Android CLI: Build Android apps 3x faster using any agent

Agents will allow human programmers to get what they've been begging for decades now: proper requirements and flexible, logical, tooling.

The install command shown for Windows is 404.

`curl -fsSL https://dl.google.com/android/cli/latest/windows_x86_64/inst... | bash`

The URL shown for individual OSs work, but the script errors for me.

`curl.exe -fsSL https://dl.google.com/android/cli/latest/windows_x86_64/inst... -o "%TEMP%\i.cmd" && "%TEMP%\i.cmd"`

I manually downloaded the exe, but it say socket error. vibe coding is going strong!

I wish the same thing existed for Apple.

Everything I do for macOS/iOS is already without Xcode but it's a pain in the ass to keep up with changes, and there are things I haven't figured out yet (like AUv3).

>Google collects usage data for the Android CLI, such as commands, sub-commands, and flags used. This data does not include custom parameters or identifiable information. This information helps improve the tool and is collected in accordance with Google's Privacy Policy.

>https://policies.google.com/privacy

>Disable Android CLI metrics collection by using the --no-metrics flag.

No thanks, is there no env variable for this? Doesn't Google have enough data already?

Wow. Thanks for this update. It streamlined a lot of tasks.

Apart from this, next step will be to add suport for building android apps on the android phones itself. No desktop needed.Building on the laptop with agents and installing the build in the phone and testing doea not seem AI native. If everything can run on my android phone, development cycle will speed up.

This is a good step forward, but keep in mind the claimed gains are about "project and environment setup", not the tasks you deal with on a daily basis in an existing project.

Let's see if even mid/big companies with tons of resources, with AI and the right tooling will continue to write webview-apps or, even worse, use some kind of multi target wrapper.

This is great. We also need a tool to expose source jars to agents so they don’t need to compress. There’s a lot of Compose overloads that Claude just guesses at. I built something internally but it needs polish and Claude really struggled with the deep Gradle integration.

How can I use this official android skill with Claude code?

Is there any step by step process or guidance on it?

> Your agents perform best when they have a lightweight, programmatic interface to interact with the Android SDK and development environment.

F you google. Me too. Why didn't we get a sane way to build android apps before you had to please chatbots?

Catching up to Flutter.

But can I publish an app without having to share my ID? I want an ecosystem that doesn't require it.

Now please let us install the apps just as easily

Flutter CLI is what we really need but this is a welcome addition.

Agents will allow human programmers to get what they've been begging for decades now: proper requirements and flexible, logical, tooling.

this has been my sort of big tent alignment with AI people. If I'm getting good CLI tooling that _actually works_ (or fixes to existing ones that have been busted forever) then I'm pretty happy.

Things that make systems more understandable to the LLMs ... usually make things more understandable for humans as well. Usually.

The biggest issue I've found is that vibed up tooling tends to be pretty bad at having the right kind of "sense" for what makes good CLI UX. So you still have awkward argument structures or naming. Better than nothing though

I've been thinking the same thing lately. It's sorta frustrating that it required bots to force tech companies to make clean simple cli driven development workflows.

It's wild that it took AI to get half the companies on the planet to actually add reasonably priced APIs to their products so I don't have to puppeteer every damn thing with a flakey harness.

> Agents will allow human programmers to get what they've been begging for decades now: proper requirements and flexible, logical, tooling.

...and once this goal is finally reached the programmer will breathe a sigh of relief and then promptly be fired since now the machine can do the job as well as they could.

The tooling in 2026 is so easy you can do almost anything without AI very very quickly.

I've been thinking the same thing lately. It's sorta frustrating that it required bots to force tech companies to make clean simple cli driven development workflows.

Let's see if even mid/big companies with tons of resources, with AI and the right tooling will continue to write webview-apps or, even worse, use some kind of multi target wrapper.

I wish the same thing existed for Apple.

Everything I do for macOS/iOS is already without Xcode but it's a pain in the ass to keep up with changes, and there are things I haven't figured out yet (like AUv3).

Wow. Thanks for this update. It streamlined a lot of tasks.

you already could! just install Termux, npm install your favourite agent harness (pi for one has explicit Termux support, but its AGENTS.md works just fine with Claude Code for example - https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono/blob/main/packages/codin...), and say you want an android app. It problem solves for a bit, then spits out an apk out to your Downloads folder.

