feat(android): status-go as a service

Add an option to run status-go as a service on android using Androdi Binder as a transport.

See ADR for more details docs/adr/0001-android-status-go-as-a-service.md

Author: alexjba

docs/adr/0001-android-status-go-as-a-service.md

@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ This shows the flow from the UI all the way to the backend.
 
 We do not use servers. [status-go](https://github.com/status-im/status-go) is what our app considers the backend and as such, it has it's own local databases to contain the user data.
 
+## Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)
+
+- `docs/adr/0001-android-status-go-as-a-service.md`: Android architecture where `status-go` runs in a separate Service process and the UI talks to it via Binder IPC.
+
 ```mermaid
 flowchart LR
     qml["Frontend (QML)"] --> statusq(["StatusQ"])

docs/architecture.md

@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 -include ./scripts/EnvVariables.mk
 -include ./scripts/Common.mk
 
-STATUS_GO_LIB := $(LIB_PATH)/libstatus$(LIB_EXT)
-
 # FLAG_KEYCARD_ENABLED: Controls NFC/Keycard support
 # - iOS: Default 0 (disabled) - Build without NFC, works with free Apple Developer account
 # - Android: Default 1 (enabled) - NFC support doesn't require paid account on Android
@@ -41,6 +39,7 @@ ifeq ($(OS),android)
 		ANDROID_NDK_ROOT="$(ANDROID_NDK_ROOT)" \
 		ANDROID_API="$(ANDROID_API)" \
 		HOST_OS="$(HOST_OS)" \
+		NIM_SDS_SOURCE_DIR="$(NIM_SDS_SOURCE_DIR)" \
 		USE_SYSTEM_NIM=$(USE_SYSTEM_NIM) \
 		GO_GENERATE_CMD="go generate" \
 		SHELL=/bin/sh
@@ -56,6 +55,29 @@ endif
 	@cp $(NIM_SDS_SOURCE_DIR)/build/libsds$(LIB_EXT) $(LIB_PATH)/libsds$(LIB_EXT)
 	@cp ../vendor/status-go/build/bin/libstatus$(LIB_EXT) $(LIB_PATH)/libstatus$(LIB_EXT)
 
+$(STATUS_GO_STUB_LIB): $(STATUS_GO_LIB)
+	@echo "Building status-go stub library (UI process)"
+	@mkdir -p $(LIB_PATH)
+	@$(MAKE) $(STATUS_GO_STUB_GEN)
+	@$(CXX) -shared -fPIC -O2 \
+		-o $(STATUS_GO_STUB_LIB) \
+		$(STATUS_DESKTOP)/mobile/statusgo_stub/statusgo_stub.cpp \
+		$(STATUS_GO_STUB_GEN) \
+		-llog -lc++_shared
+
+$(STATUS_GO_SERVICE_LIB): $(STATUS_GO_LIB)
+	@echo "Building status-go service JNI library (service process)"
+	@mkdir -p $(LIB_PATH)
+	@$(MAKE) $(STATUS_GO_STUB_GEN)
+	@$(CXX) -shared -fPIC -O2 \
+		-o $(STATUS_GO_SERVICE_LIB) \
+		$(STATUS_DESKTOP)/mobile/statusgo_service/statusgo_service_jni.cpp \
+		$(STATUS_GO_SERVICE_GEN) \
+		-L$(LIB_PATH) -lstatus -llog -lc++_shared
+
+$(STATUS_GO_STUB_GEN):
+	@$(MAKE) -C $(STATUS_DESKTOP)/vendor/status-go statusgo-stub-bindings
+
 $(STATUS_Q_LIB): $(STATUS_Q_FILES) $(STATUS_Q_SCRIPT) $(STATUS_Q_UI_FILES)
 	@echo "Building StatusQ"
 	@STATUSQ=$(STATUSQ) QT_MAJOR=$(QT_MAJOR) LIB_SUFFIX=$(LIB_SUFFIX) LIB_EXT=$(LIB_EXT) $(STATUS_Q_SCRIPT) $(HANDLE_OUTPUT)
@@ -85,7 +107,12 @@ $(STATUS_DESKTOP_RCC): $(STATUS_DESKTOP_UI_FILES) compile-translations
 	@make -C $(STATUS_DESKTOP) rcc $(HANDLE_OUTPUT)
 	@echo "Status Desktop rcc built"
 
-$(NIM_STATUS_CLIENT_LIB): $(STATUS_DESKTOP_NIM_FILES) $(NIM_STATUS_CLIENT_SCRIPT) $(STATUS_DESKTOP_RCC) $(DOTHERSIDE_LIB) $(OPENSSL_LIB) $(STATUS_Q_LIB) $(STATUS_GO_LIB) $(QRCODEGEN_LIB)
+
+ifeq ($(OS),android)
+$(NIM_STATUS_CLIENT_LIB): $(STATUS_GO_STUB_LIB) $(STATUS_GO_SERVICE_LIB)
+endif
+
+$(NIM_STATUS_CLIENT_LIB): $(STATUS_DESKTOP_NIM_FILES) $(NIM_STATUS_CLIENT_SCRIPT) $(STATUS_DESKTOP_RCC) $(DOTHERSIDE_LIB) $(OPENSSL_LIB) $(STATUS_Q_LIB) $(QRCODEGEN_LIB)
 	@echo "Building Status Desktop Lib"
 	@STATUS_DESKTOP=$(STATUS_DESKTOP) \
 	LIB_SUFFIX=$(LIB_SUFFIX) \

mobile/Makefile

@@ -2,6 +2,16 @@
 <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
     package="app.status.mobile"
     android:installLocation="auto">
+    <!--
+      Signature-level permission used to harden Binder IPC between the UI process and the
+      separate-process StatusGoService. This is defense-in-depth on top of android:exported="false".
+    -->
+    <permission
+        android:name="app.status.mobile.permission.STATUSGO_SERVICE"
+        android:label="Status status-go service access"
+        android:protectionLevel="signature" />
+
+    <uses-permission android:name="app.status.mobile.permission.STATUSGO_SERVICE" />
