Build React Native Android Apps on Guix in 5 Minutes

In a previous post, I shared how to set up React Native development on Guix using Docker. It works, but there’s a simpler way.

Guix has a neat trick: guix shell --container --emulate-fhs. Android SDK binaries expect libraries at standard paths like /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2, which don’t exist on Guix. The --emulate-fhs flag creates these paths, so cmake, ninja, and the NDK toolchain just work. No Docker required.

Setup

First, download the Android SDK. Guix packages sdkmanager from the F-Droid project:

export ANDROID_HOME=$PWD/android-sdk
mkdir -p $ANDROID_HOME

guix shell sdkmanager -- sh -c "
  export ANDROID_HOME='$ANDROID_HOME'
  echo y | sdkmanager --licenses
  sdkmanager 'platforms;android-36' 'build-tools;35.0.0' 'ndk;27.1.12297006'
"

Build

Now build your APK or AAB:

guix shell --container --emulate-fhs --network --pure \
  --share="$HOME/.gradle"="$HOME/.gradle" \
  --share="$ANDROID_HOME"="$ANDROID_HOME" \
  --share="$PWD"="$PWD" \
  openjdk@17:jdk node pnpm coreutils bash grep sed \
  glibc gcc-toolchain zlib which findutils diffutils \
  -- sh -c "
    cd '$PWD'
    export ANDROID_HOME='$ANDROID_HOME'
    export JAVA_HOME=\$(dirname \$(dirname \$(readlink -f \$(which java))))
    unset C_INCLUDE_PATH CPLUS_INCLUDE_PATH CPATH
    pnpm install
    cd android && ./gradlew --no-daemon assembleRelease
"

Output: android/app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk

For an AAB (Play Store), use bundleRelease instead of assembleRelease.

What’s happening?

A few key flags make this work:

• --emulate-fhs creates /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 and standard FHS paths that Android SDK binaries expect
• --pure gives you a clean environment without inherited variables
• --network allows Gradle to download dependencies
• unset C_INCLUDE_PATH is extra insurance against header conflicts

The container shares your gradle cache, SDK, and project directory, so subsequent builds are fast.

Signed Release

For a signed release, pass the keystore details as Gradle properties:

guix shell --container --emulate-fhs --network --pure \
  --share="$HOME/.gradle"="$HOME/.gradle" \
  --share="$ANDROID_HOME"="$ANDROID_HOME" \
  --share="$PWD"="$PWD" \
  --share="/path/to/keys"="/path/to/keys" \
  openjdk@17:jdk node pnpm coreutils bash grep sed \
  glibc gcc-toolchain zlib which findutils diffutils \
  -- sh -c "
    cd '$PWD'
    export ANDROID_HOME='$ANDROID_HOME'
    export JAVA_HOME=\$(dirname \$(dirname \$(readlink -f \$(which java))))
    unset C_INCLUDE_PATH CPLUS_INCLUDE_PATH CPATH
    pnpm install
    cd android && ./gradlew --no-daemon \
      -PMYAPP_UPLOAD_STORE_FILE=/path/to/keys/release.keystore \
      -PMYAPP_UPLOAD_STORE_PASSWORD=yourpassword \
      -PMYAPP_UPLOAD_KEY_ALIAS=youralias \
      -PMYAPP_UPLOAD_KEY_PASSWORD=yourpassword \
      -PuseReleaseSigning=true \
      bundleRelease
"

Troubleshooting

Gradle permission errors: If you’ve previously run Docker builds as root, the gradle cache may have wrong permissions:

sudo rm -rf ~/.gradle/native/

CMake crashes (exit 139): Re-download the SDK cmake:

rm -rf android-sdk/cmake
# It re-downloads on next build

Header conflicts / stubs-32.h errors: Make sure you’re using --pure and unsetting the C include paths.

Conclusion

This approach eliminates Docker from the React Native build process on Guix. The FHS container gives you the compatibility you need, while keeping everything in user space. Build times are comparable to Docker, and you have one less layer to debug.