Build Android Studio app via command line

Question

I want to build an Android Studio app (the Gradle build system), but I want to do this via the command line.

For example ./gradlew assembleRelease, ./gradlew assembleDebug — Gabriele Mariotti, Jun 25 '14 at 06:09
If you have multiple build variants, then you should go ./gradlew assembleYourVariantRelease — Michał Dobi Dobrzański, Jul 17 '19 at 13:06

score 224 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 15 '15 at 21:54

224

Android Studio automatically creates a Gradle wrapper in the root of your project, which is how it invokes Gradle. The wrapper is basically a script that calls through to the actual Gradle binary and allows you to keep Gradle up to date, which makes using version control easier. To run a Gradle command, you can simply use the gradlew script found in the root of your project (or gradlew.bat on Windows) followed by the name of the task you want to run. For instance, to build a debug version of your Android application, you can run ./gradlew assembleDebug from the root of your repository. In a default project setup, the resulting apk can then be found in app/build/outputs/apk/app-debug.apk. On a *nix machine, you can also just run find . -name '*.apk' to find it, if it's not there.

edited Dec 15 '15 at 21:54

Kirby

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answered Jun 28 '14 at 18:34

FuegoFro

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It took me more than 2 hours to understand what's the proper way to run Gradle from the command line – Oded Regev Jan 08 '15 at 13:05
4

I ran this from command line `c:\path_to_my_app\gradlew.bat ./gradlew assemblyDebug`, and it showed me **Downloading https://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-2.10-all.zip**. And it's stuck there. What do I miss? – Saeed Neamati Jun 03 '16 at 15:34
1

You can also install the app with `./gradlew installArm7Debug`. Other tasks are easy to find from `./gradlew tasks` – Andreas Løve Selvik Oct 20 '16 at 13:40
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I compiled the project and uploaded it to the Android device using `./gradlew assembleDebug` and `./gradlew installDebug` commands. In the AndroidStudio there is a console which monitors all Android device activities real-time (e.g. if the Android device crashes, the console prints the exception trace). How to get this monitoring facility on a terminal? – mercury0114 Jul 14 '17 at 01:13
How to prevent the gradle from Downloading the -> Downloading services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-2.xyz-all.zip . I noticed the gradle builds the android project fine but on the command line there is an issue of proxy setting. It can be resolved by putting the proxy settigns (but right now I dont have that priviledge) but I just want to bypass the downloading thing..How can I do that? – Raulp Feb 19 '18 at 06:15
i am getting error when build from command line ./gradlew assebleDebug Cannot find symbol DataBindingComponent – Chetan Chaudhari Jan 10 '19 at 10:45
on windows `c:\path_to_my_app\gradlew.bat assemblyDebug ` replace c with your drive and path_to_my_app with your subfolder(s) path... – tgkprog Mar 13 '22 at 10:16

score 32 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 25 '15 at 01:46

32

Try this (OS X only):

brew install homebrew/versions/gradle110
gradle build

You can use gradle tasks to see all tasks available for the current project. No Android Studio is needed here.

answered Mar 25 '15 at 01:46

superarts.org

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Make sure you have homebrew installed to begin with! – amitavk Aug 28 '15 at 20:25
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"no Android Studio needed" - unless you need the Android SDK I guess. At any rate, the project I am trying to build does ask for it. – hmijail Jul 25 '17 at 17:22

score 32 · Answer 3 · edited May 29 '21 at 04:50

32

there are two build types to build your application using the Gradle build settings: one for debugging your application — debug — and one for building your final package for release — release mode.

Building in Debug Mode

First Navigate to Android studio project Root folder using CMD
run this command gradlew.bat assembleDebug
Output window look like this

Build signed apk in Release Mode

Edit the build.gradle file to build your project in release mode:

 android {
 ...
 defaultConfig { ... }
 signingConfigs {
     release {
         storeFile file("myreleasekey.keystore")
         storePassword "password"
         keyAlias "MyReleaseKey"
         keyPassword "password"
     }
 }
 buildTypes {
     release {
         ...
         signingConfig signingConfigs.release
     }
 }}

run this command gradlew.bat assembleRelease

edited May 29 '21 at 04:50

phrogg

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answered May 05 '16 at 07:38

Dhaval Jivani

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Is there a way to auto launch app after build successfull ? – Ambar Jain Jan 24 '17 at 07:57
I can't find any way to auto launch app after build – Dhaval Jivani Jan 27 '17 at 12:18
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@DhavalJivani launch it in an emulator you mean? If so that's just simple adb commands. You can even target a specific activity to launch. https://developer.android.com/studio/command-line/adb.html – blizz Feb 18 '17 at 06:32
@DhavalJivani what is best way to test android app in automation testing?. As for web we have selenium in python and node. – Harsh Manvar Nov 17 '19 at 18:34

williamvds · Answer 4 · 2020-10-25T12:38:44.210

1. Install Gradle and the Android SDK

Either

Install these however you see fit
Run ./gradlew, or gradlew.bat if on Windows
- chmod +x ./gradlew may be necessary

From this point onwards, gradle refers to running Gradle whichever way you've chosen. Substitute accordingly.