Also coding agents will happily compile android applications (of maximum complexity) via Github Actions where you can just pick them up with Obtainium. No PC needed

You actually can right now on termux.

This is a good step forward, but keep in mind the claimed gains are about "project and environment setup", not the tasks you deal with on a daily basis in an existing project.

Taking screenshots, optionally with component borders highlighted, and operating the UI with element names like "button1" instead of tap 200,30 looks useful. If I could get it to work.

The install command shown for Windows is 404.

`curl -fsSL https://dl.google.com/android/cli/latest/windows_x86_64/inst... | bash`

The URL shown for individual OSs work, but the script errors for me.

`curl.exe -fsSL https://dl.google.com/android/cli/latest/windows_x86_64/inst... -o "%TEMP%\i.cmd" && "%TEMP%\i.cmd"`

I manually downloaded the exe, but it say socket error. vibe coding is going strong!

How can I use this official android skill with Claude code?

Is there any step by step process or guidance on it?

But can I publish an app without having to share my ID? I want an ecosystem that doesn't require it.

Catching up to Flutter.

>https://policies.google.com/privacy

>Disable Android CLI metrics collection by using the --no-metrics flag.

No thanks, is there no env variable for this? Doesn't Google have enough data already?

Now please let us install the apps just as easily

> Your agents perform best when they have a lightweight, programmatic interface to interact with the Android SDK and development environment.

F you google. Me too. Why didn't we get a sane way to build android apps before you had to please chatbots?

Flutter CLI is what we really need but this is a welcome addition.

It's wild that it took AI to get half the companies on the planet to actually add reasonably priced APIs to their products so I don't have to puppeteer every damn thing with a flakey harness.

> Agents will allow human programmers to get what they've been begging for decades now: proper requirements and flexible, logical, tooling.

...and once this goal is finally reached the programmer will breathe a sigh of relief and then promptly be fired since now the machine can do the job as well as they could.

The tooling in 2026 is so easy you can do almost anything without AI very very quickly.

Goggles Android tooling has been like this forever, nothing to do with AI.

Looks like the docs start here: https://developer.android.com/tools/agents/android-skills#us...

There's a link to a repo or you can use the CLI tool to init the skills

It's not just your ID; it's your address, phone number, and the list goes on.

Absolutely not. That would be crazy.

Zapstore or Obtanium...

flutter have this already?

Android CLI can write a tool that wraps android-cli and automatically passes the flag based on an env variable.

How would Google have enough data about a brand new product without collecting that data?

downloading an APK and opening it is already about as easy as it gets. the only thing easier would be for someone else to do it for you

Damned if you do. Damned if you dont.

It exists already. Wdym?

this has been my sort of big tent alignment with AI people. If I'm getting good CLI tooling that _actually works_ (or fixes to existing ones that have been busted forever) then I'm pretty happy.

Things that make systems more understandable to the LLMs ... usually make things more understandable for humans as well. Usually.

Its like major cities repairing their roads to incentivize autonomous vehicles to operate there. Win win for everyone.

Any textbooks or resources on getting better at naming things?

The Programmers Brain book was my go to

Let me try this. Last year this was a dream. Can't belive we are so close to automate all of this.

My major issue last time was providing the feedback to the agent by running the apk on phone i.e, pass the debug log from the apk back to agent so it can iterate on it without me providing any input.

Any textbooks or resources on getting better at naming things?

The Programmers Brain book was my go to

Its like major cities repairing their roads to incentivize autonomous vehicles to operate there. Win win for everyone.

Also coding agents will happily compile android applications (of maximum complexity) via Github Actions where you can just pick them up with Obtainium. No PC needed

You actually can right now on termux.

Taking screenshots, optionally with component borders highlighted, and operating the UI with element names like "button1" instead of tap 200,30 looks useful. If I could get it to work.

The Design of Everyday Things.

Goggles Android tooling has been like this forever, nothing to do with AI.

It's not just your ID; it's your address, phone number, and the list goes on.

Absolutely not. That would be crazy.

Looks like the docs start here: https://developer.android.com/tools/agents/android-skills#us...

There's a link to a repo or you can use the CLI tool to init the skills

Zapstore or Obtanium...

It exists already. Wdym?

