Android Emulator with Homebrew

android-emulator-homebrew.sh

# Recommended prerequisites:
# - Xcode is installed
# - Homebrew is installed - I am using a custom subdirectory as described in:
#   - https://superuser.com/questions/1336025/how-should-i-install-homebrew-into-usr-local-subdirectory-manually
# - OpenJDK 8 is installed - here are a couple recommended resources:
#   - https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/349465/how-can-i-upgrade-from-oracle-jdk-8-to-openjdk-8-using-homebrew
#   - https://dzone.com/articles/install-openjdk-versions-on-the-mac - good but shows formulae that I did not see
# - brew doctor does not show any issues

# I think this is not needed any more:
# touch ~/.android/repositories.cfg 

# PART 1 - Android SDK package:

brew cask install android-sdk
# the output shows an export command that should be saved in the user profile,
# for example:
#
#   export ANDROID_SDK_ROOT="/usr/local/share/android-sdk"
#
# (I think the double quotes are not really needed)
#
# then it is recommended to source the profile or start a new shell.

# try the following command:
sdkmanager
# (it would show that ~/.android/repositories.cfg is needed)

touch ~/.android/repositories.cfg

# then sdkmanager should be ok (does not seem to do much)

# PART 2 - Intel HAXM (accelerator):

# This step would likely need sudo permission from the user
# and possibly extra permission from the security manager
# (I got a dialog that allowed me to do this from
# System Preferences):
brew cask install intel-haxm

# NOT NEEDED:
# brew install qt

# PART 3 - add (install) an emulator from the command line:

# It is recommended to do the following command in the profile (as described above)
# (ADJUST the following path if needed; not sure if double-quotes are needed or not):
# export ANDROID_SDK_ROOT="/usr/local/share/android-sdk"

# This sdkmanager command seems to show prompts to accept license agreements:
sdkmanager "platform-tools" "platforms;android-27" "extras;intel;Hardware_Accelerated_Execution_Manager" "build-tools;27.0.0" "system-images;android-27;google_apis;x86" "emulator"
avdmanager create avd -n test -k "system-images;android-27;google_apis;x86"

# to check that the AVD was created:
avdmanager list avd
# or ls ~/.android/avd

# PART 4 - run the emulator from the command line:

# Update the PATH
# (It is recommended to add it to the profile then source it
# or start a new shell session):
export PATH=$ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/emulator:$ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/tools:$ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/platform-tools:$PATH

# The following command seems to run in the foreground
# with a few pitfalls below
emulator -avd test

# some emulator pitfalls:
# * possible unidentified developer issue starting with macOS Catalina, see
#   https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/open-a-mac-app-from-an-unidentified-developer-mh40616/mac
# * It may be needed to use the absolute path to emulator on some older Android SDK versions.

# Next steps:
# Install some build tools, android-ndk, and try running from
# an IDE such as IntelliJ.

# Some references:
# - https://stackoverflow.com/questions/26483370/android-emulator-error-message-panic-missing-emulator-engine-program-for-x86
# - https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-commandline