Android avd file system

Managing AVDs from the Command Line

In this document

See also

The android tool lets you manage AVDs on the command line. For a complete reference of the command line options that you can use, see the reference for the android tool.

Listing Targets

To generate a list of system image targets, use this command:

The android tool scans the /platforms/ and /add-ons/ directories looking for valid system images and then generates the list of targets. Here’s an example of the command output:

Creating AVDs

In addition to creating AVDs with the AVD Manager user interface, you can also create them by passing in command line arguments to the android tool.

Open a terminal window and change to the /tools/ directory, if needed.

To create each AVD, you issue the command android create avd , with options that specify a name for the new AVD and the system image you want to run on the emulator when the AVD is invoked. You can specify other options on the command line also, such as the emulated SD card size, the emulator skin, or a custom location for the user data files.

Here’s the command-line usage for creating an AVD:

You can use any name you want for the AVD, but since you are likely to be creating multiple AVDs, you should choose a name that lets you recognize the general characteristics offered by the AVD. The target ID is an integer assigned by the android tool. The target ID is not derived from the system image name, version, or API Level, or other attribute, so you need to run the android list targets command to list the target ID of each system image. You should do this before you run the android create avd command. See the android tool documentation for more information on the command line options.

When you’ve selected the target you want to use and made a note of its ID, use the android create avd command to create the AVD, supplying the target ID as the -t argument. Here’s an example that creates an AVD with name «my_android1.5» and target ID «2» (the standard Android 1.5 system image in the list above):

If the target you selected was a standard Android system image («Type: platform»), the android tool next asks you whether you want to create a custom hardware profile.

If you want to set custom hardware emulation options for the AVD, enter «yes» and set values as needed. If you want to use the default hardware emulation options for the AVD, just press the return key (the default is «no»). The android tool creates the AVD with name and system image mapping you requested, with the options you specified. For more information, see Setting Hardware Emulation Options.

Note: If you are creating an AVD whose target is an SDK add-on, the android tool does not allow you to set hardware emulation options. It assumes that the provider of the add-on has set emulation options appropriately for the device that the add-on is modeling, and so prevents you from resetting the options.

Customize the device resolution or density

When testing your application, we recommend that you test your application in several different AVDs, using different screen configurations (different combinations of size and density). In addition, you should set up the AVDs to run at a physical size that closely matches an actual device.

To set up your AVDs for a specific resolution or density, follow these steps:

1. Use the create avd command to create a new AVD, specifying the —skin option with a value that references either a default skin name (such as «WVGA800») or a custom skin resolution (such as 240×432). Here’s an example:
2. To specify a custom density for the skin, answer «yes» when asked whether you want to create a custom hardware profile for the new AVD.
3. Continue through the various profile settings until the tool asks you to specify «Abstracted LCD density» (hw.lcd.density). Enter an appropriate value, such as «120» for a low-density screen, «160» for a medium density screen, or «240» for a high-density screen.
4. Set any other hardware options and complete the AVD creation.

In the example above (WVGA medium density), the new AVD will emulate a 5.8″ WVGA screen.

As an alternative to adjusting the emulator skin configuration, you can use the emulator skin’s default density and add the -dpi-device option to the emulator command line when starting the AVD. For example:

Default location of AVD files

When you create an AVD, the android tool creates a dedicated directory for it on your development computer. The directory contains the AVD configuration file, the user data image and SD card image (if available), and any other files associated with the device. Note that the directory does not contain a system image — instead, the AVD configuration file contains a mapping to the system image, which it loads when the AVD is launched.

By default, the android tool creates the AVD directory inside

/.android/avd/ (on Linux/Mac), C:\Documents and Settings\ \.android\ on Windows XP, and C:\Users\ \.android\ on Windows 7 and Vista. If you want to use a custom location for the AVD directory, you can do so by using the -p

option when you create the AVD:

If the .android directory is hosted on a network drive, we recommend using the -p option to place the AVD directory in another location. The AVD’s .ini file remains in the .android directory on the network drive, regardless of the location of the AVD directory.

Setting hardware emulation options

When you are creating a new AVD that uses a standard Android system image («Type: platform»), the android tool lets you set hardware emulation options for virtual device. The table below lists the options available and the default values, as well as the names of properties that store the emulated hardware options in the AVD’s configuration file (the config.ini file in the AVD’s local directory).