Let me try this. Last year this was a dream. Can't belive we are so close to automate all of this.

My major issue last time was providing the feedback to the agent by running the apk on phone i.e, pass the debug log from the apk back to agent so it can iterate on it without me providing any input.

flutter have this already?

AFAIK, Flutter has had a good, capable CLI since the beggining. You've never needed to install Android Studio to use Flutter.

I meant in terms of development speed with agents.

Damned if you do. Damned if you dont.

Damned if you don't, damned if you do fifteen years later for an entirely different reason.

Android CLI can write a tool that wraps android-cli and automatically passes the flag based on an env variable.

How would Google have enough data about a brand new product without collecting that data?

`alias android-cli='android-cli --no-metrics'`

> How would Google have enough data about a brand new product without collecting that data?

They wouldn't. But on the other hand, they probably have a large amount of in-house Android app developers on whom they can conduct such metrics collection. I wouldn't expect outsiders to have vastly different workflows, because when you get out of the happy path with Android all you get is pain.

downloading an APK and opening it is already about as easy as it gets. the only thing easier would be for someone else to do it for you

You're forgetting the installation ("sideloading", what everyone else calls installation) restrictions they are about to deploy. It will be a significant hassle to install anything without Google's approval. Many F-droid apps are showing warning notices about this upcoming change.

"This APK cannot be scanned and its safety cannot be verified. Learn more/go back" and "learn more" has a link that looks like nothing but is actually a button to actually install the app.

I can think of some easier things, for example popping up a dialog, pressing "install" and having my all actually be installed after that.

The Design of Everyday Things.

The conclusion I drew from that book is that I shouldn't be naming things.

I meant in terms of development speed with agents.

AFAIK, Flutter has had a good, capable CLI since the beggining. You've never needed to install Android Studio to use Flutter.

Damned if you don't, damned if you do fifteen years later for an entirely different reason.

`alias android-cli='android-cli --no-metrics'`

Uh do aliases load in non-interactive shells?

> How would Google have enough data about a brand new product without collecting that data?

"This APK cannot be scanned and its safety cannot be verified. Learn more/go back" and "learn more" has a link that looks like nothing but is actually a button to actually install the app.

I can think of some easier things, for example popping up a dialog, pressing "install" and having my all actually be installed after that.

Good, it shouldn't be two clicks for elderly people to install trojans on their phone that then drain their bank account. There should be some explicit confirmation that the user knows what they are doing and they are not being scammed. It is long overdue.

The conclusion I drew from that book is that I shouldn't be naming things.

Uh do aliases load in non-interactive shells?

Create a wrapping binary instead

    mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
    printf '#!/usr/bin/env sh\nexec android-cli --no-metrics "$@"' > ~/.local/bin/android-cli
    echo 'PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshenv

You could export BASH_ENV to have Bash processes source a given file at startup.

Zsh has .zshenv, and Fish just has config.fish for everything with the ability to guard certain things within it to login only or non-interactive only.

It is 1 click because the malware is on the play store already!

Create a wrapping binary instead

    mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
    printf '#!/usr/bin/env sh\nexec android-cli --no-metrics "$@"' > ~/.local/bin/android-cli
    echo 'PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshenv

You could export BASH_ENV to have Bash processes source a given file at startup.

Zsh has .zshenv, and Fish just has config.fish for everything with the ability to guard certain things within it to login only or non-interactive only.

It is 1 click because the malware is on the play store already!

Both are problematic.

As Android developers, you have many choices when it comes to the agents, tools, and LLMs you use for app development. Whether you are using Gemini in Android Studio, Gemini CLI, Antigravity, or third-party agents like Claude Code or Codex, our mission is to ensure that high-quality Android development is possible everywhere.

Today, we are introducing a new suite of Android tools and resources for agentic workflows — Android CLI with Android skills and the Android Knowledge Base. This collection of tools is designed to eliminate the guesswork of core Android development workflows when you direct an agent’s work outside of Android Studio, making your agents more efficient, effective, and capable of following the latest recommended patterns and best practices.

Whether you are just starting your development journey on Android, are a seasoned Android developer, or managing apps across mobile and web platforms, building your apps with the latest guidance, tools, and AI-assistance is easier than ever. No matter which environment you begin with these resources, you can always transition your development experience to Android Studio—where the state-of-the-art tools and agents for Android development are available to help your app experience truly shine.

