The Android SDK includes an Android device emulator—a virtual device that runs on your computer. The Android Emulator lets you develop and test Android apps without using a physical device.
This page describes command-line features that you can use with the Android Emulator. For information about using the Android Emulator UI, see Run apps on the Android Emulator.
Start the emulator
Use the emulator command to start the emulator, as an alternative to
running your project or
starting it through the AVD Manager.
Here's the basic command-line syntax for starting a virtual device from a terminal prompt:
emulator -avd avd_name [ {-option [value]} … ]
Or
emulator @avd_name [ {-option [value]} … ]
For example, if you launch the emulator from within Android Studio running on a Mac, the default command line will be similar to the following:
/Users/janedoe/Library/Android/sdk/emulator/emulator -avd Pixel8_API_34 -netdelay none -netspeed full -qt-hide-window -grpc-use-token -idle-grpc-timeout
Please note that the arguments -qt-hide-window -grpc-use-token -idle-grpc-timeout are only used to run the emulator window within Android Studio. If you want to run the emulator on its own window, you should not use those extra parameters.
You can specify startup options when you start the emulator, but not after it has started.
For a list of AVD names, enter the following command:
emulator -list-avds
Use this option to display a list of AVD names from your Android home directory.
You can override the default home directory by setting the ANDROID_SDK_HOME
environment variable that specifies the root of the
user-specific directory where all configuration and AVD content is stored.
You can set the environment variable in the terminal window before launching a
virtual device or through your user settings in the operating
system. For example, in your .bashrc file on Linux.
To stop the Android Emulator, close the emulator window.
Install an app
In addition to installing an app through Android Studio or the emulator
UI, you can install your app on a virtual device by using the adb utility.
To use adb to install, run, and test your app,
follow these general steps:
- Build and package your app into an APK, as described in Build and run your app.
- Start the emulator from the command line, as described in the previous section, using any startup options necessary.
- Install your app using
adb. - Run and test your app on the emulator.
While the emulator is running, you can use the Emulator console to issue commands as needed.
To uninstall an app, do so as you would on an Android device.
The virtual device preserves the app and its state data across restarts
in a user data disk partition (userdata-qemu.img). To clear this
data, start the emulator with the -wipe-data option or wipe the
data in the AVD Manager. For more information about the user data
partition and other storage, see the following section.
Note: The adb utility views the virtual device as
an actual physical device. For this reason, you might have to use the
-d flag with some common adb commands, such as
install. The -d flag lets you specify which of several
connected devices to use as the target of a command. If you don't specify
-d, the emulator targets the first device in its list.
Understand the default directories and files
The emulator uses associated files, of which the AVD system and data directories are the most important. It's helpful to understand the emulator directory structure and files when specifying command-line options, although you typically don't need to modify the default directories or files.
The Android Emulator uses the (QEMU) hypervisor.
AVD system directory
The system directory contains the Android system images that the emulator uses to simulate the operating system. This directory has platform-specific, read-only files shared by all AVDs of the same type, including API level, CPU architecture, and Android variant. The default locations are the following:
- macOS and Linux -
~/Library/Android/sdk/system-images/android-apiLevel/variant/arch/ - Windows -
C:\Users\user\Library\Android\sdk\system-images\android-apiLevel\variant\arch\
Where:
apiLevelis a numeric API level or a letter for preview releases. For example,android-Vindicates the Android VanillaIceCream preview. On release, it became API level 35, designated byandroid-35.variantis a name corresponding to specific features implemented by the system image. For example,google_apisorandroid-wear.archis the target CPU architecture. For example,x86.
Use the -sysdir option to specify a different system directory for
the AVD.
