Setting up a Linux build environment

In general you will need:

Python 2.4 -- 2.7, which you can download from .
JDK 6 if you wish to build Gingerbread or newer; JDK 5 for Froyo or older. You can download both from .
Git 1.5.4 or newer. You can find it at .

Installing the JDK

Java 6: for Gingerbread and newer

$ sudo add-apt-repository "deb  lucid partner"
$ sudo add-apt-repository "deb-src ubuntu lucid partner"
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jdk

Java 5: for Froyo and older

$ sudo add-apt-repository "deb  dapper main multiverse"
$ sudo add-apt-repository "deb  dapper-updates main multiverse"
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install sun-java5-jdk

Installing required packages

$ sudo apt-get install git-core gnupg flex bison gperf build-essential zip curl zlib1g-dev libc6-dev 
  lib32ncurses5-dev ia32-libs x11proto-core-dev libx11-dev lib32readline5-dev lib32z-dev

For building Froyo or an older release on a 64-bit system, several other packages are necessary to establish a 32-bit build environment:

$ sudo apt-get install gcc-multilib g++-multilib libc6-i386 libc6-dev-i386

Configuring USB Access

Under GNU/linux systems (and specifically under Ubuntu systems), regular users can't directly access USB devices by default. The system needs to be configured to allow such access.

The recommended approach is to create a file /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules (as the root user) and to copy the following lines in it. must be replaced by the actual username of the user who is authorized to access the phones over USB.

# adb protocol on passion (Nexus One)
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="18d1", ATTR{idProduct}=="4e12", MODE="0600", OWNER=""
# fastboot protocol on passion (Nexus One)
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="0bb4", ATTR{idProduct}=="0fff", MODE="0600", OWNER=""
# adb protocol on crespo (Nexus S)
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="18d1", ATTR{idProduct}=="4e22", MODE="0600", OWNER=""
# fastboot protocol on crespo (Nexus S)
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="18d1", ATTR{idProduct}=="4e20", MODE="0600", OWNER=""

Those new rules take effect the next time a device is plugged in. It might therefore be necessary to unplug the device and plug it back into the computer.

This is known to work on both Ubuntu Hardy Heron (8.04.x LTS) and Lucid Lynx (10.04.x LTS). Other versions of Ubuntu or other variants of GNU/linux might require different configurations.

Downloading the Source Tree

Installing Repo

$ wget  > ~/bin/repo
$ chmod a+x ~/bin/repo

Initializing a Repo client

$ mkdir /home/android_src
$ cd /home/android_src

$ repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git

To check out a branch other than "master", specify it with -b:

$ repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git -b froyo

Getting the files

$ repo sync

Verifying Git Tags

Load the following public key into your GnuPG key database. The key is used to sign annotated tags that represent releases.

$ gpg --import

Copy and paste the key(s) below, then enter EOF (Ctrl-D) to end the input and process the keys.