2. Setup the Android SDK

If you've manually installed the SDK
- export ANDROID_HOME=<install location>
- You may want to put that in your ~/.profile if it's not done automatically
Accept the licenses: yes | sdkmanager --licenses
- sdkmanager can be found in $ANDROID_HOME/tools/bin
- sdkmanager may have to be run as root
Try running gradle
- If there are complaints about licenses or SDKs not being found, fix the directory permissions
  - chown -R user:group $ANDROID_HOME
  - If you're reckless and/or the only user: chmod 777 -R $ANDROID_HOME

3. Building

gradle tasks lists all tasks that can be run
:app:[appname] is the prefix of all tasks, which you'll see in the Gradle logs when you're building
- This can be excluded when running a task

Some essential tasks

gradle assemble: build all variants of your app
- Resulting .apks are in app/[appname]/build/outputs/apk/[debug/release]
gradle assembleDebug or assembleRelease: build just the debug or release versions
gradle installDebug or installRelease build and install to an attached device
- Have adb installed
- Attach a device with USB debugging and USB file transfer enabled
- Run adb devices, check that your device is listed and device is beside it

Automatically build and install upon changes

This avoids having to continuously run the same commands

gradle -t --continue installDebug

-t: aka --continuous, automatically re-runs the task after a file is changed
--continue: Continue after errors. Prevents stopping when errors occur

Run `gradle -h` for more help

score 9 · Answer 5 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

9

You're likely here because you want to install it too!

Build

gradlew

(On Windows gradlew.bat)

Then Install

adb install -r exampleApp.apk

(The -r makes it replace the existing copy, add an -s if installing on an emulator)

Bonus

I set up an alias in my ~/.bash_profile, to make it a 2char command.

alias bi="gradlew && adb install -r exampleApp.apk"

(Short for Build and Install)

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

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answered Oct 08 '17 at 08:57

Gibolt

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score 7 · Answer 6 · answered Jun 20 '17 at 09:47

7

Cheatsheet for running Gradle from the command line for Android Studio projects on Linux:

cd <project-root>
./gradlew
./gradlew tasks
./gradlew --help

Should get you started..

answered Jun 20 '17 at 09:47

bph

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zeitgeist · Answer 7 · 2021-08-03T10:41:38.277

I faced the same problem and seems that there have been many changes by google.

I can tell you the steps for installing purely via command line from scratch. I tested it on Ubuntu on 22 Feb 2021.

create sdk folder

export ANDROID_SDK_ROOT=/usr/lib/android-sdk
sudo mkdir -p $ANDROID_SDK_ROOT

install openjdk

sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jdk

download android sdk

Go to https://developer.android.com/studio/index.html Then down to Command line tools only Click on Linux link, accept the agreement and instead of downloading right click and copy link address

cd $ANDROID_SDK_ROOT
sudo wget https://dl.google.com/android/repository/commandlinetools-linux-6858069_latest.zip
sudo unzip commandlinetools-linux-6858069_latest.zip

move folders

Rename the unpacked directory from cmdline-tools to tools, and place it under $ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/cmdline-tools, so now it should look like: $ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/cmdline-tools/tools. And inside it, you should have: NOTICE.txt bin lib source.properties.

set path

PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/cmdline-tools/latest/bin:$ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/cmdline-tools/tools/bin

This had no effect for me, hence the next step

browse to sdkmanager

cd $ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/cmdline-tools/tools/bin

accept licenses

yes | sudo sdkmanager --licenses

create build

Finally, run this inside your project

chmod 777 gradlew
sudo ./gradlew assembleDebug

This creates an APK named -debug.apk at //build/outputs/apk/debug The file is already signed with the debug key and aligned with zipalign, so you can immediately install it on a device.

FINAL STEPS

Here are the final steps. Make 2 .sh files with these contents. Use chmod 777 before on both. No sudo required.

