Android SDK provides the tools and APIs necessary to begin developing applications on the Android platform using the Java programming language. Android offers a custom plugin for the Eclipse IDE, called Android Development Tools (ADT), that is designed to give you a powerful, integrated environment in which to build Android applications.
This tutorial is intended for new developers that want to start developing Android applications using Eclipse IDE. To start develop, you have to install Java platform (JDK) first and then install the Eclipse, Android SDK and the Android Development Tool (ADT) plugin for Eclipse.
Download and Install JDK
Download and install the latest JDK (JDK 1.6 Update 18) from JDK download page
Download and Install Eclipse IDE
Download and install Eclipse Classic 3.5 (Galileo) from Eclipse download page. You can also use the Java or RCP version of Eclipse.
Download and Install Android SDK Starter Package
The Android SDK starter package includes only a single component, the latest version of the SDK Tools. Included in that component is a tool called Android SDK and AVD Manager that you can use to download other components from the SDK repository site.
- Download the latest Android SDK starter package from the SDK download page.
- Unpack the archive to a suitable location on your machine. By default, the SDK files are unpacked into a directory named android-sdk-<machine-platform> . For example, on Windows platform the directory will be android-sdk-windows.
Add Android Platforms to Your SDK
To add one or more Android platforms (for example, Android 1.6 or Android 2.1) to your SDK, use the Android SDK and AVD Manager, included in the SDK starter package. It is recommended to download multiple platforms, so that you can build your application on the lowest version you want to support, but test against higher versions that you intend the application to run on.
- Launch the Android SDK and AVD Manager on Windows by executing SDK Setup.exe at the root of the SDK directory. On Mac OS X or Linux, execute the android tool in the /tools/ folder.
- On Available Packages menu, select the platforms to download (1.1 to 2.1).
- If you find error on HTTP SSL while fetching the repository url , try to use http instead of https by checking the Force https://… sources to be fetched using http://… option on Settings menu.
- Click Install Selected and then select Accept All to accept selected packages.
- Click Install Accepted button to start download and install the selected packages.
Download and Install ADT Plugin
To install the ADT Plugin, you can take advantage of the Eclipse remote update feature. By setting up a remote update site, you can easily download, install, and check for ADT updates. Alternatively, you can download the latest ADT to your development computer as a local site archive.
- Launch Eclipse, then select Help –> Install New Software.
- In Available Software dialog, click Add
- Enter a name for the remote site (ex: Android Plugin) in the Name field and in the Location field, enter this URL:
https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/
and then click OK. If you have trouble acquiring the plugin, you can try using ‘http’ instead of ‘https’ in the URL. - Select the checkbox next to Developer Tools, which will automatically select the nested tools Android DDMS and Android Development Tools and then click Next.
- On the next dialog, click Next to read and accept the license agreement and install any dependencies, then click Finish.
- Restart Eclipse
- To check whether the ADT has been installed correctly, try to create a new project by select File > New > Project., you shoud find Android Project listed on project wizard.
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Helpful tutorial. Thanks
Thanks. It was easy to understand this material. I am waiting for new information about this theme.
i’m not to familiar with eclipse, can i use netbeans rather than eclipse?
IS the 3.5 Galileo working for real ??? I;’m getting all kinds of weird error and googling around they seem to recommen t use 3.4 instead
It works well for me so far, no problems found so far.
How can i use eclipse for developing blackberry java enabled application?
I have Windows 7 64-bit and I attempting to get set up for Android development.
Should I install the 64-bit JDK? When I was at the JDK download site, it selected the non-64-bit JDK; the 64-bit was listed but not selected. I assumed it did that for a good reason, but I would prefer guidance about that.
Choose 64-bit JDK to optimize your 64 bit machine. It should be more faster.
Thank you, Lorenz, for your fast reply; I will uninstall the 32-bit JDK and install the 64-bit JDK.
Your instructions say “Download and install Eclipse Classic 3.5 (Galileo)”. I installed Eclipse Classic Version 3.6.0 (file eclipse-SDK-3.6-win32-x86_64.zip). Should that work? I assume the only reason why your instructions say to use 3.5 is that it was written before 3.6 was available but I want to make sure.
Yes it should work. You’re right, this tutorial was written before eclipse 3.6 released 🙂
Thank you, Lorenz.
In the Google Groups Android Beginners group I asked about Eclipse 3.6; they said there is a bug in 3.6 so we should not use 3.6 until there is a fix or workaround.
I did get the Android SDK installed, at least as far as your instructions took me. Thank you for the help, it works.
Okay you’re welcome & thanks for the info..:-)
As I follow this tutorial an error occur ie “https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/” is duplicate location.How can I solve this
Delete entry https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/ from the list.
Thanx Lorenz. But I solve it using another link “http://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/site.xml
how do i do it?…
pls I cannot figure out how to delete from the list and its really frustratingtbh because I know it would be something very simple. please help
@karlM, @obie:
Sounds like you may have already registered the https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse location.
You can check if this is the case in Eclipse by going to Window/Preferences, expanding the Install/Update category and clicking on Available Software Sites.
You’ll probably find https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse is already listed there.
Thank you very much!)It is working!
