How I Built Inkline: A React Native News App
June 10, 2025
Why I Built Inkline
I wanted a personal news app with a clean UI, reliable news sourcing, and offline capability for quick skimming. None of the existing apps gave me exactly what I wanted—so I built it myself using React Native.
Tech Stack Overview
The app was built with React Native, using RSS feeds to fetch news, React Navigation for routing, and WebView to render full articles inside the app. I used Gradle to build APKs and test directly on Android devices.
Key Features
- News feed UI with clean typography - WebView to open full articles in-app - Responsive layout with scrollable article cards - Custom app icon - Fully functional APK build to install and share
Challenges I Faced
RSS integration required extra parsing logic. Changing the app icon didn’t reflect immediately due to cache issues. Debugging WebView crashes and optimizing FlatList rendering were also time-consuming.
Screenshots & Demo
Here's how the app looks on a real device. You can see the main feed, WebView article, and minimal design focus.
Download the APK
What I Learned
Building Inkline improved my understanding of React Native's native build process and helped me get comfortable with debugging Android-specific issues. I also refined my design-to-code translation skills.
What's Next?
I'm planning to add support for source categories, and push notifications in the next version.
Final Thoughts
Inkline was a passion project that let me explore full-cycle app development—from idea to installable product. It’s a valuable addition to my portfolio and a stepping stone to more complex mobile products.