Alpha
An early build, for people with a code.
Brad Hates Running isn't on Google Play yet. Until it is, a few people get it from here, with a download code Brad sent them.
What "alpha" means
- Things will break. Some of it is unfinished and some of it is wrong in ways nobody has found yet. That's what you're for.
- Your runs are yours. They're stored on your phone, like in the finished app. Settings → Backup → "Export my data" makes a copy you keep, and it's worth doing now and then.
- The friends server is live. If you switch "Online friends" on, the app talks to the real server at
api.bradhatesrunning.com, and your friends see what you share with them. What it keeps. - Tell Brad what broke. You know where to find him. Say what you did, what you expected, and what it did instead. A screenshot helps.
Download
Type the code you were sent. It's eight letters and numbers, like ABCD 1234. Capitals, spaces and hyphens don't matter, and neither does mixing up O and 0.
That code didn't work. Check it against the one you were sent, and if it still doesn't, ask Brad for a new one: codes can expire or be switched off.
That code has been used as many times as it's allowed. Ask Brad for more downloads on it.
Too many wrong codes from your connection. Wait an hour and try again, even with the right one.
There's no build up right now, so your code wasn't used. Try again later.
The current build
- Version
- Shown here when the page can reach the server.
- Published
- –
- Size
- –
- SHA-256
- –
The SHA-256 is the file's fingerprint. To check a download on a computer: shasum -a 256 brad-hates-running-*.apk should print the same.
Installing it
The app is for Android 8.0 or newer. Android doesn't install apps from outside Google Play unless you let it, one app at a time, so the browser you downloaded with needs permission first.
- Open the downloaded file: tap the "Download complete" notification, or find
brad-hates-running-…apkin the Files app, under Downloads. - Android says your browser isn't allowed to install unknown apps. Tap Settings, switch on Allow from this source, and go back.
- Tap Install. Google Play Protect may say it doesn't know this app. It doesn't: it isn't on Play yet. Tap More details → Install anyway if you're happy to.
- Open it. It asks for location when you start your first run, and for notifications so the run can keep going with the screen off.
- Then turn the permission back off: Settings → Apps → your browser → Install unknown apps → off. The browser doesn't need it until the next alpha.
The wording moves around between phone makers. "Install unknown apps" is usually under Settings → Apps → Special app access if it isn't where it says above.
Updating
When there's a new alpha, download it with your code the same way and install it. It goes over the old one as an update: your runs, settings and friends all stay. You don't need to uninstall anything, and you shouldn't: uninstalling deletes the app's data from the phone.
Each download uses one go on your code. If you run out, ask Brad.
Where it's heading
The alpha ends when the app goes on Google Play. The plan is that the Play version installs over this one as an ordinary update, keeping everything, and from then on Play keeps it up to date. You'd just follow the link that will be on the front page.
If that plan changes, the way across is: Settings → Backup → "Export my data" (include GPS routes if you want your maps), uninstall the alpha, install from Play, and import the file. You'd hear about it here, and from Brad, before it came to that.