCHs (x86, armv7a, arm64)
adblock-android-abi_x86-... - AAR for x86 only
adblock-android-abi_arm-... - AAR for armv7a only
adblock-android-abi_arm64-... - AAR for arm64 only
adblock-android-webview-... - AAR for AdblockWebView
adblock-android-settings-... - AAR for Settings

Android permissions note

An app that uses the library have to add the following permissions to AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

(added automatically if building with Gradle or should be added manually otherwise).

Build directory configuration

By default Gradle uses build directory to build modules, however it can be undesired for some use cases like CI or building as Chromium submodule. Set GRADLE_BUILD_DIR environment variable to configure build directory:

GRADLE_BUILD_DIR=/tmp ./gradlew clean assemble

Note

[Configuration] Building project in /tmp

output while building

Building with prebuilt shared V8

This can be desired to use product's V8 (let's say Chromium) instead of built-in V8. Put prebuilt shared V8 library file(s) in ARCH directories and set SHARED_V8_LIB_FILENAMES environment variable and SHARED_V8_LIB_DIR before building. You can pass multiple filenames in SHARED_V8_LIB_FILENAMES, separated with space. Libadblockplus is required to be linked with that library file(s).

For example:

SHARED_V8_LIB_FILENAMES=libv8.cr.so SHARED_V8_LIB_DIR="/tmp/shared_v8" ./gradlew clean assembleAbi_arm

SHARED_V8_LIB_FILENAMES="libv8.cr.so libv8_libbase.cr.so libv8_libplatform.cr.so" SHARED_V8_LIB_DIR="/tmp/shared_v8" ./gradlew clean assembleAbi_arm

for multiple library files.

Note

[Configuration] Excluding shared v8 library libv8.cr.so from AAR
...
[Configuration] Linking dynamically with shared v8 library /tmp/shared_v8/release/libv8.cr.so
...

output while building.

Building with exposing of libadblockplus classes

Set EXPOSE_LIBABP_OBJECTS environment variable to expose libadblockplus classes in shared library.

For example:

EXPOSE_LIBABP_OBJECTS=y ./gradlew clean assembleAbi_arm

JNI adjustments

In order to load custom library name pass LIBABP_SHARED_LIBRARY_NAME environment variable (without lib and .so):

LIBABP_SHARED_LIBRARY_NAME=adblockplus ./gradlew assembleRelease

In order to skip compilation of JNI classes pass SKIP_JNI_COMPILATION environment variable:

SKIP_JNI_COMPILATION=true ./gradlew assembleRelease

Building for single ARCH

By default adblock-android is built for both ARM and x86 and it can be filtered when building end-user android application. However sometimes it can be desired to build "adblock-android.aar" for single ARCH.

Pass abi_arm, abi_arm64 or abi_x86 to build it for single arch or abi_all for all ARCHs:

`./gradlew clean assembleAbi_arm`

Note

[Configuration] Using adblock-android ABI flavor: abi_arm

output while building.

SDK tests

Pure java tests

You can find pure Java tests in 'src/test' directories of the modules (if provided). In the project directory run:

./gradlew test

You can select test class/method and click 'Run ..Test'. No Android emulator/device running required.

Android tests

You can find Android tests in 'src/androidTest' directories of the modules (if provided). In the project directory run:

./gradlew connectedAbi_x86DebugAndroidTest

to test with x86 device/emulator or run:

./gradlew connectedAbi_armDebugAndroidTest

to test with ARM device/emulator. You can select test class/method and click 'Run ..Test'.

Settings

An Android library that provides a configuration interface for Adblock Plus. You can find it in the 'adblock-android-settings' directory:

GeneralSettingsFragment - main fragment
WhitelistedDomainsSettingsFragment - whitelisted domains fragment

Using as a Gradle dependency

Make sure you have jcenter() in the list of repositories and then add the following dependency:

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.adblockplus:adblock-android-settings:3.0'
}

In general case it's suggested to use the most recent version.

Usage

Create AdblockEngineProvider instance and AdblockSettingsStorage instance. You can use SharedPrefsStorage implementation to store settings in SharedPreferences. Or you can use AdblockHelper:

AdblockHelper
  .get()
  .init(this, getFilesDir().getAbsolutePath(), true, AdblockHelper.PREFERENCE_NAME);

  // optional - provide preloaded subscription files in app resoruces
  .preloadSubscriptions(AdblockHelper.PRELOAD_PREFERENCE_NAME, map);

Make sure you initialize it once during app launch, call isInit() to check it:

if (!AdblockHelper.get().isInit())
{
  // requires initialization
  ...
}

Sometimes it's desired to initialize or deinitialize FilterEngine instance when created:

AdblockHelper
  .get()
  .init(...)
  .addEngineCreatedListener(engineCreatedListener)

or disposed:

AdblockHelper
  .get()
  .init(...)
  .addEngineDisposedListener(engineDisposedListener)

Make sure you deinitialize it when values used during initialization are no longer valid:

AdblockHelper.get().deinit();

Note one have to initialize it again to be used.

