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Android SDK and emulator management

The .NET MAUI CLI provides commands for managing the Android development environment, including SDK packages, JDK installations, and emulators. These commands simplify setup and ongoing maintenance of the Android toolchain.

Important

The .NET MAUI CLI is experimental and will change between releases.

Interactive Android setup

The maui android install command runs a full interactive setup of the Android development environment:

maui android install

This command walks you through:

  1. Installing and configuring the JDK.
  2. Installing the Android SDK and required platform packages.
  3. Accepting Android SDK licenses.
  4. Optionally creating an Android emulator.

This workflow is ideal for new developers setting up their environment for the first time.

Android SDK management

Use the maui android sdk commands to list available packages and install specific SDK components.

List available and installed packages

maui android sdk list

The output shows available and installed packages, similar to:

Package                          | Installed | Available
---------------------------------+-----------+----------
platforms;android-35             | 35.0.1    | 35.0.1
platforms;android-34             |           | 34.0.4
build-tools;35.0.0               | 35.0.0    | 35.0.0
platform-tools                   | 35.0.2    | 35.0.2
emulator                         | 35.3.10   | 35.3.10

Install a specific package

maui android sdk install "platforms;android-35"

You can install multiple packages by running the command for each one, or by specifying multiple package names if supported by your CLI version.

JDK management

Install and configure the JDK with a single command:

maui android jdk install

This command handles the full JDK setup process:

  • Downloads a compatible JDK version.
  • Installs the JDK to the appropriate location.
  • Configures the JAVA_HOME environment variable and updates the system path.

Emulator management

The .NET MAUI CLI provides commands to create, start, stop, and delete Android emulators.

Create an emulator

maui android emulator create --name MyEmulator

This creates a new Android emulator with default hardware settings. The command downloads the required system image if it isn't already installed.

Start an emulator

maui android emulator start --name MyEmulator

Launches the specified emulator. The emulator runs in the background so you can continue using the terminal.

Stop an emulator

maui android emulator stop --name MyEmulator

Gracefully shuts down the running emulator.

Delete an emulator

maui android emulator delete --name MyEmulator

Permanently removes the emulator and its associated data.

Use in CI pipelines

In automated environments, combine Android commands with the --json and --ci flags for non-interactive, machine-readable output:

maui android sdk install "platforms;android-35" --ci
maui android emulator create --name CIEmulator --ci
maui android emulator start --name CIEmulator --ci

Use --json when you need to parse command output programmatically:

maui android sdk list --json --ci

See also

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