Complete Installation Guide for Android SDK / ADT Bundle on Ubuntu

Actually, I think you should use Android Studio to develop android application. However, if you have your reason to use eclipse, you can follow the following guide.

Target     : Super Newbies
IDE        : Eclipse
Description: Provide a GUI method to install Android IDE using Eclipse

1. Installing Java Runtime (JDK) and Eclipse IDE

• Search Software on Ubuntu and launch Ubuntu Software Center

  

• Search Java on Ubuntu Software Center and then install the OpenJDK Java Runtime.

  

• Search Eclipse on Ubuntu Software Center and then install it.

  

• If you have successfully installed eclipse and JDK, it will appear in the search result on your computer.

  

• For the JDK, you can also press CTRL + ALT + T to open a terminal and type command java -version to check again.

  

• Tips : Lock the eclipse icon on launcher.

  

2. Downloading SDK

• Go to http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html to download the latest version of SDK.

• Scroll down and click DOWNLOAD FROM OTHER PLATFORMS

• Click android-sdk_r22.6.2-linux.tgz under Linux 32 & 64-bit of SDK Tools Only.

  

• Tick I have read and agree with the above terms and conditions and click Download android-sdk_r22.6.2-linux.tgz.

  

• Wait for the download process.

  

3. Preparing for Installation

• Go to the location where you set to download the file.

• Rigth click the file[.tgz] and select Extract Here.

  

• Now you can see that a file called android-sdk-linux appears as if the following.

  

• Enter the folder android-sdk-linux.

  

• Enter the folder tools and then copy the folder location.

  

• Press the keys CTRL + ALT + T to open a terminal and then use the following command. Where /home/casper/Downloads/android-sdk-linux/tools is the location I copied previously. You can just type cd and right click to past the location to the terminal.

      cd /home/casper/Downloads/android-sdk-linux/tools
      ./android
  

  

• Now the Android SDK Manager will be run.

4. Installing Packages

• Click Install [Number] packages....

  

• Click Accept License and then click Install.

  

• Wait for the installation process.

  

• Finally, this message will be shown.

  

5. Editing ".bashrc"

• Press CTRL + ALT + T to open a new terminal and type : gedit ~/.bashrc

  

• Now the following text will appear.

  

• Add the following to the top of the entire text and then save it. (Do not close the file)

      export PATH=${PATH}:~/android-sdk-linux/tools
      export PATH=${PATH}:~/android-sdk-linux/platform-tools
  

• Example :

  

• [Recommended] Move the whole file android-sdk-linux to your eclipse's workspace and under a folder that you create named Android. Moreover, you have to copy the location.

  

• Now back to the ".bashrc" file and the replace the '~' with the location you copied previously and then save it and close it.

  

• Logout and relogin your Ubuntu system.

6. Setting Up an Android Virtual Device

• Press CTRL + ALT + T and type android avd to open the Android Virtual Device Manager.

  

  

• Click New.... Set up like the following and click OK.

  

• Click your virtual device and then click Start....

  

• Click Launch.

  

• Launching your virtual device

7. Installing ADT Plugin on Eclipse

• Start Eclipse and go to Help -> Install New Software...

  

• Click Add....

  

• Type the following and then click OK.

   Name     :    ADT Plugin
   Location :    https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/
  

  

• Tick the checkbox of Developer Tools and then click Next>.

  

• Click Next>.

  

• Click "I accept the..." and click Finish.

  

• Wait for the installation process.

  

• Restart eclipse.

  

• Click Open Preferences.

  

• Copy your own SDK location (The location of the file android-sdk-linux).

  

• Paste to the SDK Location: textbox and then click Apply and OK.

  

• Enjoy to create any android application with your Ubuntu.

  

Step 1

Check in System Settings -> Details, whether your Ubuntu is 32-bit or 64-bit

Step 2

(Using software centre or command lines) If your Ubuntu is a 32-bit OS then install libgl1-mesa-dev

In case of 64-bit OS install ia32-libs (Ubuntu 13.04 or earlier), or libgl1-mesa-dev:i386 (Ubuntu 13.10 and above)

Step 3

Install openjdk-8-jdk. If not compatible try openjdk-7-jdk, or if still not compatible openjdk-6-jdk

Step 4

Download the Android SDK command line tools here (they're located at the bottom of the page) and unzip it to a place where you can leave it as long as you need the Android SDK, /opt/ for instance.

