# Android Studio Setup

## Set up Android Studio
For macOS: 
Step 1: 
Download and install [Android Studio](https://developer.android.com/studio).
Step 2: 
Open the **Android Studio** app, you will see the **SDK Components setup** screen. Click **Next** to continue to install the Android SDK and Android SDK Platform. Click **Next** again to verify the settings and install.
Step 3: 
By default, Android Studio will install the latest version of the Android SDK. However, Android 15 (`VanillaIceCream`) SDK is required to compile a React Native app.
Open Android Studio, go to **Settings** &gt; **Languages & Frameworks** &gt; **Android SDK**. From the **SDK Platforms** tab, and under **Android 15 (`VanillaIceCream`)**, select **Android SDK Platform 35** and **Sources for Android 35**.
Step 4: 
Then, click on the **SDK Tools** tab and make sure you have at least one version of the **Android SDK Build-Tools** and **Android Emulator** installed.
Step 5: 
Copy or remember the path listed in the box that says **Android SDK Location**.
Step 6: 
Add the following lines to your **/.zprofile** or **~/.zshrc** (if you are using bash, then **~/.bash_profile** or **~/.bashrc**) config file:
```sh
$ export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Library/Android/sdk
$ export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/emulator
$ export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools
```
Step 7: 
Reload the path environment variables in your current shell:
```sh
$ source $HOME/.zshrc
$ source $HOME/.bashrc
```
Step 8: 
Finally, make sure that you can run `adb` from your terminal.
Note: Troubleshooting: Android Studio not recognizing JDK
---
If Android Studio doesn't recognize your homebrew installed JDK, you can create a Gradle configuration file to explicitly set the Java path:
1.  Create a Gradle properties file in your home directory:
    ```sh
$ touch ~/.gradle/gradle.properties
```
2.  Add the following line to the **gradle.properties** file, replacing the path with your actual Java installation path:
    ```bash gradle.properties
    java.home=/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-17.jdk/Contents/Home
    ```
3.  If you have an existing `.gradle` folder in your project directory, delete it and reopen your project in Android Studio:
    ```sh
$ rm -rf .gradle
```
This should resolve issues with Android Studio not detecting your JDK installation.
---
For Windows: 
Step 1: 
Download [Android Studio](https://developer.android.com/studio).
Step 2: 
Open **Android Studio Setup**. Under **Select components to install**, select Android Studio and Android Virtual Device. Then, click **Next**.
Step 3: 
In the Android Studio Setup Wizard, under **Install Type**, select **Standard** and click **Next**.
Step 4: 
The Android Studio Setup Wizard will ask you to verify the settings, such as the version of Android SDK, platform-tools, and so on. Click **Next** after you have verified.
Step 5: 
In the next window, accept licenses for all available components.
Step 6: 
By default, Android Studio will install the latest version of the Android SDK. However, Android 15 (`VanillaIceCream`) SDK is required to compile a React Native app.
Open Android Studio, go to **Settings** &gt; **Languages & Frameworks** &gt; **Android SDK**. From the **SDK Platforms** tab, and under **Android 15 (`VanillaIceCream`)**, select **Android SDK Platform 35** and **Sources for Android 35**.
Step 7: 
Then, click on the **SDK Tools** tab and make sure you have at least one version of the **Android SDK Build-Tools** and **Android Emulator** installed.
Step 8: 
After the tools installation is complete, configure the `ANDROID_HOME` environment variable. Go to **Windows Control Panel** > **User Accounts** > **User Accounts** (again) > **Change my environment variables** and click **New** to create a new `ANDROID_HOME` user variable. The value of this variable will point to the path to your Android SDK:
Note: How to find installed SDK location?
---
By default, the Android SDK is installed at the following location:
```bash
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Android\Sdk
```
To find the location of the SDK in Android Studio manually, go to **Settings** > **Languages & Frameworks** > **Android SDK**. See the location next to **Android SDK Location**.
---
Step 9: 
To verify that the new environment variable is loaded, open **PowerShell**, and copy and paste the following command:
```sh
$ Get-ChildItem -Path Env: 
```
The command will output all user environment variables. In this list, see if `ANDROID_HOME` has been added.
Step 10: 
To add platform-tools to the Path, go to **Windows Control Panel** > **User Accounts** > **User Accounts** (again) > **Change my environment variables** > **Path** > **Edit** > **New** and add the path to the platform-tools to the list as shown below:
Note: How to find installed platform-tools location
---
By default, the platform-tools are installed at the following location:
```bash
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Android\Sdk\platform-tools
```
---
Step 11: 
Finally, make sure that you can run `adb` from the PowerShell. For example, run the `adb --version` to see which version of the `adb` your system is running.