Table 1. Available hardware profile options for AVDs and the default values

Characteristic	Description	Property
Device ram size	The amount of physical RAM on the device, in megabytes. Default value is «96».	hw.ramSize
Touch-screen support	Whether there is a touch screen or not on the device. Default value is «yes».	hw.touchScreen
Trackball support	Whether there is a trackball on the device. Default value is «yes».	hw.trackBall
Keyboard support	Whether the device has a QWERTY keyboard. Default value is «yes».	hw.keyboard
DPad support	Whether the device has DPad keys. Default value is «yes».	hw.dPad
GSM modem support	Whether there is a GSM modem in the device. Default value is «yes».	hw.gsmModem
Camera support	Whether the device has a camera. Default value is «no».	hw.camera
Maximum horizontal camera pixels	Default value is «640».	hw.camera.maxHorizontalPixels
Maximum vertical camera pixels	Default value is «480».	hw.camera.maxVerticalPixels
GPS support	Whether there is a GPS in the device. Default value is «yes».	hw.gps
Battery support	Whether the device can run on a battery. Default value is «yes».	hw.battery
Accelerometer	Whether there is an accelerometer in the device. Default value is «yes».	hw.accelerometer
Audio recording support	Whether the device can record audio. Default value is «yes».	hw.audioInput
Audio playback support	Whether the device can play audio. Default value is «yes».	hw.audioOutput
SD Card support	Whether the device supports insertion/removal of virtual SD Cards. Default value is «yes».	hw.sdCard
Cache partition support	Whether we use a /cache partition on the device. Default value is «yes».	disk.cachePartition
Cache partition size	Default value is «66MB».	disk.cachePartition.size
Abstracted LCD density	Sets the generalized density characteristic used by the AVD’s screen. Default value is «160».	hw.lcd.density
Trackball support	Whether there is a trackball present.	hw.trackBall

Moving an AVD

If you want to move or rename an AVD, you can do so using this command:

Updating an AVD

If, for any reason, the platform/add-on root folder has its name changed (maybe because the user has installed an update of the platform/add-on) then the AVD will not be able to load the system image that it is mapped to. In this case, the android list targets command will produce this output:

To fix this error, use the android update avd command to recompute the path to the system images.

Deleting an AVD

You can use the android tool to delete an AVD. Here is the command usage:

When you issue the command, the android tool looks for an AVD matching the specified name deletes the AVD’s directory and files.

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Create and manage virtual devices

An Android Virtual Device (AVD) is a configuration that defines the characteristics of an Android phone, tablet, Wear OS, Android TV, or Automotive OS device that you want to simulate in the Android Emulator. The AVD Manager is an interface you can launch from Android Studio that helps you create and manage AVDs.

To open the AVD Manager, do one of the following:

• Select Tools > AVD Manager.
• Click AVD Manager in the toolbar.

About AVDs

An AVD contains a hardware profile, system image, storage area, skin, and other properties.

We recommend that you create an AVD for each system image that your app could potentially support based on the setting in your manifest.

Hardware profile

The hardware profile defines the characteristics of a device as shipped from the factory. The AVD Manager comes preloaded with certain hardware profiles, such as Pixel devices, and you can define or customize the hardware profiles as needed.

Notice that only some hardware profiles are indicated to include Play Store. This indicates that these profiles are fully CTS compliant and may use system images that include the Play Store app.

System images

A system image labeled with Google APIs includes access to Google Play services. A system image labeled with the Google Play logo in the Play Store column includes the Google Play Store app and access to Google Play services, including a Google Play tab in the Extended controls dialog that provides a convenient button for updating Google Play services on the device.

To ensure app security and a consistent experience with physical devices, system images with the Google Play Store included are signed with a release key, which means that you cannot get elevated privileges (root) with these images. If you require elevated privileges (root) to aid with your app troubleshooting, you can use the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) system images that do not include Google apps or services.

Storage area

The AVD has a dedicated storage area on your development machine. It stores the device user data, such as installed apps and settings, as well as an emulated SD card. If needed, you can use the AVD Manager to wipe user data, so the device has the same data as if it were new.

An emulator skin specifies the appearance of a device. The AVD Manager provides some predefined skins. You can also define your own, or use skins provided by third parties.

AVD and app features

Be sure your AVD definition includes the device features your app depends on. See Hardware Profile Properties and AVD Properties for lists of features you can define in your AVDs.