Step 5

Check that the unzipped ADT Bundle folder (or Android SDK folder, as the case may be) have the folders tools and platform-tools. If platform-tools folder is absent, you should be able to install it from the android virtual device manager, which can be run by typing the command

   android

in the terminal. These folders contain some important commands stored. Add them to your executable path. Adding them to the path can be done as follows:

First execute gedit ~/.pam_environment. A file opens. Just add these lines to that file:

   PATH DEFAULT=${PATH}:/path/to/tools
   PATH DEFAULT=${PATH}:/path/to/platform-tools

Here you have to replace /path/to/tools and /path/to/platform-tools by the absolute paths according to where you unzipped the SDK or the ADT bundle download. Now all the commands adb, android, emulator etc can be simply executed in the terminal without giving absolute paths. That is, you will not get a "command not found" error if you gave it without its absolute path.

Step 6

Type android into the terminal and, if Step 5 was done correctly, the Android SDK Package Tool will start, where you can finish your installation.

This may seem to be a long answer, but I tried to explain every step as detailed as possible so nothing can go wrong. You can set this up in less than 5 minutes, even as a beginner.

1. You'll need Java to use Eclipse, so install it first:

   Eclipse is an IDE. The Android ADT package is being bundled with the Eclipse IDE by default. You can also choose to use another IDE (for example NetBeans) if you prefer, but because Eclipse is the default I'll cover only Eclipse in this tutorial.

   1. Open a terminal

      Search for it in your Dash or press CTRL + ALT + T

      

   2. Execute the following commands:

      sudo apt-get update
      sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jdk
      

      Check if you see any errors on your screen, then continue.

2. Now download the Android ADT bundle (this is Eclipse + the Android SDK):

   1. Click here to go to the download page.
   2. Click on Download the SDK (ADT Bundle for Linux)
   3. Check I have read and agree with the above terms and conditions

   4. Select your architecture:

      How can I check this?

      • Check 32-bit if you've a 32-bit Ubuntu
      • Check 64-bit if you've a 64-bit Ubuntu
   5. Click on Download the SDK ADT Bundle for Linux

3. Install the Android ADT bundle:

   1. Open the .zip file you've just downloaded

   2. Extract all files to a directory, for example:

      ~/ADT
      

      After extraction this directory should contain 2 other directories:

      ~/ADT/eclipse
      ~/ADT/sdk
      

4. Add the platform-tools binaries to your $PATH:

   This is not neccesary, it'll make commands like adb accesible from a terminal.

   1. Open a terminal

   2. Execute the following command:

      nano ~/.profile
      

   3. Add the following line on top:

      PATH="$HOME/ADT/sdk/platform-tools:$PATH"
      

   4. Save the file

      You can do this by pressing CTRL + X, Y, ENTER

5. Create a shortcut in your Dash to easily launch the ADT:

   1. Open a terminal

   2. Execute the following command

      nano ~/.local/share/applications/adt.desktop
      

   3. Paste this:

      This can be done by right cliking inside your terminal window and then click Paste.

      [Desktop Entry]
      Version=1.0
      Name=Android ADT
      Comment=Launch the Android ADT
      Exec=/home/username/ADT/eclipse/eclipse
      Icon=/home/username/ADT/eclipse/icon.xpm
      Terminal=false
      Type=Application
      Categories=Development;IDE;
      

      Note: Replace username by your username. You can get your username by executing whoami in a terminal.

   4. Save the file

   5. Execute the following command to make it executable:

      chmod +x ~/.local/share/applications/adt.desktop
      

If you've done everything right you've now succesfully installed the Android ADT. Open your Dash and search for ADT. Click on Android ADT to check if it's working!

You can also install adt and android-sdk from this PPA.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linuxgndu/adt-raring
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install adt android-sdk

To complete the installation of android-sdk you need to:

sudo sh /opt/android-sdk/install-sdk

You can also install android-studio:

sudo apt-get install android-studio

Now check that the installation went as expected:

android-sdk-manager

There is another alternative. Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) are supposed to make programming easier, one problem with them however is that it can be difficult to install the latest version of an IDE on a Linux system (Ubuntu) if they are not in the repos. Android Studio is one such IDE.

Android Studio is the official IDE for Android application development, based on IntelliJ IDEA. On top of the capabilities you expect from IntelliJ, Android Studio offers: Flexible Gradle-based build system Build variants and multiple apk file generation Code templates to help you build common app features Rich layout editor with support for drag and drop theme editing lint tools to catch performance, usability, version compatibility, and other problems ProGuard and app-signing capabilities Built-in support for Google Cloud Platform, making it easy to integrate Google Cloud Messaging and App Engine.