The emulator reads the following files from the system directory:
Table 1. System directory files read by the Android Emulator
| File | Description | Option to specify a different file |
|---|---|---|
kernel-qemu or kernel-ranchu
|
The binary kernel image for the AVD. kernel-ranchu is based on the
QEMU emulator.
|
-kernel
|
ramdisk.img
|
The boot partition image. This is a subset of system.img
loaded by the kernel initially before the system image is mounted. It
typically contains just a few binaries and initialization scripts.
|
-ramdisk
|
system.img
|
The read-only, initial version of the system image. Specifically, the partition containing the system libraries and data corresponding to the API level and variant. | -system
|
userdata.img
|
The initial version of the data partition, which appears as
data/ in the emulated system and contains all writable data for the
AVD. The emulator uses this file when you create a new AVD or use the
‑wipe-data option. For more information, see the
userdata-qemu.img file description in the following section.
|
-initdata
-init-data
|
AVD data directory
The AVD data directory, also called the content directory, is specific to a single AVD instance and contains all modifiable data for the AVD.
The default location is the following, where name is the
AVD name:
- macOS and Linux -
~/.android/avd/name.avd/ - Windows 10, and higher -
C:\Users\user\.android\name.avd\
Use the -datadir option to specify a different AVD data directory.
The following table lists the most important files contained in this directory:
Table 2. Important files in the AVD data directory
| File | Description | Option to specify a different file |
|---|---|---|
userdata-qemu.img
|
The content of the data partition, which appears as
Each virtual device instance uses a writable user-data image to store user and
session-specific data. For example, it uses the image to store a unique user's
installed app data, settings, databases, and files. Each user has a
different |
-data
|
cache.img
|
The cache partition image, which appears as cache/ in the
emulated system. It's empty when you first create an AVD or use the
-wipe-data option. It stores temporary download files and is
populated by the download manager and sometimes the system. For example, the
browser uses it to cache downloaded web pages and images while the emulator is
running. When you power off the virtual device, the file is deleted. You can
persist the file by using the -cache option.
|
-cache
|
sdcard.img
|
(Optional) An SD card partition image that lets you simulate an SD
card on a virtual device. You can create an SD card image file in the AVD
Manager or using the
When defining an AVD in the AVD Manager, you can choose
to use an automatically managed SD card file or a file that you created with
the
You can browse, send files to, and copy and remove files from a simulated SD
card by using the emulator UI or the
To copy files to the SD card file before loading it, mount the image
file as a loop device and then copy the files. Or, use a utility, such as the
The emulator treats the file as a pool of bytes, so the SD card format doesn't matter.
The |
-sdcard
|
List directories and files used by the emulator
You can discover where files are located in two ways:
- Use the
-verboseor-debug initoption when you start the emulator from the command line. Look at the output. - Use the
emulator-help-optioncommand to list a default directory. For example:emulator -help-datadir
Use '-datadir <dir>' to specify a directory where writable image files will be searched. On this system, the default directory is: /Users/me/.android See '-help-disk-images' for more information about disk image files.
Command-line startup options
This section lists options you can supply on the command line when you start the emulator.
Note: The Android Emulator is continually under development to make it more reliable. For status on the issues reported against various command-line options and to report bugs, see the Android Issue Tracker.
Commonly used options
The following table lists command-line startup options that you might use more often:
Table 3. Commonly used command-line options
| Command-line option | Description |
|---|---|
| Quick Boot | |
-no-snapshot-load
|
Performs a cold boot and saves the emulator state on exit. |
-no-snapshot-save
|
Performs a quick boot if possible, but does not save the emulator state on exit. |
-no-snapshot
|
Disables the Quick Boot feature completely and doesn't load or save the emulator state. |
| Device Hardware | |
-camera-back mode-camera-front mode
|
Sets the emulation mode for a camera facing back or front. This overrides any camera setting
in the AVD.
