Android emulators command line

Android Emulator

In this document

See also

The Android SDK includes a mobile device emulator — a virtual mobile device that runs on your computer. The emulator lets you develop and test Android applications without using a physical device.

This document is a reference to the available command line options and the keyboard mapping to device keys. For a complete guide to using the Android Emulator, see Using the Android Emulator.

Keyboard Commands

Table 1 summarizes the mappings between the emulator keys and the keys of your keyboard.

Table 1. Emulator keyboard mapping

Emulated Device Key	Keyboard Key
Home	HOME
Menu (left softkey)	F2 or Page-up button
Star (right softkey)	Shift-F2 or Page Down
Back	ESC
Call/dial button	F3
Hangup/end call button	F4
Search	F5
Power button	F7
Audio volume up button	KEYPAD_PLUS, Ctrl-F5
Audio volume down button	KEYPAD_MINUS, Ctrl-F6
Camera button	Ctrl-KEYPAD_5, Ctrl-F3
Switch to previous layout orientation (for example, portrait, landscape)	KEYPAD_7, Ctrl-F11
Switch to next layout orientation (for example, portrait, landscape)	KEYPAD_9, Ctrl-F12
Toggle cell networking on/off	F8
Toggle code profiling	F9 (only with -trace startup option)
Toggle fullscreen mode	Alt-Enter
Toggle trackball mode	F6
Enter trackball mode temporarily (while key is pressed)	Delete
DPad left/up/right/down	KEYPAD_4/8/6/2
DPad center click	KEYPAD_5
Onion alpha increase/decrease	KEYPAD_MULTIPLY(*) / KEYPAD_DIVIDE(/)

Command Line Parameters

The emulator supports a variety of options that you can specify when launching the emulator, to control its appearance or behavior. Here’s the command-line syntax of the options available to the emulator program:

Table 2. Emulator command line parameters

-datadir

—> -image

—>

-system

—>

-mic

—>

Important: When using this option, make sure it is the last option specified, since all options after it are interpretted as qemu-specific options.

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How to Set Up an Android Emulator using Command Line

Apr 26, 2019 · 2 min read

To set up an Android emulator AKA Android Virtual Device (AVD):

(1) Download and install the Android SDK which comes bundled with Android Studio .

(2) After download and installation, the Android SDK can typically be found at C:\Users\ User\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\ . You will have to add several sub-folders to your environment PATH variable.

(3) Launch Command Prompt and add these directories to your environment PATH variable with the following commands:

(4) Install the latest SDK tools and system image for API level 28:

( s d kmanager is dependent on the . \tools\bin\ directory we added)

(5) Create an Android Virtual Device (AVD) using the following command:

( avdmanager is also dependent on the .\tools\bin directory we added )

More information on the above command and its parameters at https://developer.android.com/studio/command-line/avdmanager

If you have Hyper-V enabled, you will be required to disable it to run HAXM. This can be achieved by following the instructions available at https://www.nextofwindows.com/how-to-enable-configure-and-use-hyper-v-on-windows-10 . This may call for an elevated user (e.g. Administrator).

NOTE: You may also need to restart your computer which may require repeating the steps involving the PATH variable. You can also set PATH via Control Panel .

(7) Run the following commands in Command Prompt to start your emulator.

(dependent on ./emulator)

This will launch your Android emulator in a new window.

(8) To see a list of active android devices, run

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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.

