Android SDK & AVD Setup Guide

1. Download SDK tools package and Set Environment Variables

Step 1: Download Command line tools and Unzip the Android SDK

1. Go to the Android SDK Download Page.
2. Download the Command Line Tools (CLI) for your operating system.
3. Extract the ZIP file to a directory (e.g., C:\AndroidSDK or ~/Android/sdk).
4. Set the path (e.g., C:\AndroidSDK\cmdline-tools\bin or ~/Android/sdk/cmdline-tools/bin).

Step 2: Set the SDK Path as a System Variable

For Windows:

1. Open "Control Panel" > "System" > "Advanced System Settings."
2. Click "Environment Variables" and add a new variable:
• Variable Name: ANDROID_HOME
• Variable Value: Path to the SDK (e.g., C:\AndroidSDK).
• Variable Name: ANDROID_SDK_ROOT
• Variable Value: Path to the SDK (e.g., C:\AndroidSDK).

For macOS:

1. Open the .bash_profile or .zshrc file:

nano ~/.zshrc

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2. Add these lines:

export ANDROID_HOME=~/Android/sdk
export ANDROID_SDK_ROOT=~/Android/sdk
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools

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3. Apply changes with:

source ~/.zshrc

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2. Install Platform-tools, Platforms and Build Tools for Android 34

sdkmanager "platform-tools"
sdkmanager "platforms;android-34"
sdkmanager "build-tools;34.0.0"

3. Install System Images and Create an AVD

Install System Images:

sdkmanager "system-images;android-34;google_apis;x86_64"

sdkmanager --licenses

Create a New AVD:

• Note: You can replace MyAVD with the name you want to give your AVD.

avdmanager create avd --name "MyAVD" --package "system-images;android-34;google_apis;x86_64"

4. List Emulators

emulator -list-avds

List Emulators Output

C:\Users\username>emulator -list-avds
MyAvd

5. Run Emulator

• note: replace MyAVD with your AVD's name.

emulator -avd MyAVD 

Run Emulator by full Strength:

emulator -avd MyAVD -netdelay none -netspeed full -gpu on -memory 4096 -cores 4 -no-snapshot-load -feature KeyboardSupport

Command Explanation:

• -avd MyAVD: Specifies the AVD (Android Virtual Device) name.
• -netdelay none: No network delay.
• -netspeed full: Sets full network speed.
• -gpu on: Enables GPU support.
• -memory 4096: Allocates 4096 MB of RAM to the emulator.
• -cores 4: Allocates 4 CPU cores.
• -no-snapshot-load: Disables loading from a snapshot.
• -feature KeyboardSupport: Enables keyboard input support.

Common AVD Commands:

• -avd <name>: Start the emulator with the specified AVD name.
• -netdelay <delay>: Set network latency (e.g., none, gsm, edge).
• -netspeed <speed>: Set network speed (e.g., full, gsm, hspa).
• -no-boot-anim: Disable the boot animation for faster startup.
• -no-snapshot: Prevent saving a snapshot on exit.
• -no-window: Run the emulator in headless mode (no UI window).
• -gpu off: Disable GPU emulation.
• -writable-system: Enable writable system partition.
• -camera-back <mode>: Set the back camera (e.g., emulated or none).
• -scale <scale>: Set the display scale (e.g., 0.5 for 50% size).
• -memory <size>: Allocate RAM to the emulator (e.g., 2048 MB).
• -skin <size>: Specify the screen size (e.g., 480x800).
• -logcat *:I: Display log messages in the emulator console.

C:\Users\username\.android\avd\yourAdvname.avd\

• note: replace username with your PC's username and replace yourAdvname with your AVD's name

Other AVD Commands

Force Kill an Emulator

to get the Emulator devices

adb devices

ADB Devices Output

C:\Users\"username">adb devices
List of devices attached
emulator-5554   device
        

Kill Emulator

adb -s emulator-5554 emu kill

• note: replace emulator-5554 with your device name

Update SDK and AVD

Update All SDK Components:

sdkmanager --update

Update the Emulator:

sdkmanager "emulator"

Start and Stop the ADB Server

adb kill-server
adb start-server

Pull and Push Files to/from AVD

Check File Existence on AVD:

adb shell mkdir /sdcard/Download

• note: replace sdcard/Download with the location you wanted to check

Output

C:\Users\username>adb shell mkdir /sdcard/Download
mkdir: '/sdcard/Download': File exists

Pull Files:

adb pull /sdcard/Download/ C:\AVDFiles

• Note: Replace sdcard/Download with your AVD location, and
  replace C:\AVDFiles with the location on your host device where you want to pull the files.

Push Files:

adb push C:\AVDFiles\myfile.txt /sdcard/Download/

• Note: Replace sdcard/Download with your AVD location, and
  replace C:\AVDFiles with the location on your host device where you want to pull the files.

Uninstall AVD & SDK Components

Uninstall AVD

• Note: Replace MyAVD with your AVD name.

avdmanager delete avd -n MyAVD

sdkmanager --uninstall "build-tools;34.0.0" "platforms;android-34" "system-images;android-34;google_play;x86_64"