Create an AVD

Tip: If you want to launch your app into an emulator, instead run your app from Android Studio and then in the Select Deployment Target dialog that appears, click Create New Virtual Device.

To create a new AVD:

1. Open the AVD Manager by clicking Tools > AVD Manager.
2. Click Create Virtual Device, at the bottom of the AVD Manager dialog.

The Select Hardware page appears.

Notice that only some hardware profiles are indicated to include Play Store. This indicates that these profiles are fully CTS compliant and may use system images that include the Play Store app.

Select a hardware profile, and then click Next.

If you don’t see the hardware profile you want, you can create or import a hardware profile.

The System Image page appears.

Select the system image for a particular API level, and then click Next.

The Recommended tab lists recommended system images. The other tabs include a more complete list. The right pane describes the selected system image. x86 images run the fastest in the emulator.

If you see Download next to the system image, you need to click it to download the system image. You must be connected to the internet to download it.

The API level of the target device is important, because your app won’t be able to run on a system image with an API level that’s less than that required by your app, as specified in the minSdkVersion attribute of the app manifest file. For more information about the relationship between system API level and minSdkVersion , see Versioning Your Apps.

If your app declares a element in the manifest file, the app requires a system image in which that external library is present. If you want to run your app on an emulator, create an AVD that includes the required library. To do so, you might need to use an add-on component for the AVD platform; for example, the Google APIs add-on contains the Google Maps library.

The Verify Configuration page appears.

Change AVD properties as needed, and then click Finish.

Click Show Advanced Settings to show more settings, such as the skin.

The new AVD appears in the Your Virtual Devices page or the Select Deployment Target dialog.

To create an AVD starting with a copy:

From the Your Virtual Devices page of the AVD Manager, right-click an AVD and select Duplicate.

Or click Menu and select Duplicate.

Click Change or Previous if you need to make changes on the System Image and Select Hardware pages.

Make your changes, and then click Finish.

The AVD appears in the Your Virtual Devices page.

Create a hardware profile

The AVD Manager provides predefined hardware profiles for common devices so you can easily add them to your AVD definitions. If you need to define a different device, you can create a new hardware profile. You can define a new hardware profile from the beginning, or copy a hardware profile as a start. The preloaded hardware profiles aren’t editable.

To create a new hardware profile from the beginning:

1. In the Select Hardware page, click New Hardware Profile.
2. In the Configure Hardware Profile page, change the hardware profile properties as needed.
3. Click Finish.

Your new hardware profile appears in the Select Hardware page. You can optionally create an AVD that uses the hardware profile by clicking Next. Or, click Cancel to return to the Your Virtual Devices page or Select Deployment Target dialog.

To create a hardware profile starting with a copy:

In the Select Hardware page, select a hardware profile and click Clone Device.

Or right-click a hardware profile and select Clone.

In the Configure Hardware Profile page, change the hardware profile properties as needed.

Click Finish.

Your new hardware profile appears in the Select Hardware page. You can optionally create an AVD that uses the hardware profile by clicking Next. Or, click Cancel to return to the Your Virtual Devices page or Select Deployment Target dialog.

Edit existing AVDs

From the Your Virtual Devices page, you can perform the following operations on an existing AVD:

• To edit an AVD, click Edit this AVD and make your changes.
• To delete an AVD, right-click an AVD and select Delete. Or click Menu and select Delete.
• To show the associated AVD .ini and .img files on disk, right-click an AVD and select Show on Disk. Or click Menu and select Show on Disk.
• To view AVD configuration details that you can include in any bug reports to the Android Studio team, right-click an AVD and select View Details. Or click Menu and select View Details.

Edit existing hardware profiles

From the Select Hardware page, you can perform the following operations on an existing hardware profile:

• To edit a hardware profile, select it and click Edit Device. Or right-click a hardware profile and select Edit. Next, make your changes.
• To delete a hardware profile, right-click it and select Delete.

You can’t edit or delete the predefined hardware profiles.

Run and stop an emulator, and clear data

From the Your Virtual Devices page, you can perform the following operations on an emulator:

• To run an emulator that uses an AVD, double-click the AVD. Or click Launch.
• To stop a running emulator, right-click an AVD and select Stop. Or click Menu and select Stop.
• To clear the data for an emulator, and return it to the same state as when it was first defined, right-click an AVD and select Wipe Data. Or click Menu and select Wipe Data.

