Using Chilkat in an Android Studio Project

A step-by-step guide to adding the Chilkat Java library to an Android Studio app: copy the native libraries and Java sources into the project, grant INTERNET permission, load the library, and call Chilkat.

First, download the Chilkat Android Java library (chilkat-android.zip) and unzip it.

What the download contains

chilkat-android/
├─ libs/                       native JNI libraries, one folder per ABI
│   ├─ arm64-v8a/   libchilkat.so
│   ├─ armeabi-v7a/ libchilkat.so
│   ├─ x86/         libchilkat.so
│   └─ x86_64/      libchilkat.so
└─ src/com/chilkatsoft/        Chilkat Java class sources (Ck*.java)

You'll copy the libs/ contents and the com/chilkatsoft sources into your Android Studio project, as shown next.

Add Chilkat to your project

  1. Copy the native libraries to jniLibs

    Copy each ABI folder from the download's libs/ into app/src/main/jniLibs/ (create the jniLibs folder if it doesn't exist), keeping the ABI folder names.

    More detail: Where to put the Chilkat JNI shared libraries.

  2. Copy the Chilkat Java sources

    Copy the download's src/com/chilkatsoft folder into your app's Java source root so the package path becomes app/src/main/java/com/chilkatsoft/.

    More detail: Copy Chilkat Java sources into your project.

  3. Grant INTERNET permission

    Add this to your AndroidManifest.xml (required for any Chilkat feature that uses the network):

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

  4. Load the native library, then use Chilkat

    Load libchilkat once (a static block runs when the class is loaded), import the Chilkat classes, and call them. The Chilkat-related lines are highlighted:

    package com.test;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.widget.TextView;
import com.chilkatsoft.*;

public class SimpleActivity extends Activity {

    static {
        System.loadLibrary("chilkat");
    }

    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        TextView tv = new TextView(this);

        // Unlock Chilkat once (any string starts the 30-day trial;
        // use your purchased code after licensing).
        CkGlobal glob = new CkGlobal();
        glob.UnlockBundle("Anything for 30-day trial");

        CkCrypt2 crypt = new CkCrypt2();
        tv.setText(crypt.version());

        setContentView(tv);
    }
}

Where everything ends up in the project

YourApp/app/src/main/
├─ java/com/chilkatsoft/      ← Chilkat Java sources (Step 2)
│   ├─ chilkat.java
│   ├─ chilkatJNI.java
│   └─ Ck*.java
├─ jniLibs/                  ← native libraries (Step 1)
│   ├─ arm64-v8a/   libchilkat.so
│   ├─ armeabi-v7a/ libchilkat.so
│   ├─ x86/         libchilkat.so
│   └─ x86_64/      libchilkat.so
└─ AndroidManifest.xml         ← INTERNET permission (Step 3)

Tips & common errors

16 KB page sizes For recent (Android 15+) devices and current Google Play requirements, use Chilkat 9.5.0.99 or later, which supports 16 KB memory page sizes. See Chilkat supports 16K Android page sizes.

UnsatisfiedLinkError loading the library

Make sure System.loadLibrary("chilkat") runs before any Chilkat class is used, and that jniLibs contains the .so for the device's ABI (include arm64-v8a for real devices).

Network calls fail

Confirm the INTERNET permission (Step 3) is in the manifest.

Unresolved com.chilkatsoft classes

The Chilkat sources must sit under a com/chilkatsoft/ folder on the Java source path (Step 2).

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