Deep links in Android Kotlin - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is a deep link in Android development?

A deep link is a URL that opens a specific page or content inside an app instead of just launching the app's home screen.

intermediate

How do you declare a deep link in AndroidManifest.xml?

You add an <intent-filter> inside an <activity> with <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />, <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />, <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />, and <data> specifying the URI scheme and host.

intermediate

What is the difference between an explicit and implicit deep link?

Explicit deep links open a specific screen in your app using a URI you define. Implicit deep links use standard web URLs that can open your app or a website if the app is not installed.

beginner

Why is the android.intent.category.BROWSABLE category important for deep links?

It allows your app to be opened from a web browser when a user clicks a link, enabling the deep link to work from outside the app.

beginner

How can you test a deep link on an Android device?

You can use the command adb shell am start -W -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "yourapp://path" your.package.name or click a link with the matching URI on the device.

Which intent action is used to declare a deep link in Android?

A android.intent.action.VIEW

B android.intent.action.MAIN

C android.intent.action.SEND

D android.intent.action.CALL

The action VIEW is used to open content specified by a URI, which is essential for deep linking.

What does the android.intent.category.BROWSABLE category allow?

A Launching the app from the home screen

B Opening the app from a web browser link

C Sending data between apps

D Running background services

BROWSABLE lets the app respond to links clicked in a web browser.

Which file do you modify to add deep link support in an Android app?

A MainActivity.kt

B build.gradle

C strings.xml

D AndroidManifest.xml

Deep links are declared in the AndroidManifest.xml inside intent filters.

What is an implicit deep link?

A A link that requires user login

B A link that only opens the app's home screen

C A link that opens a web URL or app if installed

D A link that opens a system settings page

Implicit deep links use standard web URLs and can open the app or fallback to a website.

How can you test a deep link using adb?

A adb shell am start -W -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "yourapp://path" your.package.name

B adb install yourapp.apk

C adb logcat

D adb shell pm clear your.package.name

This adb command launches the deep link URI to test if it opens the app correctly.

Explain how to add a deep link to an Android app and why each part of the intent filter is important.

Think about how the app knows to open from a link and from where the link can come.

Describe the difference between explicit and implicit deep links and give an example of when to use each.

Consider if the link is custom or a normal web address.