Running headless android emulator on AWS EC2 Ubuntu instance (ARM64 / aarch64) - 2022

Android_Emulator_AWS_EC2_ARM64_2022.txt

Android Emulator (ARM64) on EC2 - 2022
---------------------------------------
1. Launch EC2 ARM based Instance (a1.metal / a1.2xlarge): (16 Gb RAM, 32Gb Disk), Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS (HVM) ARM x64
2. sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
3. sudo apt install default-jdk python3-pip repo python-is-python3 unzip libpcre2-dev adb
4. wget https://dl.google.com/android/repository/commandlinetools-linux-8512546_latest.zip 
5. unzip commandlinetools-linux-8512546_latest.zip -d android-sdk
6. sudo mv android-sdk /opt/
7. mkdir /opt/android-sdk/cmdline-tools/latest
8. mv /opt/android-sdk/cmdline-tools/* /opt/android-sdk/cmdline-tools/latest  (ignore the error)
9. at this point you should have sdkmanager and avdmanager under /opt/android-sdk/cmdline-tools/latest/bin/
10. echo "export ANDROID_SDK_ROOT=/opt/android-sdk" >> ~/.bashrc
11. echo "export ANDROID_HOME=/opt/android-sdk" >> ~/.bashrc
12. echo "export ANDROID_EMULATOR_WAIT_TIME_BEFORE_KILL=60" >> ~/.bashrc
13. echo "export PATH=$PATH:/opt/android-sdk/cmdline-tools/latest/bin" >> ~/.bashrc
14. source ~/.bashrc
15. sdkmanager --update
16. sdkmanager --licenses
17. cd /opt/android-sdk/
18. Get emulator download link: 
- https://ci.android.com/builds/branches/aosp-emu-master-dev/grid?
- column: emulator --> linux_aarch64
- click a green version
- click Artifacts tab
- click sdk-repo-linux_aarch64-emulator-[build number].zip  (~1.6Gb)
- Right-click the Download link (blue) and copy the download URL
- A Relatively stable version (31.3.8 - 5/24/2022): https://ci.android.com/builds/submitted/8632828/emulator-linux_aarch64/latest/sdk-repo-linux_aarch64-emulator-8632828.zip
19 wget -O emulator.zip "[download URL]" 
20. unzip emulator.zip
21. cd emulator
22. copy text from https://chromium.googlesource.com/android_tools/+/refs/heads/master/sdk/emulator/package.xml
23. nano /opt/android-sdk/emulator/package.xml --> paste copied text
24. cat source.properties --> get Emulator version number from Pkg.Revision (Example: Pkg.Revision=31.3.9)
25. update the following params in package.xml according to the version: <major>, <minor>, <micro>
26. sdkmanager "system-images;android-31;google_apis;arm64-v8a"
27. avdmanager -v create avd -f -n MyAVD -k "system-images;android-31;google_apis;arm64-v8a" -p "/opt/android-sdk/avd" 
28. avdmanager list avd --> check that you have MyAVD 
29. mkdir /opt/android-sdk/platforms
30. mkdir /opt/android-sdk/platform-tools
31. echo "Vulkan = off" >> ~/.android/advancedFeatures.ini
32. echo "GLDirectMem = on" >> ~/.android/advancedFeatures.ini
33. on Metal instance, enabled KVM access:
- sudo gpasswd -a $USER kvm
- logout and re-login
- /opt/android-sdk/emulator/emulator -accel-check  --> check accel:0, KVM (version 12) is installed and usable: accel


Run the Emulator:
------------------
Metal instance:
/opt/android-sdk/emulator/emulator @MyAVD -no-window -no-audio -ports 5554,5555 -skip-adb-auth -no-boot-anim -show-kernel

Non-metal instance:
/opt/android-sdk/emulator/emulator @MyAVD -no-window -no-audio -ports 5554,5555 -skip-adb-auth -no-boot-anim -show-kernel -qemu -cpu max -machine gic-version=max