For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -camera-back webcam0 |
-webcam-list
|
Lists the webcams on your development computer that are available for emulation. For
example:emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -webcam-list
List of web cameras connected to the computer:
Camera 'webcam0' is connected to device 'webcam0'
on channel 0 using pixel format 'UYVY'
In the example, the first As of SDK Tools 25.2.4, the AVD name is required. |
| Disk images and memory | |
-memory size
|
Specifies the physical RAM size, from 1536 to 8192 MBs. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -memory 2048 This value overrides the AVD setting. |
-sdcard filepath
|
Specifies the filename and path to an SD card partition image file. For
example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -sdcard C:/sd/sdcard.img If the file isn't found, the emulator still launches, but without an SD card. The command returns a No SD Card Image warning.
If you don't specify this option, the default is |
-wipe-data
|
Deletes user data and copies data from the initial data file. This option
clears the data for the virtual device and returns it to the same state as when
it was first defined. All installed apps and settings are removed. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -wipe-data
By default, the user data file is |
| Debug | |
-debug tags
|
Enables or disables the display of debug messages for one or more tags.
Separate multiple tags by a space, comma, or column. For example:
$ emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -debug init,metrics To disable a tag, place a dash (-) in front of it. For example, the following option displays all debug messages, except the ones related to network sockets and metrics:
For a list of tags and descriptions, use the
emulator -help-debug-tags
You can define the default debug tags in the
ANDROID_VERBOSE=socket,gles It's equivalent to using:
or
|
-debug-tag-debug-no-tag
|
Enables a specific debug message type. Use the no form to
disable a debug message type. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -debug-all -debug-no-metrics
For a list of tags, use the |
-logcat logtags
|
Enables the display of Logcat messages for one or more tags and writes
them to the terminal window. For example, the following command enables error
messages from all components:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -logcat *:e
The following example displays GSM component messages at the informative log level:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -logcat '*:s GSM:i'
If you don't supply the For more
information about Logcat and |
-show-kernel
|
Displays kernel debug messages in the terminal window. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -show-kernel One use of this option is to check that the boot process works correctly. |
-verbose
|
Prints emulator initialization messages to the terminal window. For
example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -verbose
It displays which files and settings are actually selected when starting a
virtual device defined in an AVD. This option is the same as specifying
|
| Network | |
-dns-server servers
|
Uses the specified DNS servers. servers is a
comma-separated list of up to four DNS server names or IP addresses. For
example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -dns-server 192.0.2.0,
By default, the emulator tries to detect the DNS servers you're using and sets
up special aliases in the emulated firewall network to allow the Android system
to connect directly to the servers. Use the |
-http-proxy proxy
|
Makes all TCP connections through a specified HTTP/HTTPS proxy. If your
emulator must access the internet through a proxy server, you can use this
option or the http_proxy environment variable to set up the
appropriate redirection. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -http-proxy myserver:1981
The
If this option isn't supplied, the emulator looks up the |
-netdelay delay
|
Sets network latency emulation to one of the following
For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -netdelay gsm
The emulator supports network throttling as well as higher connection latencies.
You can define it either through the skin configuration or with the
|
-netfast
|
Disables network throttling. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -netfast
This option is the same as specifying |
-netspeed speed
|
Sets the network speed emulation. Specifies the maximum network upload and
download speeds with one of the following
For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -netspeed edge
The emulator supports network throttling as well as higher connection latencies.
You can define it either through the skin configuration or with the
|
-port port
|
Sets the TCP port number that's used for the console and adb. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -port 5556
The default value is 5554 for the first virtual device instance running on the
your machine. A virtual device normally occupies a pair of adjacent ports: a
console port and an
The port assignments are often the same as specifying The
Note that if the |
-ports
|
Sets the TCP ports used for the console and adb. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -ports 5556,5559
The valid ports range is 5554 to 5682, allowing for 64 concurrent virtual
devices. The
We recommend using the
For more information about setting console and |
-tcpdump filepath
|
Captures network packets and stores them in a file. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -tcpdump /path/dumpfile.cap Use this option to begin capturing all network packets that are sent through the virtual Ethernet LAN of the emulator. Afterward, you can use a tool like Wireshark to analyze the traffic. Note that this option captures all ethernet packets and isn't limited to TCP connections. |
| System | |
-accel mode
|
Configures emulator VM acceleration. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -accel auto Accelerated emulation works for x86 and x86_64 system images only. On Linux, it relies on KVM. On Windows and Mac, it relies on an Intel CPU and Intel HAXM driver. This option is ignored if you're not emulating an x86 or x86_64 device.
