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Android How-Tos

How to install Java JDK on macOS​

Android Studio requires Java JDK to work properly. Please check JDK installation instructions here.

How to check which Java versions are installed on your machine:​

ls -lsah /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/

Setting up path for Java path & Android Studio​

## Set JAVA_HOME environment variable
echo export "JAVA_HOME=\$(/usr/libexec/java_home)" >> ~/.zshrc

## If you have multiple JDK versions installed and you want it to be a specific one, use -v flag
echo export "JAVA_HOME=\$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v 1.7)" >> ~/.zshrc

# Setting up path for JDK
export PATH="/usr/local/opt/openjdk@8/bin:$PATH"
# Setting up path for Android Studio
export ANDROID_HOME=/Users/your-username/Library/Android/sdk
export PATH=${PATH}:${ANDROID_HOME}/tools
export PATH=${PATH}:${ANDROID_HOME}/tools/bin
export PATH=${PATH}:${ANDROID_HOME}/platform-tools

Setting up Appium on your machine​

Check connected devices:​

To see list of devices attached to your machine:

adb devices

Install app on Simulator using adb command:​

adb install /app-folder-location/app-name.apk

Capturing logs on real device:​

adb log -s <device_id> logcat -v threadtime

Note that -s <device_id> is optional if only one device is connected to your pc.

How to share/mirror your real device screen​

You can share your Android device screen with the teammates using Vysor. Vysor lets you view and control your mobile/device on your computer. It's basically a window to your Android.

Setting up Vysor:​

  1. Install Vysor for chrome using link

  2. Once installed, you'll find it under your installed apps.

  3. Connect your Device to your system using USB cable.

  4. Make Sure your Android have USB debugging ON, If not, go to 'Settings' on your device, search for USB Debugging, and make it enabled.

  5. Open Vysor app. It will show you a notification about your connected device.

  6. Now to see your Device screen, just click on 'View' button and you'll be able to see your device screen on your desktop.

  7. You can also record the android activity displayed by vysor by using Quicktime Player (or any other screen recording tool). Shortcut for mac to see recording option: Command + Shift + 5.

How to run UIAutomatorViewer?​

  1. Navigate to ~/Library/Android/sdk/tools/bin
  2. Type uiautomatorviewer and press enter.
  • Issue: Unable to launch uiautomatorviewer on macOS Big Sur, resulting in an error java.lang.NullPointerException
  • Solution:
  1. Download the latest swt.jar from https://download.eclipse.org/eclipse/downloads/index.html, rename downloaded swt.jar to swt2.jar
  2. Copy swt2.jar to Android/sdk/tools/lib/x86_64/ and Android/sdk/tools/lib/x86/ folders.

Don't REPLACE, Don't DELETE, just copy the new swt2.jar.

References:​