Notes:
1. Use an ARM based EC2 instance. A Metal instance will allow ARM to run on the host CPU (via KVM). A non-metal instance will do ARM emulation which is much slower (but works).
2. The Android Emulaotr isn't included in the sdk-tools for ARM, we download it separately. After we install and update its package file, we can use sdkmanager to download system images and other emultaor-dependant packages.
3. The platform-tools (adb, aapt2 etc.) aren't not available for ARM64. We install ADB with apt-get (see apt list android-sdk* for other available tools). 
4. Make sure to create the /platforms and /platform-tools folders under /opt/android-sdk/ or the emulator will exit (folder can be empty).
5. First run on non-Metal instance might take 10-15 minutes. 
6. Use "google_apis" system image and not "google_apis_playstore". The "google_apis_playstore" requires authentication to connect via ADB (adb devices will show "emulator-5554 offline") 
7. In case of unstable images (crash with illegal instruction), try using the aosp_atd image (e.g. "system-images;android-30;aosp_atd;arm64-v8a")


Android Emulator HW options:
----------------------------
nano /opt/android-sdk/avd/config.ini
nano ~/.android/avd/MyAVD.ini
Specific parameters to consider:
hw.ramSize=2048M
disk.dataPartition.size=2048M


Disabling the "Ok Google" Hotword detection (might cause 100% CPU on non-metal instance):
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
adb shell "su root pm disable com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox"
Note: run after Emulator fully loaded


Connecting to Emulator console:
-------------------------------
1. get token from: /home/ubuntu/.emulator_console_auth_token
2. telnet 127.0.0.1 5554
3. auth [token]
4. save snapshot: avd snapshot save default


Manually setup system image (ex: android-32, Google APIs, ARM64):
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. https://dl.google.com/android/repository/sys-img/google_apis/arm64-v8a-32_r03.zip
2. mkdir /opt/android-sdk/system-images/android-32
3. mkdir /opt/android-sdk/system-images/android-32/google_apis
4. unzip arm64-v8a-32_r03.zip /opt/android-sdk/system-images/android-32/google_apis
image path: /opt/android-sdk/system-images/android-[api_version]/[api_type]/[arch_type] (/opt/android-sdk/system-images/android-32/google_apis/arm64-v8a)
avdmanager -v create avd -f -n MyAVD2 -k "system-images;android-32;google_apis;arm64-v8a" -p "/opt/android-sdk/avd2"


Useful ADB commands:
--------------------
Connect: adb devices
Install APK: adb install myapp.apk
Uninstall app: adb uninstall com.package.name
Start app: adb shell am start -n com.package.name/com.package.name.ActivityName
Start app2: adb shell monkey -p com.package.name --pct-syskeys 0 -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1
Stop app: adb shell am force-stop com.package.name
Disable package: adb shell "su root pm disable com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox"
Uninstall package: adb shell "su root pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox"
Check if running: adb shell dumpsys activity | grep -i run | grep -i com.package.name 
Forward port: adb forward tcp:8888 tcp:8888
Kill emulator: adb -s emulator-5554 emu kill


Links:
------
Emulator ARM builds:
https://ci.android.com/builds/branches/aosp-emu-master-dev/grid?
Specific: https://ci.android.com/builds/submitted/8664812/aarch64_sdk_tools_linux/latest/sdk-repo-linux_aarch64-emulator-8664812.zip

ARM System images:
Google API Images: 	https://androidsdkoffline.blogspot.com/p/android-sysimg-google-arm-v8a-download.html
All Images: 		https://androidsdkoffline.blogspot.com
Another:			https://androidsdkmanager.azurewebsites.net/GoogleAPIaddonSystemImages


References:
https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/emulator#emulator_for_arm64_hosts
https://github.com/google/android-emulator-container-scripts/issues/192
https://github.com/yaizudamashii/AndroidSDK/pull/1
https://medium.com/heuristics/deploying-android-emulators-on-aws-ec2-1-3-arm-architecture-and-genymotion-solutions-for-a-2ef3238542d5
https://gist.github.com/JonathanLalou/180c87554d8278b0e6d7

Thank you, that's super helpful

Thanks for the great write-up!

Did you ever run into the issue that the emulator crashes with "illegal instruction" some seconds after the boot is complete?

...
[   44.908954][    T1] init: Sending signal 9 to service 'ranchu-setup' (pid 1430) process group...
[   44.914605][    T1] libprocessgroup: Successfully killed process cgroup uid 0 pid 1430 in 0ms
INFO    | Boot completed in 46997 ms
INFO    | Increasing screen off timeout, logcat buffer size to 2M.
INFO    | Revoking microphone permissions for Google App.
...
[   58.328133][  T186] logd: logdr: UID=10102 GID=10102 PID=1262 n tail=0 logMask=4 pid=0 start=0ns deadline=0ns
[   60.174300][    T1] init: Sending signal 9 to service 'idmap2d' (pid 2064) process group...
[   60.184410][    T1] libprocessgroup: Successfully killed process cgroup uid 1000 pid 2064 in 6ms
[   60.188143][    T1] init: Control message: Processed ctl.stop for 'idmap2d' from pid: 526 (system_server)
[   60.196064][    T1] init: Service 'idmap2d' (pid 2064) received signal 9
Illegal instruction

I'm trying to run it on an a1.metal, tried the emulator version you linked, and also the one from today. Also tried with GLDirectMem=off, with -gpu off etc, but all with the same result.