Valid values for
For more information, see Configure hardware acceleration for the Android Emulator. |
-accel-check
|
Checks whether a required hypervisor for emulator VM acceleration is
installed (HAXM or KVM). For example:
emulator -accel-check For more information, see Check if a hypervisor is installed. |
-engine engine
|
Specifies the emulator engine:
For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -engine auto
Auto-detection should choose the value that provides the best performance when
emulating a particular AVD. Use the |
-gpu mode
|
Selects the GPU emulation mode. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -gpu swiftshader_indirect For more information, see Configure graphics acceleration. |
-no-accel
|
Disables emulator VM acceleration when using an x86 or x86_64 system
image. It's useful for debugging only and is the same as specifying -accel
off. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -no-accel For more information, see Configure hardware acceleration for the Android Emulator. |
-nojni
-no-jni
|
Disables extended Java Native Interface (JNI) checks in the Android Dalvik
or ART runtime. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -nojni When you start a virtual device, extended JNI checks are enabled by default. For more information, see JNI tips. |
-selinux {disabled|permissive}
|
Sets the Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux)
security module to either disabled or permissive mode on a Linux operating
system. For example:
me-linux$ emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -selinux permissive
By default, SELinux is in |
-timezone timezone
|
Sets the time zone for the virtual device to
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -timezone Europe/Paris
By default, the emulator uses the time zone of your development computer. Use
this option to specify a different time zone or if the automatic detection isn't
working correctly. The
The specified time zone must be in the zoneinfo database. |
-version
|
Displays the emulator version number. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -version Or
emulator -version |
| UI | |
-no-boot-anim
|
Disables the boot animation during emulator startup for faster booting.
For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -no-boot-anim On slower computers, this option can significantly speed up the boot sequence. |
-screen mode
|
Sets emulated touch screen mode. For example:
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -screen no-touch
|
Advanced options
The command-line startup options in the following table are available but not commonly used by the average app developer.
In the descriptions, the working directory is the current directory in the terminal where you're entering commands. For information about the AVD system directory and data directory and the files stored within them, see the section about default directories and files.
Some of these options are appropriate for external app developers, and some of them are used primarily by platform developers. App developers create Android apps and run them on specific AVDs. Platform developers work on the Android system and run it inside the emulator with no pre-created AVD.
Table 4. Advanced command-line options
| Advanced option | Brief description |
|---|---|
-bootchart timeout
|
Enables bootcharting with a timeout in seconds. Some Android system images have a modified init system that integrates a bootcharting facility. You can pass a bootcharting timeout period to the system with this option. If your init system doesn't have bootcharting activated, the option does nothing. This option is primarily useful to platform developers, not external app developers. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -bootchart 120 |
-cache filepath
|
Specifies a cache partition image file. Provides a filename and an absolute path or a path relative to the data directory to set up a persistent cache file. If the file doesn't exist, the emulator creates it as an empty file. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -cache ~/.android/avd/Pixel8_API_34.avd/cache_persistent.img If you don't use this option, the default is a temporary file named
|
-cache-size size
|
Sets the cache partition size in MBs. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -cache-size 1000 If you don't specify this option, the default is 66 MB. Normally, most app developers don't need this option, unless they need to download very large files that are larger than the default cache. For more information about the cache file, see AVD data directory. |
-data filepath
|
Sets the user data partition image file. Provides a filename and an
absolute path or a path relative to the working directory to set up a
persistent user data file. If the file doesn't exist, the emulator creates an
image from the default For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -data ~/.android/avd/Pixel8_API_34.avd/userdata-test.img If you don't use this option, the default is a file named |
-datadir dir
|
Specifies a data directory using an absolute path. For more information, see AVD data directory. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -datadir ~/.android/avd/Pixel8_API_34.avd/mytest |