How can I remove an application from the emulator.
You don’t have to delete the site. When you are in the dialog for ‘Install new software’ you will find a link below the dropdown with site call ‘Available software sites’. When you click that you will be able to enable the destination by adding a checkmark in front of it. After that it will be available in the dropdown for use.
How can an android application say , a notepad application, be removed.
in emulator
click on Setting>manage application>click on application>uninstall the application u can remove it
Lorenz,
Very nice tutorial. I have a 64-bit Windows 7 machine. I installed the jdk1.6.0_21, android-skd_r06-windows and ecllipse-jee-helios-win32_64. I am able to perform the steps you indicate seemingly without error. Yet when I restart eclipse and open File| New | Project, the Android choice does NOT appear. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Have u installed adt plugin? as far as i know, there is a bug in eclipse 3.6 (helios). Recommended version is 3.5 (galileo)
Everything else I’ve seen on the net agrees with what you say. I’ll remove helios and install galileo. I’ll let you know how that goes. Cheers.
Hello dude,
nice tutorial about instalation.
i’m using mac for develop the android apps, and hope have similiar instalation mode 🙂
Best regards,
Zuliady Azwin
I wanted to know can i download the android sdk platform 2.1 api revised 2 manually since for the internet connection i use mobile and it is very slow…
plz help i am not able to download it fast…
As far as i know, the sdk platform can only be downloaded from AVD.
Excelent tutorial!!!
I am now working with android 1.6.How can I update it to Android 2.2.I tried it using ‘Available Packages’ ,but its not working but resulting an Unzip failed error.How can I solve it.
iam a beginner to android application i dont know how to create and run android application plz help me
Thank You! Your article saved lot of time.
Too bad java sucks and such BS shouldn’t be necessary, like when you install Visual Studio and everything you need to develop web/desktop/phone/xbox applications all from one easy install.
Hi Lorenz,
Thanks a lot for publishing such an informative tutorial. I am new to Android Programming and have been assigned a project on this just recently. I dint know where to start but your detailed steps helped me with setting up the environment to start with Android Programing. Thanks once again.
Just one question, when I launch the Android SDK and AVD manager, in the Available Packages section, you have mentioned to download 1.1 and 2.1. However, I can see SDK platforms starting from 1.5 to 3.2 in Android Repository and some third Party Add-ons as well. Can you please tell me which platform i need to download to start with and whether to download the Third Party Add-ons?
Also, do you have any tutorial which can tell me how to create a sample Andorid web application in Eclipse?
Awaiting for your response.
Thanks,
Pinky
Hello Pinky, thanks and you’re welcome.
At least you have to download one sdk platform, google apis (if you have plan to include map on your app), sdk samples and docs. I suggest you download the latest gingerbread sdk (code number 10). As beginner, i suggest you to start with this dev guide: http://developer.android.com/guide/basics/what-is-android.html , learn how the app work on android environment (it’s lifecycle). Sample codes and tutorial can be found here: http://developer.android.com/resources/browser.html?tag=tutorial
I am working with Eclipse Helios.Can it work properly with it? or i need eclipse Galileo?
Hi Vinil,
Last time i used Helios it didnt work properly. Galileo is very stable, i’m still using it right now.
Great effort …. keep it up!
Really helpful. keep up the good work.
Thanks alot.
I just wanted to thank you, you’ve saved me a lot of time.
You’re welcome ..;)
i’m new in adroid, how to start first application eclipse
After selecting….ADT Plugins, when I click on Next, I get this error…”Cannot complete the install because one or more required items could not be found.
Software being installed: Android Development Tools 16.0.1.v201112150204-238534 (com.android.ide.eclipse.adt.feature.group 16.0.1.v201112150204-238534)
Missing requirement: Android Development Tools 16.0.1.v201112150204-238534 (com.android.ide.eclipse.adt.feature.group 16.0.1.v201112150204-238534) requires ‘org.eclipse.wst.sse.core 0.0.0’ but it could not be found”
What do I do, in this case?
Hi that because your eclipse version doesn’t match the ADT 16.0.1 requirement. ADT 16.0.1 requires Eclipse 3.6.0 and newer (http://developer.android.com/sdk/eclipse-adt.html)
hai,
very nice work… thanks… i have a problem in configuring ADT with Eclipse…. the ADT packages r installed and Eclipse also restarted successfully… but when i am trying to open a new project in Android i could’nd find any “ANDROID” group in new projects Wizard…. expecting a better solution from u….
I am using eclipse helios and its working fine. Thanks for the tutorial.
Setup Android Application Development Environment on Eclipse which is the first step of Android Application Development. In this tutorial you will find how to set up your Android development environment with Eclipse step by step
Setup Android Application Development Environment on Eclipse
people what do you think sdk or jdk which one is better
I love this post. It make android setup very easy for me.
Great efforts done…
Please lorenz help me out! I don’t know anything about programming. I am new to this. I downloaded Eclipse Classic v4.2. Most of youtube video tutorials says to download Eclipse IDE for Java Developers.. Is it okay to use Eclipse Classic???
Yes thats oke..i always use the classic version ;).
It was really nice and easy to understand tutorial very helpful to beginners.Just looking forward for your next post.