Before you download and build the Android source, ensure your system meets the following requirements. Then see Establishing a Build Environment for installation instructions by operating system.

Hardware requirements

Your development workstation should meet or exceed these hardware requirements:

• A 64-bit environment is required for Gingerbread (2.3.x) and newer versions, including the master branch. You can compile older versions on 32-bit systems.
• At least 100GB of free disk space to checkout the code and an extra 150GB to build it. If you conduct multiple builds or employ ccache, you will need even more space.

• If you are running Linux in a virtual machine, you need at least 16GB of RAM/swap.

Software requirements

The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) master branch is traditionally developed and tested on Ubuntu Long Term Support (LTS) releases, but other distributions may be used. See the list below for recommended versions.

You workstation must have the software listed below. See Establishing a Build Environment for additional required packages and the commands to install them.

OS and JDK

If you are developing against the AOSP master branch, use one of these operating systems: Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty) or Mac OS v10.10 (Yosemite) or later with Xcode 4.5.2 and Command Line Tools.

For the Java Development Kit (JDK), note the master branch of Android in AOSP comes with a prebuilt version of OpenJDK; so no additional installation is required. Older versions require a separate install.

See Packages for older versions.

Key packages

• Python 2.6 -- 2.7 from python.org
• GNU Make 3.81 -- 3.82 from gnu.org
• Git 1.7 or newer from git-scm.com

Device binaries

Download previews, factory images, drivers, over-the-air (OTA) updates, and other blobs below. See Obtaining proprietary binaries for additional details.

• Preview binaries (blobs) - for AOSP master branch development
• Factory images - for the supported devices running tagged AOSP release branches
• Binary hardware support files - for devices running tagged AOSP release branches

Build toolchain

Android 8.0 and later support only Clang/LLVM for building the Android platform. Join the android-llvm group to pose questions and get help. Report NDK/compiler issues at the NDK GitHub.

For the Native Development Kit (NDK) and legacy kernels, GCC 4.9 included in the AOSP master branch (under prebuilts/) may also be used.

Packages for older versions

The sections below provide relevant operating systems and JDK packages for older versions of Android.

Operating system

Android is typically built with a GNU/Linux or Mac OS operating system. It is also possible to build Android in a virtual machine on unsupported systems such as Windows.

GNU/Linux

• Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) - AOSP master: Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty)
• Android 2.3.x (Gingerbread) - Android 5.x (Lollipop): Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise)
• Android 1.5 (Cupcake) - Android 2.2.x (Froyo): Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid)

Mac OS (Intel/x86)

• Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) - AOSP master: Mac OS v10.10 (Yosemite) or later with Xcode 4.5.2 and Command Line Tools
• Android 5.x (Lollipop): Mac OS v10.8 (Mountain Lion) with Xcode 4.5.2 and Command Line Tools
• Android 4.1.x-4.3.x (Jelly Bean) - Android 4.4.x (KitKat): Mac OS v10.6 (Snow Leopard) or Mac OS X v10.7 (Lion) and Xcode 4.2 (Apple's Developer Tools)
• Android 1.5 (Cupcake) - Android 4.0.x (Ice Cream Sandwich): Mac OS v10.5 (Leopard) or Mac OS X v10.6 (Snow Leopard) and the Mac OS X v10.5 SDK

JDK

See Installing the JDK for the prebuilt path and installation instructions for older versions.

• Android 7.0 (Nougat) - Android 8.0 (O release): Ubuntu - OpenJDK 8, Mac OS - jdk 8u45 or newer
• Android 5.x (Lollipop) - Android 6.0 (Marshmallow): Ubuntu - OpenJDK 7, Mac OS - jdk-7u71-macosx-x64.dmg
• Android 2.3.x (Gingerbread) - Android 4.4.x (KitKat): Ubuntu - Java JDK 6, Mac OS - Java JDK 6
• Android 1.5 (Cupcake) - Android 2.2.x (Froyo): Ubuntu - Java JDK 5

Make

Android 4.0.x (Ice Cream Sandwich) and earlier will need to revert from make 3.82 to avoid build errors