Download_APK_Code_NOSUDO4.sh

# Don't forget to do chmod 777 Download_APK_Code_NOSUDO2.sh
#!/bin/bash

if [ -d "camera-samples" ]; then
  echo "############################# Deleting older code base.      ######################################"
  rm -rf camera-samples
fi

echo "###########################     Download Source Code: Start ... #####################################"
git clone git://git.quicinc.com/camera-samples -b iot-concam-apk.lnx.1.1
echo "##########################      Download Source Code: Done . . . ####################################"

Build_App_NOSUDO4.sh

# Don't forget to do chmod 777 Build_App_NOSUDO2.sh
#!/bin/bash

currentDir=$(pwd)
export ANDROID_SDK_ROOT=$(pwd)

# echo "############################################   Install JDK ...  ################################################"
# apt-get install openjdk-8-jdk

if [ -e "commandlinetools-linux-6858069_latest.zip" ]; then
  echo "############################# Deleting older zip file.      ######################################"
  rm -rf commandlinetools-linux-6858069_latest.zip
fi
echo "###########################################   Download Command Line Tools .. ###################################"
wget https://dl.google.com/android/repository/commandlinetools-linux-6858069_latest.zip
echo "###########################################   Download Command Line Tools Done .. ##############################"

if [ -d "cmdline-tools" ]; then
  echo "############################# Deleting older cmdline-tools.      ######################################"
  rm -rf cmdline-tools
fi
echo "###########################################   Unzip Command Line Tools Start .. #################################"
unzip commandlinetools-linux-6858069_latest.zip
echo "###########################################   Unzip Command Line Tools Done .. #################################"


echo "###########################################   Creating Directory Structure .. #################################"
mv cmdline-tools tools
mkdir cmdline-tools
cp -r  tools cmdline-tools/
rm -rf tools/


PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/cmdline-tools/latest/bin:$ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/cmdline-tools/tools/bin
echo "##########################################   Updated Path : $PATH ###############################################"

cd $ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/cmdline-tools/tools/bin

echo "##########################################   Accept All Licenses .. #############################################"
yes | sdkmanager --licenses

cd $currentDir/camera-samples/Camera2Video
echo "sdk.dir = $ANDROID_SDK_ROOT" > local.properties

echo "########################################     Building APK . . . #################################################"
chmod 777 gradlew
./gradlew assembleDebug
echo "#######################################      Building APK Done. . .  ############################################"

echo "##################################### APK generated here:  $currentDir/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk ###################################"
##########################################################

Run these commands.

chmod 777 Download_APK_Code_NOSUDO4.sh
chmod 777 Build_App_NOSUDO4.sh
./Download_APK_Code_NOSUDO4.sh
./Build_App_NOSUDO4.sh

REFERENCES

https://gist.github.com/guipmourao/3e7edc951b043f6de30ca15a5cc2be40

Android Command line tools sdkmanager always shows: Warning: Could not create settings

"Failed to install the following Android SDK packages as some licences have not been accepted" error

https://developer.android.com/studio/build/building-cmdline#sign_cmdline

///////////////////////////////////

WINDOWS

Here are the steps for Windows via Powershell. Tested on 6th March 2021. You can start completely from scratch.

Prerequisites

Download git
Install JDK. I used jdk-8u281-windows-x64.exe

Make a file DownloadAndBuild.ps1 with these contents.


$location = Get-Location

if (Test-Path "$location\camera-samples") {
    Write-Host "########################### Deleting older code base: Start. ################################"
    Remove-Item -Force -Recurse -Path "$location\camera-samples"
    Write-Host "########################### Deleting older code base: Done. #################################"
}
Write-Host "########################## Download Source Code: Start. #####################################"
git clone https://source.codeaurora.org/quic/la/camera-samples -b iot-concam-apk.lnx.1.1
Write-Host "########################## Download Source Code: Done. ####################################"


if (Test-Path "$location\commandlinetools-win-6858069_latest.zip") {
    Write-Host "########################### Deleting older zip file: Start. ################################"
    Remove-Item -Force -Recurse -Path "$location\commandlinetools-win-6858069_latest.zip"
    Write-Host "########################### Deleting older zip file: Done. #################################"
}
Write-Host "########################## Download Command Line Tools: Start. #####################################"
$client = new-object System.Net.WebClient
$client.DownloadFile("https://dl.google.com/android/repository/commandlinetools-win-6858069_latest.zip","commandlinetools-win-6858069_latest.zip")
Write-Host "########################## Download Command Line Tools: End. #####################################"

if (Test-Path "$location\cmdline-tools") {
    Write-Host "########################### Deleting older folder: Start. ################################"
    Remove-Item -Force -Recurse -Path "$location\cmdline-tools"
    Write-Host "########################### Deleting older folder: Done. #################################"
}
Write-Host "########################## Extract Command Line Tools: Start. #####################################"
Expand-Archive "$location\commandlinetools-win-6858069_latest.zip" -DestinationPath "$location"
Write-Host "########################## Extract Command Line Tools: End. #####################################"



