Android Studio for Platform (ASfP) is the official Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Android platform development. Based on the powerful code editor and developer tools from IntelliJ IDEA, Android Studio for Platform offers even more features that enhance your productivity when building on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), such as:
- Soong-based build system
- A fast and feature-rich emulator
- A debugger for Java, Kotlin, and C++
- Testing tools
- C++ and NDK support
This page provides an introduction to basic Android Studio for Platform features. For a summary of the latest changes, see the Android Studio for Platform release notes.
Project structure
A project in Android Studio for Platform contains everything that defines your workspace for your AOSP codebase, from source code and assets to test code and build configurations. Learn more about the project structure.
Soong build system
Soong is the most widely used build system for Android platform developers. There are altogether three:
Android Studio for Platform uses the Soong build system to build Android. Soong leverages the kati GNU Make clone tool and Ninja build system component to speed up builds of Android.
Soong build files are called blueprint files and are named Android.bp.
For a detailed description of the Android.bp file format, see
Android.bp.
Debugging tools
Android Studio for Platform's debugger lets you select a device, set breakpoints in Java and C++, and examine variables and expressions at runtime. Learn more about the debugger.
Testing tools
Android Studio for Platform supports running local (device) tests (via atest).
Learn more about the testing tools.