Developing Python Mobile Apps with Kivy and Buildozer: Installation, First App, and Packaging

The article begins by introducing Kivy, an open‑source, cross‑platform Python framework for building apps that run on Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS, and explains that Kivy must be installed before developing a Python app.

Installation steps for macOS are shown, including the required dependencies and the commands:

brew install pkg-config sdl2 sdl2_image sdl2_ttf sdl2_mixer gstreamer

pip install cython==0.25

pip install kivy

If the standard installation fails, an alternative method using git is provided:

git clone https://github.com/kivy/kivy
python setup.py install

For CentOS 7, a long list of 32‑bit libraries is installed via yum, followed by:

pip install Cython==0.20
pip install kivy

After installation, the article shows how to verify the Kivy installation by running Python and importing the kivy module.

Next, a minimal hello‑world Kivy app is created. The main.py file contains:

#! -*- coding:utf-8 -*-
from kivy.app import App
class HelloApp(App):
    pass
if __name__ == '__main__':
    HelloApp().run()

and the corresponding hello.kv file defines the UI:

Label:
    text: 'Hello, World! I am nMask'

Running python main.py launches the app on the desktop, confirming that the code works.

To run the app on Android or iOS, Buildozer is installed with:

pip install buildozer

After initializing the project ( buildozer init ), the generated buildozer.spec can be edited, and the app is packaged and deployed with:

buildozer android debug deploy run

The first run downloads the Android SDK, NDK, and other dependencies. The resulting APK appears in the bin directory and can be installed on a device.

The article lists useful Buildozer commands, shows how to adjust the log level for debugging, and provides solutions for common errors such as missing 32‑bit libraries and Cython compilation failures, including the exact yum command to install the required 32‑bit packages and the pip command to reinstall a compatible Cython version.

For stubborn build issues, a patch to /usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/buildozer/targets/android.py is suggested, replacing the SDK‑tool detection logic with a version‑sorted approach.

A Buildozer virtual‑machine image is mentioned as an alternative environment that already contains all dependencies, with a download link provided.

Finally, the article emphasizes that the focus is on a minimal Kivy+Buildozer workflow for creating a Python mobile app, and invites readers to explore more advanced Kivy features elsewhere.