I'm trying to run it on an a1.2xlarge. The following error will be reported when it is started. Have you ever encountered a similar error?

[358.095160][ T1] init: processing action (nonencrypted) from (/system/etc/init/hw/init.rc:1100) [ 358.191935][ T1] init: starting service 'goldfish-logcat'... [ 359.244307][ T1] init: starting service 'bt_vhci_forwarder'... [ 360.449177][ T1] init: starting service 'cameraserver'... [ 361.916990][ T1] init: starting service 'idmap2d'... [ 363.446260][ T1] init: starting service 'incidentd'... [ 365.248111][ T1] init: starting service 'installd'... [ 365.937186][ T427] qemu-adb-setup: /data/misc/adb/adb_keys exists. Skipping qemu adb setup [ 366.512123][ T1] init: starting service 'mediaextractor'... [ 368.371226][ T1] init: starting service 'mediametrics'... [ 369.405733][ T1] init: starting service 'media'... ** ERROR:/buildbot/src/android/emu-master-dev/external/qemu/hw/intc/arm_gicv3_cpuif.c:779:gicv3_cpuif_update: assertion failed: (qemu_mutex_iothread_locked()) Aborted (core dumped)

Having the same error as @gordonchen1989 on a1.2xlarge too.

I was able to start an emulator with Android SDK 30 by omitting the -machine gic-version=max parameter, and adding the -gpu swiftshader_indirect parameter. Here is the full command to start the emulator:

emulator @arm-test-30 -gpu swiftshader_indirect -no-accel  -no-audio  -ports 5554,5555 -show-kernel -debug-kernel -engine qemu2 -qemu -cpu max

Hi @atyachin I tried downloading the emulator zip but its not downloading the correct file how do you do it?

wget -O /tmp/emulator.zip "https://ci.android.com/builds/submitted/8632828/emulator-linux_aarch64/latest/sdk-repo-linux_aarch64-emulator-8632828.zip"

Very nice guide. Couldn't for the life of me find an arm64 build of the emulator by myself...

Hi @atyachin I tried downloading the emulator zip but its not downloading the correct file how do you do it?

wget -O /tmp/emulator.zip "https://ci.android.com/builds/submitted/8632828/emulator-linux_aarch64/latest/sdk-repo-linux_aarch64-emulator-8632828.zip"

You need to open the page in your browser and then get the download link there.

@p-sin Im trying to run it through docker solve it with the below

curl -sS -L https://ci.android.com/builds/submitted/8632828/emulator-linux_aarch64/latest/sdk-repo-linux_aarch64-emulator-8632828.zip | grep -o 'https://storage[^"]*' | sed 's/\\u0026/\&/g'

but ended doesnt work because linux/arm64 doesnt build react-native android

falling back to x86

Hello ! I am new to Android Emulator.
My goal is to set it up an Android Emulator on AWS and install an app such as Telegram , programmatically .. Is it possible ? and how ?
Please advise
Thank you so much

I'm trying to run it on an a1.2xlarge. The following error will be reported when it is started. Have you ever encountered a similar error?

[358.095160][ T1] init: processing action (nonencrypted) from (/system/etc/init/hw/init.rc:1100) [ 358.191935][ T1] init: starting service 'goldfish-logcat'... [ 359.244307][ T1] init: starting service 'bt_vhci_forwarder'... [ 360.449177][ T1] init: starting service 'cameraserver'... [ 361.916990][ T1] init: starting service 'idmap2d'... [ 363.446260][ T1] init: starting service 'incidentd'... [ 365.248111][ T1] init: starting service 'installd'... [ 365.937186][ T427] qemu-adb-setup: /data/misc/adb/adb_keys exists. Skipping qemu adb setup [ 366.512123][ T1] init: starting service 'mediaextractor'... [ 368.371226][ T1] init: starting service 'mediametrics'... [ 369.405733][ T1] init: starting service 'media'... ** ERROR:/buildbot/src/android/emu-master-dev/external/qemu/hw/intc/arm_gicv3_cpuif.c:779:gicv3_cpuif_update: assertion failed: (qemu_mutex_iothread_locked()) Aborted (core dumped)

Hi. Try to omit keys -machine & gic-version=max. For example:
emulator @phone_name -no-window -no-audio -ports 5554,5555 -skip-adb-auth -no-boot-anim -show-kernel -qemu -cpu max

I am new to this, is there a way to connect to this emulator and see the graphical interface of android?