-force-32bit
|
Uses the 32-bit emulator on 64-bit platforms. Occasionally, this option is useful for testing or debugging. For example, there was an issue where the emulator would sometimes not run on 64-bit Windows, but 32-bit did run. This option was helpful for performing comparisons to debug the issue. Here's an example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -force-32bit |
-help-disk-images
|
Gets help about about disk images. This option provides information relevant to both app and platform developers. For example: emulator -help-disk-images |
-help-char-devices
|
Gets help about character emulator -help-char-devices |
-help-sdk-images
|
Gets help about disk images relevant to app developers. This option gets information about where the image files are located for an AVD created with the SDK tools. For example: emulator -help-sdk-images |
-help-build-images
|
Gets help about disk images relevant to platform developers. For example: emulator -help-build-images |
-initdata filepath-init-data
filepath
|
Specifies the initial version of the data partition. After wiping
user data, the emulator copies the contents of the specified file to user
data (by default, the For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -initdata ~/Library/Android/sdk/system-images/android-34/ google_apis/x86_64/userdata-test.img If you don't specify a path, it places the file in the system directory. For more information, see AVD system directory. |
-kernel filepath
|
Uses a specific emulated kernel. If you don't specify a path, the emulator looks in the system directory. Use the‑show‑kernel option to view kernel debug messages.
For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -kernel ~/Library/Android/sdk/system-images/android-34/ google_apis/x86_64/kernel-test.img -show-kernel If you don't specify this option, the default is |
-noaudio
-no-audio
|
Disables audio support for this virtual device. Some Linux and Windows
computers have faulty audio drivers that cause different symptoms, such as
preventing the emulator from starting. In this case, use this option to
overcome the issue. Alternatively, you can use the For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -noaudio |
-nocache
-no-cache
|
Starts the emulator without a cache partition. If you don't use this
option, the default is a temporary file named For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -nocache |
-no-snapshot
|
Inhibits both the automatic load and save operations, causing the emulator
to execute a full boot sequence and to lose its state when closed. It overrides
the For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -no-snapshot |
-no-snapshot-load
|
Prevents the emulator from loading the AVD state from snapshot storage. Performs a full boot. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -no-snapshot-load |
-no-snapshot-save
|
Prevents the emulator from saving the AVD state to snapshot storage on exit, meaning that all changes will be lost. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -no-snapshot-save |
-no-snapshot-update-time
|
Doesn't try to correct the AVD clock time immediately on snapshot restore. This option can be useful during testing as it avoids a sudden time jump. Time updates are still sent to the AVD about every 15 seconds. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -no-snapshot-update-time |
-no-snapstorage
|
Starts the emulator without mounting a file to store or load state
snapshots, forcing a full boot and disabling state snapshot functionality. This
option overrides the For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -no-snapstorage |
-no-window
|
Disables graphical window display on the emulator. This option is useful
when running the emulator on servers that have no display. You can access the emulator through
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -no-window |
-partition-size size
|
Specifies the system data partition size in MBs. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -partition-size 1024 |
-prop name=value
|
Sets an Android system property in the emulator when it boots.
emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -prop qemu.name=value -prop qemu.abc=xyz |
-qemu args
|
Passes arguments to the QEMU emulator software. When using this option, make sure it's the last option specified, as all options after it are interpreted as QEMU-specific options. This option is quite advanced and should be used only by developers who are very familiar with QEMU and Android emulation. |
-qemu -h
|
Displays emulator -qemu -h |
-ramdisk filepath
|
Specifies a ramdisk boot image. Specifies the filename and an absolute path or a path relative to the working directory. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -ramdisk ~/Library/Android/sdk/system-images/android-34/ google_apis/x86_64/ramdisk-test.img If you don't use this option, the
default is the |
-report-console socket
|
Reports the console port to a remote third party before starting
emulation. It can be useful for an automated testing script.
