FRB Android Emulator Preparation

Use this skill when a task requires a host Android Emulator for FRB local runtime validation.

Boundary

FRB Android runtime validation currently supports a host Android Emulator path: host needs Java, Android SDK command-line tools, emulator, a system image, and an AVD; Docker runs FRB/Flutter commands through a Docker-local ADB server connected to the emulator TCP endpoint.

Do not install Android Emulator packages unless the user has explicitly asked to prepare or run an emulator. Installing the emulator changes host state and downloads large SDK packages.

Default Host Locations

Use standard Android Studio locations on macOS:

text
~/Library/Android/sdk
~/.android/avd
~/.android

Respect ANDROID_HOME if it is already set. Otherwise use ~/Library/Android/sdk. Do not invent repo-specific defaults such as /workspace, /tmp, or a user's personal artifacts directory.

Preflight

Official references for this workflow:

• Android Studio and command-line tools download page: https://developer.android.com/studio
• sdkmanager command-line package manager: https://developer.android.com/tools/sdkmanager
• avdmanager command-line AVD manager: https://developer.android.com/tools/avdmanager
• Android Emulator command line: https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-commandline
• ADB command-line tool: https://developer.android.com/tools/adb

Run these before installing anything:

bash
sw_vers
uname -m
which adb || true
adb version || true
echo "${ANDROID_HOME:-}"
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/Android/sdk" "$HOME/.android" "$HOME/.android/avd" 2>/dev/null || true
which java || true
java -version || true

If the task requires an emulator, record whether these tools already exist:

bash
ls "$HOME/Library/Android/sdk/cmdline-tools/latest/bin/sdkmanager" 2>/dev/null || true
ls "$HOME/Library/Android/sdk/cmdline-tools/latest/bin/avdmanager" 2>/dev/null || true
ls "$HOME/Library/Android/sdk/emulator/emulator" 2>/dev/null || true

Installation Policy

Before installing or downloading anything, state exactly what will be installed and ask for approval through the command escalation mechanism.

For a minimal macOS emulator setup, expect these host changes:

text
Homebrew openjdk, if Java is missing
~/Library/Android/sdk/cmdline-tools/latest
~/Library/Android/sdk/emulator
~/Library/Android/sdk/platform-tools
~/Library/Android/sdk/platforms/android-<api>
~/Library/Android/sdk/system-images/android-<api>/google_apis/arm64-v8a
~/.android/avd/<avd-name>.avd
~/.android/avd/<avd-name>.ini

Prefer ARM64 system images on Apple Silicon:

text
system-images;android-35;google_apis;arm64-v8a

Use a different API level only when the task or Flutter version requires it.

Install Java

If /usr/bin/java is missing and Homebrew is available, prefer the Homebrew openjdk formula because it does not require the sudo package installer:

bash
HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1 brew install openjdk

For SDK commands in the current shell, prepend the Homebrew JDK:

bash
export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/openjdk/bin:$PATH"

Do not use brew install --cask temurin in non-interactive agent runs unless the user has approved sudo-capable installation; it may invoke macOS Installer through sudo.

Install Command-Line Tools

If Android Studio is not installed and cmdline-tools/latest is missing, install the official Android command-line tools into the standard SDK root. This follows the Android Developers command-line tools instructions on the Android Studio download page: https://developer.android.com/studio. The important shape is to download the command-line tools package from that page, extract it, and place it under cmdline-tools/latest in the Android SDK root.

bash
mkdir -p "$HOME/Library/Android/sdk/cmdline-tools/latest"
curl -L -o /private/tmp/commandlinetools-mac-latest.zip \
  https://dl.google.com/android/repository/commandlinetools-mac-14742923_latest.zip
mkdir -p /private/tmp/frb-android-commandlinetools-extract
ditto -x -k /private/tmp/commandlinetools-mac-latest.zip /private/tmp/frb-android-commandlinetools-extract
cp -R /private/tmp/frb-android-commandlinetools-extract/cmdline-tools/. \
  "$HOME/Library/Android/sdk/cmdline-tools/latest/"

Then set:

bash
export ANDROID_HOME="$HOME/Library/Android/sdk"
export ANDROID_SDK_ROOT="$ANDROID_HOME"
export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/openjdk/bin:$ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/latest/bin:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$ANDROID_HOME/emulator:$PATH"

Install Emulator Packages

Accept licenses and install the minimal packages with sdkmanager, the Android SDK package manager documented by Android Developers at https://developer.android.com/tools/sdkmanager:

bash
yes | sdkmanager --licenses
sdkmanager \
  "emulator" \
  "platform-tools" \
  "platforms;android-35" \
  "system-images;android-35;google_apis;arm64-v8a"

If the user wants a smaller or non-Google image, choose a matching system-images;android-<api>;default;arm64-v8a package instead.

Create AVD

Use a predictable AVD name that the frb-dev-env examples can reference. This uses avdmanager, the Android Developers command-line tool for creating and managing AVDs documented at https://developer.android.com/tools/avdmanager:

bash
avdmanager create avd \
  --name FRB_API_35 \
  --package "system-images;android-35;google_apis;arm64-v8a" \
  --device "pixel_8"

If the device profile is unavailable, list device profiles and choose a common phone:

bash
avdmanager list device

Start And Verify Emulator

Start the host emulator through frb-dev-env. The underlying emulator invocation follows the Android Emulator command-line interface documented at https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-commandline:

bash
.claude/skills/frb-dev-env/frb_dev_env.py android emulator --avd FRB_API_35 --port 5554

Verify host ADB can see the emulator. This uses ADB, the Android Developers command-line tool documented at https://developer.android.com/tools/adb:

bash
adb devices -l

For emulator runtime tests, let Docker use its own ADB server and connect directly to the host emulator ADB TCP endpoint. For emulator console port 5554, that endpoint is host.docker.internal:5555:

bash
.claude/skills/frb-dev-env/frb_dev_env.py docker exec --android-emulator-adb -- adb devices -l

Only after both ADB checks pass, run an FRB Android runtime command. Use the Docker-visible emulator serial:

bash
.claude/skills/frb-dev-env/frb_dev_env.py docker exec --android-emulator-adb -- \
  bash -lc './frb_internal test-flutter-native --package frb_example--flutter_via_create --flutter-test-args "--device-id host.docker.internal:5555"'

Common Failures

• Android SDK root does not exist: install Android Studio or command-line tools into ~/Library/Android/sdk, or set ANDROID_HOME.
• emulator: command not found: install the SDK emulator package and ensure ~/Library/Android/sdk/emulator is on PATH.
• No AVD found: create FRB_API_35 with avdmanager create avd, or pass the existing AVD name to android emulator --avd.
• Docker cannot see the host emulator through --android-emulator-adb: verify the host emulator is running on console port 5554, verify host adb devices -l shows emulator-5554, then run adb connect host.docker.internal:5555 inside Docker or retry the helper command.
• Flutter integration test fails with a VM service or DDS connection refused on 127.0.0.1: the command likely used a host ADB server against an emulator. Use --android-emulator-adb so adb forward binds inside Docker.

Cleanup

Stop the emulator from host ADB:

bash
adb -s emulator-5554 emu kill

Avoid deleting SDK packages or AVDs unless the user explicitly asks.