I am getting following error while installing sample apk file on my emulator

$ adb install ApiDemos-debug.apk
Performing Streamed Install
adb: failed to install ApiDemos-debug.apk: cmd: Can't find service: package

My emulator is up though:

$ adb devices
List of devices attached
emulator-5554	device

I am getting following error while installing sample apk file on my emulator

$ adb install ApiDemos-debug.apk
Performing Streamed Install
adb: failed to install ApiDemos-debug.apk: cmd: Can't find service: package

My emulator is up though:

$ adb devices
List of devices attached
emulator-5554	device

same error
in my opinion, the reason for this error is that the emulator was loaded incorrectly

I am getting following error while installing sample apk file on my emulator

$ adb install ApiDemos-debug.apk
Performing Streamed Install
adb: failed to install ApiDemos-debug.apk: cmd: Can't find service: package

My emulator is up though:

$ adb devices
List of devices attached
emulator-5554	device

same problem here...
Was anyone able to fix this issue?

My it's showing offline, Command to make it available/online/device in background all the time ?
@agranig @rricarrdo @mexmirror @krmlrd @ravi0402

List of devices attached
emulator-5554	offline

I'm trying to run this on an m1 chip running ubuntu. The emulator seems to manage all of the pre-boot steps (mounting the images and setting system props) but then crashes with this error when trying to cold boot:
ERROR | Unable to spawn process due to:, No such file or directory qemu-system-aarch64-headless: can't open backing store /home/thea/avds/YetAnotherTestAvd.avd/snapshots/default_boot/ram.img for guest RAM: Permission denied qemu-system-aarch64-headless: falling back to regular RAM allocation. WARNING: cannnot unmap ptr 0xfffe94eb4000 as it is in the protected range from 0xfffe94eb4000 to 0xffff150b4000 WARNING: cannnot unmap ptr 0xffff15004000 as it is in the protected range from 0xfffe94eb4000 to 0xffff150b4000 Could not init 'oss' audio driver WARNING | The emulator now requires a signed jwt token for gRPC access! Use the -grpc flag if you really want an open unprotected grpc port INFO | Using security allow list from: /home/thea/espen/emu/emu-master-dev/test/emulator/lib/emulator_access.json WARNING | *** Basic token auth should only be used by android-studio *** INFO | The active JSON Web Key Sets can be found here: /run/user/1001/avd/running/36869/jwks/aa8a5442-3c34-43b0-95f0-e7e3257578f9/active.jwk INFO | Scanning /run/user/1001/avd/running/36869/jwks/aa8a5442-3c34-43b0-95f0-e7e3257578f9 for jwk keys. INFO | Started GRPC server at 127.0.0.1:8554, security: Local, auth: +token INFO | Advertising in: /run/user/1001/avd/running/pid_36869.ini I1030 15:04:48.293225 36910 FrameBuffer.cpp:3682] setDisplayConfigs w 320 h 640 dpiX 160 dpiY 160 I1030 15:04:48.293273 36910 FrameBuffer.cpp:3695] setDisplayActiveConfig 0 INFO | Loading snapshot 'default_boot'... WARNING | Device 'encrypt' does not have the requested snapshot 'default_boot' WARNING | Failed to load snapshot 'default_boot' INFO | Cold boot based on user configuration WARNING | Cold boot based on user configuration ERROR | Unable to spawn process due to:, No such file or directory ERROR | Unable to spawn process due to:, No such file or directory ERROR | crashhandler_die: fatal: kvm_user_backed_ram_map: error registering slot: Invalid argument Segmentation fault (core dumped)

Any idea what would cause this or how to fix it?

anyone figured out the error "Can't find service: package" i am seeing a few folks here encountered it and i am also seeing that.
Using a1.2xlarge and following the instructions to the letter. the emulator runs but the package service isn't functioning.

many thanks!

Hi, would you be able to create a Dockerfile to wrap the setup and ensure reliability accross systems ?

Thanks !