Import and export hardware profiles

From the Select Hardware page, you can import and export hardware profiles:

To import a hardware profile, click Import Hardware Profiles and select the XML file containing the definition on your computer.

To export a hardware profile, right-click it and select Export. Specify the location where you want to store the XML file containing the definition.

Hardware profile properties

You can specify the following properties of hardware profiles in the Configure Hardware Profile page. AVD configuration properties override hardware profile properties, and emulator properties that you set while the emulator is running override them both.

The predefined hardware profiles included with the AVD Manager aren’t editable. However, you can copy them and edit the copies.

Select one of the following:

• None — No hardware controls. Navigation is through the software.
• D-pad — Directional Pad support.
• Trackball
• Wheel

These options are for actual hardware controls on the device itself. However, the events sent to the device by an external controller are the same.

Select one or both options:

• Portrait — Oriented taller than wide.
• Landscape — Oriented wider than tall.

If you select both, you can switch between orientations in the emulator. You must select at least one option to continue.

To enable the camera, select one or both options:

• Back-Facing Camera — The lens faces away from the user.
• Front-Facing Camera — The lens faces toward the user.

Later, you can use a webcam or a photo provided by the emulator to simulate taking a photo with the camera.

Hardware Profile Property	Description
Device Name	Name of the hardware profile. The name can contain uppercase or lowercase letters, numbers from 0 to 9, periods (.), underscores (_), parentheses ( () ), and spaces. The name of the file storing the hardware profile is derived from the hardware profile name.
Device Type	Select one of the following: Phone/Tablet Wear OS Android TV Chrome OS Device Android Automotive
Screen Size	The physical size of the screen, in inches, measured at the diagonal. If the size is larger than your computer screen, it’s reduced in size at launch.
Screen Resolution	Type a width and height in pixels to specify the total number of pixels on the simulated screen.
Round	Select this option if the device has a round screen, such as some Wear OS devices.
Memory: RAM	Type a RAM size for the device and select the units, one of B (byte), KB (kilobyte), MB (megabyte), GB (gigabyte), or TB (terabyte).
Input: Has Hardware Buttons (Back/Home/Menu)	Select this option if your device has hardware navigation buttons. Deselect it if these buttons are implemented in software only. If you select this option, the buttons won’t appear on the screen. You can use the emulator side panel to «press» the buttons, in either case.
Input: Has Hardware Keyboard	Select this option if your device has a hardware keyboard. Deselect it if it doesn’t. If you select this option, a keyboard won’t appear on the screen. You can use your computer keyboard to send keystrokes to the emulator, in either case.
Navigation Style
Sensors: Accelerometer	Select if the device has hardware that helps the device determine its orientation.
Sensors: Gyroscope	Select if the device has hardware that detects rotation or twist. In combination with an accelerometer, it can provide smoother orientation detection and support a six-axis orientation system.
Sensors: GPS	Select if the device has hardware that supports the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite-based navigation system.
Sensors: Proximity Sensor	Select if the device has hardware that detects if the device is close to your face during a phone call to disable input from the screen.
Default Skin	Select a skin that controls what the device looks like when displayed in the emulator. Remember that specifying a screen size that’s too big for the resolution can mean that the screen is cut off, so you can’t see the whole screen. See Create an emulator skin for more information.

AVD properties

You can specify the following properties for AVD configurations in the Verify Configuration page. The AVD configuration specifies the interaction between the development computer and the emulator, as well as properties you want to override in the hardware profile.

AVD configuration properties override hardware profile properties. Emulator properties that you set while the emulator is running override them both.

Select one option for the initial emulator orientation:

• Portrait — Oriented taller than wide.
• Landscape — Oriented wider than tall.

An option is enabled only if it’s selected in the hardware profile. When running the AVD in the emulator, you can change the orientation if both portrait and landscape are supported in the hardware profile.

To enable a camera, select one or both options:

• Front — The lens faces away from the user.
• Back — The lens faces toward the user.

The Emulated setting produces a software-generated image, while the Webcam setting uses your development computer webcam to take a picture.

This option is available only if it’s selected in the hardware profile; it’s not available for Wear OS and Android TV.

Select a network protocol to determine the speed of data transfer:

• GSM — Global System for Mobile Communications
• HSCSD — High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data
• GPRS — Generic Packet Radio Service
• EDGE — Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution
• UMTS — Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
• HSDPA — High-Speed Downlink Packet Access
• LTE — Long-Term Evolution
• Full (default) — Transfer data as quickly as your computer allows.