    -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
    Version: GnuPG v1.4.2.2 (GNU/Linux)  
    mQGiBEnnWD4RBACt9/h4v9xnnGDou13y3dvOx6/t43LPPIxeJ8eX9WB+8LLuROSV
    lFhpHawsVAcFlmi7f7jdSRF+OvtZL9ShPKdLfwBJMNkU66/TZmPewS4m782ndtw7
    8tR1cXb197Ob8kOfQB3A9yk2XZ4ei4ZC3i6wVdqHLRxABdncwu5hOF9KXwCgkxMD
    u4PVgChaAJzTYJ1EG+UYBIUEAJmfearb0qRAN7dEoff0FeXsEaUA6U90sEoVks0Z
    wNj96SA8BL+a1OoEUUfpMhiHyLuQSftxisJxTh+2QclzDviDyaTrkANjdYY7p2cq
    /HMdOY7LJlHaqtXmZxXjjtw5Uc2QG8UY8aziU3IE9nTjSwCXeJnuyvoizl9/I1S5
    jU5SA/9WwIps4SC84ielIXiGWEqq6i6/sk4I9q1YemZF2XVVKnmI1F4iCMtNKsR4
    MGSa1gA8s4iQbsKNWPgp7M3a51JCVCu6l/8zTpA+uUGapw4tWCp4o0dpIvDPBEa9
    b/aF/ygcR8mh5hgUfpF9IpXdknOsbKCvM9lSSfRciETykZc4wrRCVGhlIEFuZHJv
    aWQgT3BlbiBTb3VyY2UgUHJvamVjdCA8aW5pdGlhbC1jb250cmlidXRpb25AYW5k
    cm9pZC5jb20+iGAEExECACAFAknnWD4CGwMGCwkIBwMCBBUCCAMEFgIDAQIeAQIX
    gAAKCRDorT+BmrEOeNr+AJ42Xy6tEW7r3KzrJxnRX8mij9z8tgCdFfQYiHpYngkI
    2t09Ed+9Bm4gmEO5Ag0ESedYRBAIAKVW1JcMBWvV/0Bo9WiByJ9WJ5swMN36/vAl
    QN4mWRhfzDOk/Rosdb0csAO/l8Kz0gKQPOfObtyYjvI8JMC3rmi+LIvSUT9806Up
    hisyEmmHv6U8gUb/xHLIanXGxwhYzjgeuAXVCsv+EvoPIHbY4L/KvP5x+oCJIDbk
    C2b1TvVk9PryzmE4BPIQL/NtgR1oLWm/uWR9zRUFtBnE411aMAN3qnAHBBMZzKMX
    LWBGWE0znfRrnczI5p49i2YZJAjyX1P2WzmScK49CV82dzLo71MnrF6fj+Udtb5+
    OgTg7Cow+8PRaTkJEW5Y2JIZpnRUq0CYxAmHYX79EMKHDSThf/8AAwUIAJPWsB/M
    pK+KMs/s3r6nJrnYLTfdZhtmQXimpoDMJg1zxmL8UfNUKiQZ6esoAWtDgpqt7Y7s
    KZ8laHRARonte394hidZzM5nb6hQvpPjt2OlPRsyqVxw4c/KsjADtAuKW9/d8phb
    N8bTyOJo856qg4oOEzKG9eeF7oaZTYBy33BTL0408sEBxiMior6b8LrZrAhkqDjA
    vUXRwm/fFKgpsOysxC6xi553CxBUCH2omNV6Ka1LNMwzSp9ILz8jEGqmUtkBszwo
    G1S8fXgE0Lq3cdDM/GJ4QXP/p6LiwNF99faDMTV3+2SAOGvytOX6KjKVzKOSsfJQ
    hN0DlsIw8hqJc0WISQQYEQIACQUCSedYRAIbDAAKCRDorT+BmrEOeCUOAJ9qmR0l
    EXzeoxcdoafxqf6gZlJZlACgkWF7wi2YLW3Oa+jv2QSTlrx4KLM=
    =Wi5D 
    -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

After importing the keys, you can verify any tag with

$ git tag -v TAG_NAME

Building the System

Initialize

$ source build/envsetup.sh

$ . build/envsetup.sh

Choose a Target

$ lunch full-eng

The example above refers to a complete build for the emulator, with all debugging enabled.

If run with no arguments lunch will prompt you to choose a target from the menu.

All build targets take the form DEVICE-BUILDTYPE, where the DEVICE is a codename referring to the particular hardware:

Codename	Device
passion	Nexus One
crespo	Nexus S
generic	emulator

and the BUILDTYPE is one of the following:

Buildtype	Use
user	limited access; suited for production
userdebug	like "user" but with `su` access; preferred for debugging
eng	unrestricted access

Build the Code

$ make sdk

You can either run your build on an emulator or flash it on a device. Please note that you have already selected your build target with lunch, and it is unlikely at best to run on a different target than it was built for.

Flash a Device

To flash a device, you will need to use fastboot, which should be included in your path after a successful build. Place the device in fastboot mode either manually by holding the appropriate key combination at boot, or from the shell with

$ adb reboot bootloader

Once the device is in fastboot mode, run

$ fastboot flashall -w

The -w option wipes the /data partition on the device; this is useful for your first time flashing a particular device, but is otherwise unnecessary.

Emulate an Android Device

The emulator is added to your path automatically by the build process. To run the emulator, type

$ emulator