Category	Option	Description	Comments
AVD	-avd or @	Required. Specifies the AVD to load for this emulator instance.	You must create an AVD configuration before launching the emulator. For information, see Managing AVDs with AVD Manager.
Disk Images	-cache	Use as the working cache partition image.	An absolute or relative path to the current working directory. If no cache file is specified, the emulator’s default behavior is to use a temporary file instead. For more information on disk images, use -help-disk-images .
	-data	Use as the working user-data disk image.	Optionally, you can specify a path relative to the current working directory. If -data is not used, the emulator looks for a file named userdata-qemu.img in the storage area of the AVD being used (see -avd ).
	Search for the user-data disk image specified in -data in	is a path relative to the current working directory. If you do not specify -datadir , the emulator looks for the user-data image in the storage area of the AVD being used (see -avd ) For more information on disk images, use -help-disk-images .
	Use as the system image.	Optionally, you can specify a path relative to the current working directory. Default is /system.img.
	-initdata	When resetting the user-data image (through -wipe-data ), copy the contents of this file to the new user-data disk image. By default, the emulator copies the /userdata.img .	Optionally, you can specify a path relative to the current working directory. See also -wipe-data . For more information on disk images, use -help-disk-images .
	-nocache	Start the emulator without a cache partition.	See also -cache .
	-ramdisk	Use as the ramdisk image.	Default value is /ramdisk.img . Optionally, you can specify a path relative to the current working directory. For more information on disk images, use -help-disk-images .
-sdcard	Use as the SD card image.	Default value is /sdcard.img . Optionally, you can specify a path relative to the current working directory. For more information on disk images, use -help-disk-images .
Search for system, ramdisk and user data images in .	is a directory path relative to the current working directory.
-wipe-data	Reset the current user-data disk image (that is, the file specified by -datadir and -data , or the default file). The emulator deletes all data from the user data image file, then copies the contents of the file at -inidata data to the image file before starting.	See also -initdata . For more information on disk images, use -help-disk-images .
Debug	-debug	Enable/disable debug messages for the specified debug tags.	is a space/comma/column-separated list of debug component names. Use -help-debug-tags to print a list of debug component names that you can use.
	-debug-	Enable/disable debug messages for the specified debug tag.	Use -help-debug-tags to print a list of debug component names that you can use in .
	-debug-no-	Disable debug messages for the specified debug tag.
	-logcat	Enable logcat output with given tags.	If the environment variable ANDROID_LOG_TAGS is defined and not empty, its value will be used to enable logcat output by default.
	-shell	Create a root shell console on the current terminal.	You can use this command even if the adb daemon in the emulated system is broken. Pressing Ctrl-c from the shell stops the emulator instead of the shell.
	-shell-serial	Enable the root shell (as in -shell and specify the QEMU character device to use for communication with the shell.	must be a QEMU device type. See the documentation for ‘-serial dev‘ at http://wiki.qemu.org/download/qemu-doc.html for a list of device types. Here are some examples: -shell-serial stdio is identical to -shell -shell-serial tcp::4444,server,nowait lets you communicate with the shell over TCP port 4444 -shell-serial fdpair:3:6 lets a parent process communicate with the shell using fds 3 (in) and 6 (out) -shell-serial fdpair:0:1 uses the normal stdin and stdout fds, except that QEMU won’t tty-cook the data.
	-show-kernel	Display kernel messages.
	-trace	Enable code profiling (press F9 to start), written to a specified file.
	-verbose	Enable verbose output.	Equivalent to -debug-init . You can define the default verbose output options used by emulator instances in the Android environment variable ANDROID_VERBOSE. Define the options you want to use in a comma-delimited list, specifying only the stem of each option: -debug- . Here’s an example showing ANDROID_VERBOSE defined with the -debug-init and -debug-modem options: For more information about debug tags, use .
Media	-audio	Use the specified audio backend.
	-audio-in	Use the specified audio-input backend.
	-audio-out	Use the specified audio-output backend.
	Use device or WAV file for audio input.
	-noaudio	Disable audio support in the current emulator instance.
	-radio	Redirect radio modem interface to a host character device.
-useaudio	Enable audio support in the current emulator instance.	Enabled by default.
Network	-dns-server	Use the specified DNS server(s).	The value of must be a comma-separated list of up to 4 DNS server names or IP addresses.
	-http-proxy	Make all TCP connections through a specified HTTP/HTTPS proxy	The value of can be one of the following: http:// : The http:// prefix can be omitted. If the -http-proxy command is not supplied, the emulator looks up the http_proxy environment variable and automatically uses any value matching the format described above.
	-netdelay	Set network latency emulation to .	Default value is none . See the table in Network Delay Emulation for supported values.
	-netfast	Shortcut for -netspeed full -netdelay none
	-netspeed	Set network speed emulation to .	Default value is full . See the table in Network Speed Emulation for supported values.
	-port	Set the console port number for this emulator instance to .	The console port number must be an even integer between 5554 and 5584, inclusive. +1 must also be free and will be reserved for ADB.
	-report-console	Report the assigned console port for this emulator instance to a remote third party before starting the emulation.	must use one of these formats: to view more information about this topic.
System	-cpu-delay	Slow down emulated CPU speed by	Supported values for are integers between 0 and 1000. Note that the does not correlate to clock speed or other absolute metrics — it simply represents an abstract, relative delay factor applied non-deterministically in the emulator. Effective performance does not always scale in direct relationship with values.
	-gps	Redirect NMEA GPS to character device.	Use this command to emulate an NMEA-compatible GPS unit connected to an external character device or socket. The format of must be QEMU-specific serial device specification. See the documentation for ‘serial -dev’ at http://wiki.qemu.org/download/qemu-doc.html.
	-nojni	Disable JNI checks in the Dalvik runtime.
	-qemu	Pass arguments to the qemu emulator software.

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.

Content and code samples on this page are subject to the licenses described in the Content License. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

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