Implement the following interfaces in your settings activity:

BaseSettingsFragment.Provider
GeneralSettingsFragment.Listener
WhitelistedDomainsSettingsFragment.Listener

and return created instance or AdblockHelper instances:

AdblockHelper.get().getProvider().getEngine();  // engine
AdblockHelper.get().getStorage(); // storage

Retain Adblock instance in activity onCreate in synchronous mode (it may take few seconds):

AdblockHelper.get().getProvider().retain(false);

or in asynchronous mode (without current thread lock):

AdblockHelper.get().getProvider().retain(true);

Invoke waitforReady every time you need AdblockEngine instance if retained in asynchronous mode:

AdblockHelper.get().getProvider().waitForReady();

Release Adblock instance in activity onDestroy:

AdblockHelper.get().getProvider().release();

Insert GeneralSettingsFragment fragment instance in runtime to start showing settings UI.

Theme

Make sure to set application theme with PreferenceThemeOverlay.v14.Material parent theme (see AndroidManifest.xml and styles.xml in adblock-android-webviewapp as an example).

Building

In the project root directory run:

./gradlew assemble

This will generate *.aar in the 'adblock-android-settings/build/outputs/aar' directory.

WebView

An Android library that provides a WebView component with Adblock Plus integrated. You can find it in the 'adblock-android-webview' directory.

AdblockWebView class provides built-in ad blocking (both resource loading filtering and element hiding) and inherits from Android 'WebView'.

Using as a Gradle dependency

Make sure you have jcenter() in the list of repositories and then add the following dependency:

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.adblockplus:adblock-android-webview:3.0'
}

In general case it's suggested to use the most recent version.

Usage

In layout XML:

<org.adblockplus.libadblockplus.android.webview.AdblockWebView
    android:id="@+id/main_webview"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"/>

In java source code:

AdblockWebView webView = (AdblockWebView) findViewById(R.id.main_webview);

Use AdblockEngine.setEnabled(boolean enabled) to enable/disable adblocking for AdblockEngine. Make sure you update the settings model if you want the new value to be applied after application restart, eg:

AdblockSettingsStorage storage = AdblockHelper.get().getStorage();
AdblockSettings settings = storage.load();
if (settings == null) // not yet saved
{
  settings = AdblockSettingsStorage.getDefaultSettings(...); // default
}
...
settings.setAdblockEnabled(newValue);
storage.save(settings);

Use setDebugMode(boolean debugMode) to turn debug log output (Android log and JS console) on/off.

Use setAllowDrawDelay(int allowDrawDelay) to set custom delay to start render webpage after 'DOMContentLoaded' event is fired.

Use setProvider(@NotNull AdblockEngineProvider provider) to use external adblock engine provider. The simplest solution is to use AdblockHelper from -settings as external adblock engine provider:

webView.setProvider(AdblockHelper.get().getProvider());

If adblock engine provider is not set, it's created by AdblockWebView instance automatically.

Use setSiteKeysConfiguration(..) to support sitekeys whitelisting. This is optional but highly suggested. See MainActivity.java on usage example.

Use setEventsListener() to subscribe and unsubscribe to ad blocking and whitelisting events, eg. "resource loading blocked" or "resource loading whitelisted" event that can be used for stats. For the latter there is a convenience class WebViewCounters which can be bound to EventsListener and notify your View about new values. See an example of usage in WebView Application.

Use dispose(Runnable disposeFinished) to release resources (required). Note it can be invoked from background thread.

Enabling/disabling of ad blocking per AdblockWebView is not supported.

Building

In the project root directory run:

./gradlew assemble

This will generate *.aar in the 'adblock-android-webview/build/outputs/aar' directory.

WebView Application

An Android application that demonstrates how to use AdblockWebView. You can find it in the 'adblock-android-webviewapp' directory.

Building

Make sure Library requirements are present.

In the project root directory run:

./gradlew assemble

This will generate *.apk in the 'adblock-android-webviewapp/build/outputs/apk/' directory.

Proguard

Required configuration changes

Configure Proguard/R8 to skip Adblock Android SDK files (root package org.adblockplus.libadblockplus) from being modified for Release build of end-user application. See adblock-android/proguard-rules-adblock.txt as an example. If building end-user application with Gradle, no actions are required - Gradle will use provided consumer Proguard file automatically. See https://developer.android.com/studio/projects/android-library "A library module may include its own ProGuard configuration file" section for further information.

Reason

Adblock Android SDK uses JNI behind the scene so Java classes and methods are accessed by full names from native code. If class names/members are modified by Proguard/R8 during Release build they can't be accessed from native code resulting into Runtime exceptions like follows:

java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: no non-static method "Lorg/adblockplus/libadblockplus/JsValue;.<init>(J)V"

seaunderwater/libadblockplus-android

Adblock Android SDK

Updating the dependencies

Library

Using as a Gradle dependency

Building

Requirements

Building of libadblockplus

Building from command-line

Build directory configuration

Building with prebuilt shared V8

Building with exposing of libadblockplus classes

JNI adjustments

Building for single ARCH

SDK tests

Pure java tests

Android tests

Settings

Using as a Gradle dependency

Usage

Theme

Building

WebView

Using as a Gradle dependency

Usage

Building

WebView Application

Building

Proguard

Required configuration changes

Reason