Write-Host "########################## Create Directory Structure: Start. #####################################"
Rename-Item -Path "$location\cmdline-tools" -newName "$location\tools"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$location\cmdline-tools"
Move-Item -Path "$location\tools" -Destination "$location\cmdline-tools"
Write-Host "########################## Create Directory Structure: End. #####################################"

Write-Host "########################## Accept Licenses: Start. #####################################"
Set-Location -Path $location/cmdline-tools/tools/bin
for($i=0;$i -lt 100;$i++) { $response += "y`n"}; $response | ./sdkmanager.bat --licenses
Write-Host "########################## Accept Licenses: End. #####################################"


Write-Host "########################## Build APK: Start. #####################################"
Set-Location -Path $location/camera-samples/Camera2Video
$Env:ANDROID_SDK_ROOT = $location
.\gradlew assembleDebug
Write-Host "########################## Build APK: End. #####################################"

Write-Host "##################################### APK generated here:  $location/camera-samples/Camera2Video/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk ###################################"
PAUSE

Right-click and run via Powershell. This will download an Android project via git, install the SDK and build the Android App.

Edit as per your convenience.

While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - [From Review](/review/low-quality-posts/28382761) — Muhammad Dyas Yaskur, Feb 22 '21 at 17:54

yoAlex5 · Answer 8 · 2023-04-09T18:25:33.180

5

Build Android app by command line

MacOS variant

./gradlew <moduleName>:assemble<build_variant>
//e.g
./gradlew <moduleName>:assembleDebug

*./ means current directory

[More info]

edited Apr 09 '23 at 18:25

answered May 30 '21 at 16:06

yoAlex5

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score 4 · Answer 9 · answered Mar 26 '18 at 05:48

4

For Mac use this command

  ./gradlew task-name

answered Mar 26 '18 at 05:48

Happy

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Naveen Kumawat · Answer 10 · 2018-11-29T16:19:50.650

2

Only for MAC Users

Extending Vji's answer.

Step by step procedure:

Open Terminal
Change your directory to your Project(cd PathOfYourProject)
Copy and paste this command and hit enter:
```
chmod +x gradlew
```
As Vji suggested:
```
./gradlew task-name
```
DON'T FORGOT TO ADD .(DOT) BEFORE /gradlew

edited Nov 29 '18 at 16:19

answered Jun 03 '18 at 18:47

Naveen Kumawat

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score 2 · Answer 11 · answered May 07 '19 at 01:04

Official Documentation is here:

To build a debug APK, open a command line and navigate to the root of your project directory. To initiate a debug build, invoke the assembleDebug task:

gradlew assembleDebug

This creates an APK named module_name-debug.apk in project_name/module_name/build/outputs/apk/.

score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Apr 15 '20 at 04:06

note, you can also do this within Android Studio by clicking the gradle window, and then the 'elephant' button. This will open a new window called "run anything" (can also be found by searching for that name in 'search everywhere') where you can manually type any gradle command you want in. Not "quite" command line, but often provides more of what I need than windows command line.

This allows you to give optional params to gradle tasks, etc.

score -1 · Answer 13 · answered Jan 22 '19 at 05:55

-1

enter code hereCreate script file with below gradle and adb command, Execute script file

./gradlew clean

./gradlew assembleDebug ./gradlew installDebug

adb shell am start -n applicationID/full path of launcher activity

answered Jan 22 '19 at 05:55

user2851150

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5
12

score -2 · Answer 14 · answered Aug 13 '18 at 09:27

-2

Adding value to all these answers,

many have asked the command for running App in AVD after build sucessful.

adb install -r {path-to-your-bild-folder}/{yourAppName}.apk

answered Aug 13 '18 at 09:27

AbhinayMe

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Build Android Studio app via command line

14 Answers14

Building in Debug Mode

Build signed apk in Release Mode

1. Install Gradle and the Android SDK

2. Setup the Android SDK

3. Building

Run `gradle -h` for more help

You're likely here because you want to install it too!

Build

Then Install

Bonus

create sdk folder

install openjdk

download android sdk

move folders

set path

browse to sdkmanager

accept licenses

create build

FINAL STEPS

REFERENCES

WINDOWS

Linked

Build Android Studio app via command line

14 Answers14

Building in Debug Mode

Build signed apk in Release Mode

1. Install Gradle and the Android SDK

2. Setup the Android SDK

3. Building

Run gradle -h for more help

You're likely here because you want to install it too!

Build

Then Install

Bonus

create sdk folder

install openjdk

download android sdk

move folders

set path

browse to sdkmanager

accept licenses

create build

FINAL STEPS

REFERENCES

WINDOWS

Linked

Run `gradle -h` for more help