     <!-- non-dangerous permissions -->
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.NFC"/>
@@ -10,6 +20,8 @@
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED" />
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.VIBRATE" />
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.USE_BIOMETRIC" />
+    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE" />
+    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_SPECIAL_USE" />
 
     <!-- features -->
     <uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera" android:required="false" />
@@ -83,5 +95,17 @@
                 android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
                 android:resource="@xml/qtprovider_paths"/>
         </provider>
+
+        <!-- Separate-process status-go host service -->
+        <service
+            android:name=".ipc.StatusGoService"
+            android:exported="false"
+            android:permission="app.status.mobile.permission.STATUSGO_SERVICE"
+            android:process=":statusgo"
+            android:foregroundServiceType="specialUse">
+            <property
+                android:name="android.app.PROPERTY_SPECIAL_USE_FGS_SUBTYPE"
+                android:value="status-go background" />
+        </service>
     </application>
 </manifest>

mobile/android/qt6/AndroidManifest.xml

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+package app.status.mobile.ipc;
+
+import app.status.mobile.ipc.IStatusGoSignalListener;
+
+interface IStatusGoService {
+    /** Generic call into status-go exports (method name is the C export name). */
+    String call(String method, String argsJson);
+
+    /**
+     * Same as call(), but writes the response to a file in the service's cache dir
+     * and returns the absolute file path. This avoids Binder size limits for large JSON.
+     */
+    String callToFile(String method, String argsJson);
+
+    /** Register a signal listener. */
+    void registerSignalListener(IStatusGoSignalListener listener);
+
+    /** Unregister a signal listener. */
+    void unregisterSignalListener(IStatusGoSignalListener listener);
+
+    /**
+     * UI visibility hint used for notification suppression.
+     *
+     * If {@code visible=true}, the UI is in foreground; the service should not post OS
+     * message notifications (to avoid duplicates / to match “only when background” behavior).
+     */
+    void setUiVisible(boolean visible);
+}
+

mobile/android/qt6/aidl/app/status/mobile/ipc/IStatusGoService.aidl

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+package app.status.mobile.ipc;
+
+/** One-way signal stream from status-go service to UI process. */
+oneway interface IStatusGoSignalListener {
+    void onSignal(String jsonSignal);
+}
+

mobile/android/qt6/aidl/app/status/mobile/ipc/IStatusGoSignalListener.aidl

@@ -61,6 +61,10 @@ android {
     buildToolsVersion androidBuildToolsVersion
     ndkVersion = androidNdkVersion
 
+    buildFeatures {
+        aidl true
+    }
+
     sourceSets {
         main {
             manifest.srcFile 'AndroidManifest.xml'

mobile/android/qt6/build.gradle

@@ -87,9 +87,10 @@ public void setNegativeButton(String negativeButton) {
     }
 
     /** Cancel current biometric request, if any. */
-    public void cancel() {
+    public int cancel() {
         if (mCancel != null && !mCancel.isCanceled()) mCancel.cancel();
         mCancel = null;
+        return 0;
     }
 
     /** Capability check — returns your BIOMETRIC_* codes. */

mobile/android/qt6/src/app/status/mobile/SecureAndroidAuthentication.java

@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+package app.status.mobile;
+
+import android.content.Context;
+import app.status.mobile.ipc.StatusGoServiceClient;
+
+/**
+ * UI-process bridge used by the native status-go stub library (libstatus_stub.so).
+ *
+ * For now this is a placeholder: it provides a stable Java surface for the native stub
+ * to call into. Next step is to back this by a Binder client that talks to the
+ * separate status-go service process.
+ */
+public final class StatusGoStub {
+    static {
+        // Loads libstatus_stub.so (needed for JNI_OnLoad + nativeInit).
+        System.loadLibrary("status_stub");
+    }