(Re)Introducing the Android CLI

Your agents perform best when they have a lightweight, programmatic interface to interact with the Android SDK and development environment. So, at the heart of this new workflow is a revitalized Android CLI. The new Android CLI serves as the primary interface for Android development from the terminal, featuring commands for environment setup, project creation, and device management—with more modern capabilities and easy updatability in mind.

The create command makes an Android app project in seconds.

In our internal experiments, Android CLI improved project and environment setup by reducing LLM token usage by more than 70%, and tasks were completed 3X faster than when agents attempted to navigate these tasks using only the standard toolsets.

Key capabilities available to you include:

SDK management: Use android sdk install to download only the specific components needed, ensuring a lean development environment.
Snappy project creation: The android create command generates new projects from official templates, ensuring the recommended architecture and best practices are applied from the very first line of code.
Rapid device creation and deployment: Create and manage virtual devices with android emulator and deploy apps using android run, eliminating the guesswork involved in manual build and deploy cycles.
Updatability: Run android update to ensure that you have the latest capabilities available.

Android CLI can create a device, run your app on it, and make it easier for agents to navigate UI.

While Android CLI will empower your agentic development flows, it’s also been designed to streamline CI, maintenance, and any other scripted automation for the increasingly distributed nature of Android development. Download and try out the Android CLI today!

Grounding LLMs with official Android Skills

Traditional documentation can be descriptive, conceptual, and high-level. While perfect for learning, LLMs often require precise, actionable instructions to execute complex workflows without using outdated patterns and libraries.

To bridge this gap, we are launching the Android skills GitHub repository. Skills are modular, markdown-based (SKILL.md) instruction sets that provide a technical specification for a task and are designed to trigger automatically when your prompt matches the skill's metadata, saving you the hassle of manually attaching documentation to every prompt.

Android skills cover some of the most common workflows that some Android developers and LLMs may struggle with—they help models better understand and execute specific patterns that follow our best practices and guidance on Android development.

In our initial release, the repository includes skills like:

Navigation 3 setup and migration.
Implementing edge-to-edge support.
AGP 9 and XML-to-Compose migrations.
R8 config analysis, and more!

If you’re using Android CLI, you can browse and set up your agent workflow with our growing collection of skills using the android skills command. These skills can also live alongside any other skills you create, or third-party skills created by the Android developer community. Learn more about getting started with Android skills.

Install Android skills via the Android CLI to make your agent more effective and efficient.

The latest guidance via the Android Knowledge Base

The third component we are launching today is the Android Knowledge Base. Accessible through the android docs command and already available in the latest version of Android Studio, this specialized data source enables agents to search and fetch the latest authoritative developer guidelines to use as relevant context.

The Android Knowledge Base ensures agents have the latest context, guidance, and best practices for Android.

By accessing the frequently updated knowledge base, agents can ground their responses in the most recent information from Android developer docs, Firebase, Google Developers, and Kotlin docs. This ensures that even if an LLM's training cutoff is a year old, it can still provide guidance on the latest frameworks and patterns we recommend today.

Android Studio: The ultimate destination for premium apps

In addition to empowering developers and agents to handle project setup and boilerplate code, we’ve also designed these new tools and resources to make it easier to transition to Android Studio. That means you can start a prototype quickly with an agent using Android CLI and then open the project in Android Studio to fine-tune your UI with visual tools for code editing, UI design, deep debugging, and advanced profiling that scale with the growing capabilities of your app.

And when it is time to build a high-quality app for large-scale publication across various device types, our agent in Android Studio is here to help, while leveraging the latest development best practices and libraries. Beyond the powerful Agent and Planning Modes for active development, we have introduced an AI-powered New Project flow, which provides an entry point to rapidly prototyping your next great idea for Android.

These built-in agents make it simple to extend your app ideas across phones, foldables, tablets, Wear OS, Android Auto, and Android TV. Equipped with full context of your project’s source code and a comprehensive suite of debugging, profiling, and emulation tools, you have an end-to-end, AI-accelerated toolkit at your disposal.

Get started today

Android CLI is available in preview today, along with a growing set of Android skills and knowledge for agents. To get started, head over to d.android.com/tools/agents to download Android CLI.

Hacker Times