Extracted from: http://developer.android.com/tools/studio/index.html

Follow this procedure:

1. Firstly execute the following command.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-desktop/ubuntu-make

2. Then update the repo.

sudo apt-get update

3. Now install the software:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-make

4. You will see all the package it will install, type ‘y’ to tell Ubuntu to proceed with the installation. Once you are done with it. Proceed with the following.

umake android

Leave the installation path as the default value;

Press enter again. You will have to agree to the license by typing ‘a’ then download starts.

Android Studio will then present you with a wizard, just keep hitting next and agree to the license. It will then proceed to download requirements for Android development, such as the latest Android SDK. Click on ‘Finish’ once the installation of required packages is complete.

CLI approach

Tested on Ubuntu 15.10, Android 22.

One the device:

• enable developer mode and USB debugging: http://www.syncios.com/blog/enable-developer-optionsusb-debugging-mode-on-devices-with-android-4-2-jelly-bean/
• link device to computer with USB cable

Then:

sudo apt-get install ant gradle openjdk-7-jdk

cd

# Get device permissions.
# MANUAL find vendor ID on this table: http://developer.android.com/tools/device.html#VendorIds
# http://stackoverflow.com/a/5510745/895245
VENDOR_ID='054c'
UDEV_PATH='/etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules'
echo 'SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR'"$VENDOR_ID"'=="0bb4", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"' | sudo tee "$UDEV_PATH"
sudo chmod a+r "$UDEV_PATH"
sudo /etc/init.d/udev restart

wget http://dl.google.com/android/android-sdk_r24.4.1-linux.tgz
tar -xvf android-sdk_r24.4.1-linux.tgz

# MANUAL run the ./tools/android GUI and install the SDK versions you need 
# Better: just download EVERYTHING to save you annoyances later on.
# Yes, it takes a ton of space (50Gib+).
# http://stackoverflow.com/questions/17963508/how-to-install-android-sdk-build-tools-on-the-command-line
# The automated command line should look something like:
#API=22
#N="$(android list sdk --all |& grep 'SDK Platform Android' | grep "API $API" | cut -d- -f1)"
#android update sdk -u -a -t $N

# Studio
wget https://dl.google.com/dl/android/studio/ide-zips/1.5.1.0/android-studio-ide-141.2456560-linux.zip
unzip android-studio-ide-141.2456560-linux.zip
cd android-studio/bin
./studio.sh

# NDK
wget http://dl.google.com/android/ndk/android-ndk-r10e-linux-x86_64.bin
chmod a+x android-ndk-r10e-linux-x86_64.bin
./android-ndk-r10e-linux-x86_64.bin
mv android-ndk-r10e android-ndk

Add to your ~/.profile: TODO: which of those are actually necessary?

export ANDROID_SDK="$HOME/android-sdk"
# Present on the default build.xml generated by "android create project [...] in Android 22.
export ANDROID_HOME="$ANDROID_SDK"
export ANDROID_NDK="$HOME/android-ndk"s
export ANDROID_NDK_ROOT="$ANDROID_NDK"
# Used by https://github.com/googlesamples/android-ndk/tree/3cd41e1f5280443665ca98463c7a76e80bf0b96c/native-codec
export ANDROID_NDK_HOME="$ANDROID_NDK"
export ANDROID_ABI='armeabi-v7a'
export ANDROID_JAVA_HOME="$JAVA_HOME"
export ANDROID_STUDIO="$HOME/android-studio/"
export PATH="$ANDROID_SDK/platform-tools:$ANDROID_SDK/tools:${ANDROID_STUDIO}/bin:${ANDROID_NDK}:${PATH}"

Logout and login. You may need:

sudo "$(which adb)" kill-server
sudo "$(which adb)" start-server

Test the installation

Get your hands on a minimal project like this one or look under $ANDROID_SDK/samples/.

If it is an Ant project (contains a build.xml file) run:

ant debug
ant installd

If it is a Gradle project (contains a gradlew file) run:

./gradlew assembleDebug
./gradlew installDebug

The app should be installed on your device.

Studio (ADT successor) can be launched with:

studio.sh

NDK samples can be found under $ANDROID_NDK/samples and you can build and install them with:

ndk-build
# Create build.xml, as per: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5572304/how-to-build-the-android-sample-projectsusing-ant-build-xml-does-not-exist
android update project -p . -t android-22
ant clean
ant debug
ant installd

State of official Debian packages

There is currently no official Debian package.

But there is a Google Summer of Code 2015 project trying to solve that: https://www.google-melange.com/gsoc/project/details/google/gsoc2015/seamlik/5707702298738688