Android Deep Link Handling

Deep linking in Android allows your application to be launched directly from a URL, making it easier for users to navigate to specific content within your app. Starting from Android 12, handling deep links requires additional configuration using an assetlinks.json file to ensure the app and the host domain are properly associated.

Android 11 and Below

For Android 11 and below, deep linking is straightforward and does not require additional configuration beyond the usual manifest settings.

Android 12 and Above

For Android 12 and above, an additional configuration step is required to verify the relationship between your app and the host domain using the assetlinks.json file.

Creating assetlinks.json

Create a file named assetlinks.json and host it in the .well-known directory of your website (e.g., https://www.cloud.example.com/.well-known/assetlinks.json).

Example assetlinks.json:

[
  {
    "relation": ["delegate_permission/common.handle_all_urls"],
    "target": {
      "namespace": "android_app",
      "package_name": "com.cloud.example.nextcloud",
      "sha256_cert_fingerprints": [
        "FB:00:95:22:F6:5E:25:80:22:61:B6:7B:10:A4:5F:D7:0E:61:00:31:97:6F:40:B2:8A:64:9E:15:2D:ED:03:73"
      ]
    }
  }
]

Nextcloud Configuration Limitation

Due to the additional requirement of hosting an assetlinks.json file for Android 12 and above, Nextcloud cannot configure the Android client for all different hosts. This is because each host needs its own assetlinks.json file to establish a verified relationship with the app, and Nextcloud cannot manage this file for every possible host domain.