+
+    private StatusGoStub() {}
+
+    // Native: supplies the Java class that implements call().
+    private static native void nativeInit(Class<?> bridgeClass);
+
+    // Native: used later to deliver signals from Binder listener to Nim callback.
+    public static native void nativeDeliverSignal(String jsonSignal);
+
+    /** Must be called early (e.g. Activity.onCreate) to bind the Java bridge. */
+    public static void ensureInitialized(Context context) {
+        nativeInit(StatusGoStub.class);
+        // Start/bind the status-go service early so first RPC doesn't block too long.
+        StatusGoServiceClient.get().ensureStartedAndBound(context);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Called from native status-go stub.
+     * @param method status-go exported method name (e.g. "CallPrivateRPC")
+     * @param argsJson JSON array of string args (placeholder encoding for now)
+     */
+    public static String call(String method, String argsJson) {
+        // Called from native stub exports; forward to separate-process service.
+        if (sContext == null) {
+            return "{\"error\":\"StatusGoStub not initialized\"}";
+        }
+        return StatusGoServiceClient.get().call(sContext, method, argsJson);
+    }
+
+    /** Hint to the service whether the UI is currently visible (foreground). */
+    public static void setUiVisible(boolean visible) {
+        if (sContext == null) return;
+        StatusGoServiceClient.get().setUiVisible(sContext, visible);
+    }
+
+    private static volatile Context sContext;
+
+    /** Called by Activity. Keep application context for later native calls. */
+    public static void setContext(Context context) {
+        sContext = context.getApplicationContext();
+    }
+}
+

mobile/android/qt6/src/app/status/mobile/StatusGoStub.java

@@ -3,18 +3,29 @@
 import org.qtproject.qt.android.bindings.QtActivity;
 import android.os.Build;
 import android.os.Bundle;
+import android.content.pm.PackageManager;
 import androidx.core.splashscreen.SplashScreen;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
+import im.status.mobileui.PushNotificationHelper;
 
 public class StatusQtActivity extends QtActivity {
     private static final AtomicBoolean splashShouldHide = new AtomicBoolean(false);
+    private static final int REQUEST_CODE_POST_NOTIFICATIONS = 1001;
 
     // QTBUG-140897: Android 16 keyboard workaround
     // Remove this line when Qt 6.10+ fixes the issue, and delete Android16KeyboardWorkaround.java
     private Android16KeyboardWorkaround mKeyboardWorkaround;
 
     @Override
     public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
+        // Initialize the status-go UI stub bridge early.
+        // (In the service-based architecture this forwards to the separate status-go process.)
+        StatusGoStub.setContext(this);
+        StatusGoStub.ensureInitialized(this);
+
+        // IMPORTANT: call super.onCreate() after starting/binding the service.
+        // QtActivity may start the Qt (Nim) side during super.onCreate(), and the Nim
+        // onboarding resume check queries the service immediately on startup.
         super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
 
         if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 31) { // Android 12+
@@ -27,6 +38,20 @@ public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
         mKeyboardWorkaround = Android16KeyboardWorkaround.install(this);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    protected void onResume() {
+        super.onResume();
+        // Inform the status-go service that UI is visible so it can suppress OS notifications.
+        StatusGoStub.setUiVisible(true);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void onPause() {
+        // Inform the status-go service that UI is no longer in foreground.
+        StatusGoStub.setUiVisible(false);
+        super.onPause();
+    }
+
     @Override
     protected void onDestroy() {
         // QTBUG-140897: Cleanup workaround resources
@@ -35,7 +60,7 @@ protected void onDestroy() {
             mKeyboardWorkaround.cleanup();
             mKeyboardWorkaround = null;
         }
-        
+
         super.onDestroy();
     }