Select how graphics are rendered in the emulator:

• Hardware — Use your computer graphics card for faster rendering.
• Software — Emulate the graphics in software, which is useful if you’re having a problem with rendering in your graphics card.
• Automatic — Let the emulator decide the best option based on your graphics card.

AVD Property	Description
AVD Name	Name of the AVD. The name can contain uppercase or lowercase letters, numbers from 0 to 9, periods (.), underscores (_), parentheses ( () ), dashes (-), and spaces. The name of the file storing the AVD configuration is derived from the AVD name.
AVD ID (Advanced)	The AVD filename is derived from the ID, and you can use the ID to refer to the AVD from the command line.
Hardware Profile	Click Change to select a different hardware profile in the Select Hardware page.
System Image	Click Change to select a different system image in the System Image page. An active internet connection is required to download a new image.
Startup Orientation
Network: Latency (Advanced)	Select a network protocol to set how much time (delay) it takes for the protocol to transfer a data packet from one point to another point.
Emulated Performance: Graphics
Emulated Performance: Boot option (Advanced)	Cold boot — Start the device each time by powering up from the device-off state. Quick boot — Start the device by loading the device state from a saved snapshot. For details, see Run the emulator with Quick Boot.
Emulated Performance: Multi-Core CPU (Advanced)	Select the number of processor cores on your computer that you’d like to use for the emulator. Using more processor cores speeds up the emulator.
Memory and Storage: RAM	The amount of RAM on the device. This value is set by the hardware manufacturer, but you can override it, if needed, such as for faster emulator operation. Increasing the size uses more resources on your computer. Type a RAM size and select the units, one of B (byte), KB (kilobyte), MB (megabyte), GB (gigabyte), or TB (terabyte).
Memory and Storage: VM Heap	The VM heap size. This value is set by the hardware manufacturer, but you can override it, if needed. Type a heap size and select the units, one of B (byte), KB (kilobyte), MB (megabyte), GB (gigabyte), or TB (terabyte). For more information on Android VMs, see Memory Management for Different Virtual Machines.
Memory and Storage: Internal Storage	The amount of nonremovable memory space available on the device. This value is set by the hardware manufacturer, but you can override it, if needed. Type a size and select the units, one of B (byte), KB (kilobyte), MB (megabyte), GB (gigabyte), or TB (terabyte).
Memory and Storage: SD Card	The amount of removable memory space available to store data on the device. To use a virtual SD card managed by Android Studio, select Studio-managed, type a size, and select the units, one of B (byte), KB (kilobyte), MB (megabyte), GB (gigabyte), or TB (terabyte). A minimum of 100 MB is recommended to use the camera. To manage the space in a file, select External file and click . to specify the file and location. For more information, see mksdcard and AVD data directory.
Device Frame: Enable Device Frame	Select to enable a frame around the emulator window that mimics the look of a real device.
Custom Skin Definition (Advanced)	Select a skin that controls what the device looks like when displayed in the emulator. Remember that specifying a screen size that’s too big for the skin can mean that the screen is cut off, so you can’t see the whole screen. See Create an emulator skin for more information.
Keyboard: Enable Keyboard Input (Advanced)	Select this option if you want to use your hardware keyboard to interact with the emulator. It’s disabled for Wear OS and Android TV.

Create an emulator skin

An Android emulator skin is a collection of files that define the visual and control elements of an emulator display. If the skin definitions available in the AVD settings don’t meet your requirements, you can create your own custom skin definition, and then apply it to your AVD.

Each emulator skin contains:

• A hardware.ini file
• Layout files for supported orientations (landscape, portrait) and physical configuration
• Image files for display elements, such as background, keys and buttons

To create and use a custom skin:

1. Create a new directory where you will save your skin configuration files.
2. Define the visual appearance of the skin in a text file named layout . This file defines many characteristics of the skin, such as the size and image assets for specific buttons. For example:

Add the bitmap files of the device images in the same directory.

Specify additional hardware-specific device configurations in a hardware.ini file for the device settings, such as hw.keyboard and hw.lcd.density .

Archive the files in the skin folder and select the archive file as a custom skin.

For more detailed information about creating emulator skins, see the Android Emulator Skin File Specification in the tools source code.

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