GitHub Pages for Android Devs

🌍 Why GitHub Pages?

As Android developers, we often neglect our web presence. “I build apps, not webs”, we say. But having a portfolio or technical blog is vital for your career.

GitHub Pages is the perfect solution because:

It’s Free: Unlimited hosting for static projects.
It’s Git-based: You deploy with a git push.
It’s Fast: Served via GitHub’s CDN.
Supports Custom Domains: your-name.com with free HTTPS.

🚀 Astro: The Web Framework for Non-Web Devs

This blog is built with Astro. Why Astro and not React/Angular?

Zero JS by Default: Astro renders static HTML. Loads instantly.
Content-Driven: Designed for blogs and documentation (native Markdown).
Familiar Syntax: If you know HTML and a bit of JS (or Kotlin/Java), you know Astro.

---
// This is like the "backend" of the component (runs at build time)
const title = "My Android Portfolio";
const apps = ["Sudoku", "TodoApp", "Weather"];
---

<!-- This is the template (HTML + variables) -->
<html>
  <body>
    <h1>{title}</h1>
    <ul>
      {apps.map((app) => <li>{app}</li>)}
    </ul>
  </body>
</html>

🛠️ Configuring the Deployment Pipeline

To deploy an Astro website to GitHub Pages automatically:

Enable Pages in your repo: Settings -> Pages -> Source: GitHub Actions.
Create the workflow .github/workflows/deploy.yml:

name: Deploy to GitHub Pages

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]

permissions:
  contents: read
  pages: write
  id-token: write

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: withastro/action@v2
        with:
            package-manager: npm

  deploy:
    needs: build
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment:
      name: github-pages
      url: ${{ steps.deployment.outputs.page_url }}
    steps:
      - name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
        id: deployment
        uses: actions/deploy-pages@v4

🎨 Library Documentation (Dokka + Pages)

If you have an Open Source Android library, you must have web documentation.

Generate documentation with Dokka (see documentation article).
Configure Dokka output to go to a docs/ folder.
In GitHub Pages settings, choose Source: Deploy from a branch and select the /docs folder.

Done! Now you have your-user.github.io/your-library with professional navigable documentation.

🎯 Conclusion

You don’t need to be a React expert or spend money on AWS to have a professional web presence. With GitHub Pages and Astro, you can build and maintain your personal brand using the same tools (Git, CI/CD) you use every day.