Android Development Setup

This guide covers setting up Android emulators for Soundcheck mobile app development.

Prerequisites

Android Studio with Android SDK
Node.js v20+
npm package manager

Available emulators

Recommended Android Virtual Devices (AVDs):

Device	Android Version	Recommended
Pixel 3 API 31	Android 12
Pixel 4 API 32	Android 12L
Pixel 4 API 33	Android 13	✅

Quick commands

Start the emulator

# Start the Pixel 4 API 33 emulator
$ANDROID_HOME/emulator/emulator -avd Pixel_4_API_33 &

# Or for other devices
$ANDROID_HOME/emulator/emulator -avd Pixel_3_API_31 &
$ANDROID_HOME/emulator/emulator -avd Pixel_4_API_32 &

Check connected devices

adb devices

Run your Expo app

# Make sure emulator is running first, then:
npx expo start --android

# Or start the dev server and press 'a' for Android
npx expo start
# Then press 'a' in the terminal

Port forwarding (if needed)

adb reverse tcp:8081 tcp:8081

Open Expo Go manually

adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "exp://127.0.0.1:8081" host.exp.exponent

Environment variables

Your ~/.zshrc should be configured with:

export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Library/Android/sdk
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/emulator
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/tools
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/tools/bin

Restart your terminal or run source ~/.zshrc for these to take effect.

Troubleshooting

Emulator Not Starting

If the emulator doesn’t start, make sure Android Studio is properly configured:

Open Android Studio
Go to Tools → AVD Manager
Check that your virtual devices are listed
Click the play button to start one

App Not Loading

Make sure the emulator is fully booted (you can see the Android home screen)
Check that adb can see the device: adb devices
Restart the Expo dev server: npx expo start --android
Set up port forwarding: adb reverse tcp:8081 tcp:8081

Port Already in Use

If you get a port conflict:

# Kill the process using port 8081
lsof -ti:8081 | xargs kill -9

# Then restart Expo
npx expo start --android

HAXM/KVM Issues

For hardware acceleration issues:macOS (Intel):

brew install intel-haxm

macOS (Apple Silicon): Hardware acceleration is native - no additional setup needed.Linux:

sudo apt install qemu-kvm
sudo adduser $USER kvm

Creating a new AVD

Open AVD Manager

In Android Studio, go to Tools → AVD Manager or click the phone icon in the toolbar.

Create Virtual Device

Click Create Virtual Device.

Select Hardware

Choose a device definition (e.g., Pixel 4) and click Next.

Select System Image

Select an Android version (API 33+ recommended). Click Download if not already installed.

Configure AVD

Name your AVD and adjust settings as needed. Click Finish.

Development build

For features that don’t work with Expo Go (like full notification support), create a development build:

# Build for Android
npx eas build --profile development --platform android

# Install the APK on your emulator
adb install path/to/your-app.apk

Overview

Backend

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API reference

Frontend

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Infrastructure

CI/CD

Development

Guides

Reference

Android Development Setup

Prerequisites

Available emulators

Quick commands

Start the emulator

Check connected devices

Run your Expo app

Port forwarding (if needed)

Open Expo Go manually

Environment variables

Troubleshooting

Creating a new AVD

Development build

Resources

​Prerequisites

​Available emulators

​Quick commands

​Start the emulator

​Check connected devices

​Run your Expo app

​Port forwarding (if needed)

​Open Expo Go manually

​Environment variables

​Troubleshooting

​Creating a new AVD

​Development build

​Resources

Prerequisites

Available emulators

Quick commands

Start the emulator

Check connected devices

Run your Expo app

Port forwarding (if needed)

Open Expo Go manually

Environment variables

Troubleshooting

Creating a new AVD

Development build

Resources