For more information, use the |
-shell
|
Creates a root shell console on the current terminal. This option differs from the
For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -shell |
-snapshot name
|
Specifies the name of a snapshot within a snapshot storage file for automatic start and save operations. Rather than executing a full boot sequence, the emulator can resume execution from an earlier state snapshot, which is usually significantly faster. When you supply this option, the emulator loads the snapshot of that name from the snapshot image and saves it back under the same name on exit. If you don't use this option, the default is a full boot sequence. If the specified snapshot doesn't exist, the emulator performs a full boot sequence instead and performs a save operation. See the emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -snapshot snapshot2 Remember that in the process of loading a snapshot, all contents of the system, user data, and SD card images are overwritten with the contents they held when the snapshot was made. Unless you save this information in a different snapshot, any changes since then are lost. You can also create a snapshot from the emulator console by using the
|
-snapshot-list
|
Displays a list of available snapshots. This command prints a table of snapshots
that are stored in the snapshot storage file that the emulator was started
with, then exits. If you specify For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -snapshot-list -snapstorage ~/.android/avd/Pixel8_API_34.avd/snapshots-test.img You can use the ID and TAG column values in the output
as arguments for the |
-snapstorage filepath
|
Specifies a repository file that contains all state snapshots. All snapshots made during execution are saved in this file. Only snapshots in this file can be restored during the emulator run. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -snapstorage ~/.android/avd/Pixel8_API_34.avd/snapshots-test.img If you don't specify this option, the default is |
-sysdir dir
|
Specifies a system directory using an absolute path. For more information, see AVD system directory. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -sysdir ~/Library/Android/sdk/system-images/android-34/ google_apis/x86_64/test |
-system filepath
|
Specifies an initial system file. Provides the filename and an absolute path or a path relative to the working directory. For example: emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -system ~/Library/Android/sdk/system-images/android-34/ google_apis/x86_64/system-test.img If you don't use this option, the
default is the |
-use-system-libs
|
On Linux, uses the system For example: me-linux$ emulator @Pixel8_API_34 -use-system-libs |
-writable-system
|
Use this option to have a writable system image during your emulation session. To do so:
Using this flag creates a temporary copy of the system image that can be very large, up to several hundred MBs, but will be destroyed when the emulator exits. |
Deprecated options
The following command-line options are deprecated:
-audio-in-audio-out-charmap-code-profile-cpu-delay-dpi-device-dynamic_skin-enable-kvm-gps-image-keyset-help-keys-help-keyset-file-nand-limits-noskin-no-skin-onion-onion-alpha-onion-rotation-radio-ranchu-raw-keys-scale-shared-net-id-shell-serial-skin-skindir-trace-useaudio
Get help about command-line options
This section describes how to get help about the command-line options. It provides more in-depth information about the commonly used emulator command-line options that are available when you start the emulator.
List all emulator options
To print a list of all emulator options, including a short description, enter the following command:
emulator -help
Get detailed help for a specific option
To print help for a specific startup option, enter the following command:
emulator -help-option
For example:
emulator -help-netspeed
This help is more detailed than the description provided by the
-help option.
Get detailed help for all options
To get detailed help for all emulator options, enter the following command:
emulator -help-all
List emulator environment variables
To get a list of emulator environment variables, enter the following command:
emulator -help-environment
You can set environment variables in the terminal window before launching a
virtual device, or you can set it through your user settings in the operating
system. For example, set it in your .bashrc file on Linux.
List debug tags
To print a list of tags for the -debug options, enter the following command:
emulator -help-debug-tags
The -debug options let you enable or disable debug messages from
specific emulator components, as specified by the tags.