How to Install and Setup Android Studio

In this post, we will learn about how to install and setup android studio. We will also see how to install any android sdk component package using android SDK Manager.

This tutorial targets beginners level geeky who wish to learn android app development.

Let’s get to know a bit about android studio first –

Android Studio is the Google’s Officially Supported IDE for android that provides fastest tools for building apps on every types of Android device. It is based on IntelliJ IDEA, and is freely available under Apache license. The recent android studio version includes following features.

A common platform to develop android applications for all android devices.
You can also build android TV and Android Wear apps.
Template-based wizards to create common Android designs and components.
It supports gradle based android applications development.
A fast and feature rich emulator.
Support for Instant Run to push changes to your running app without building a new APK.
C++ and NDK support.

You can learn more about android and it’s features .

Now, we will see how to install and setup android studio step by step.

At first we will see what is system requirements to install and setup android studio in your device.

1. System Requirements

Google provides android studio for different platforms like – windows, Mac OS, and Linux etc. Before downloading android studio, make sure your device meets one of the following requirements –

For Windows OS –

Microsoft® Windows® 7/8/10 (64 bit)
4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB RAM recommended
2 GB of available disk space minimum, 4 GB Recommended (500 MB for IDE + 1.5 GB for Android SDK and emulator system image)
1280 x 800 minimum screen resolution

For Mac OS –

Mac® OS X® 10.10 (Yosemite) or higher, up to 10.14 (macOS Mojave)
4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB RAM recommended
2 GB of available disk space minimum, 4 GB Recommended (500 MB for IDE + 1.5 GB for Android SDK and emulator system image)
1280 x 800 minimum screen resolution

For Linux OS –

GNOME or KDE desktop – Tested on gLinux based on Debian
64-bit distribution capable of running 32-bit applications
GNU C Library (glibc) 2.19 or later
4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB RAM recommended
2 GB of available disk space minimum, 4 GB Recommended (500 MB for IDE + 1.5 GB for Android SDK and emulator system image)
1280 x 800 minimum screen resolution

For Chrome OS –

8 GB RAM or more recommended
4 GB of available disk space minimum
1280 x 800 minimum screen resolution
Intel i5 or higher (U series or higher) recommended

At this point, we are assuming that you have device that fulfils one of the above requirements.

2. Download Android Studio

Follow steps below to download android studio –

Click on link below to go to official link provided by google –

Download Android Studio
Now, check read and agree terms ….. Then, click on DOWNLOAD ANDROID STUDIO FOR MAC.
Depending upon your internet speed, it may take some time to download.

Once download is complete, you can follow below steps to install and setup android studio.

Note – Below steps shows how to install and setup android studio in mac os. However, you can follow similar steps in other devices as well.

3. Install Android Studio

Go to folder where you have downloaded android studio installation package (in mac, it’s dmg file). Now, click on that file and follow steps below –

Click on Next button.

Step 1 – Install Android Studio
Now, select the component(s) you want to install.
Step 2 – Install Android Studio
Then, Accept the license.
Step 3 – Install Android Studio
Now, choose Android Studio installation location and Android SDK installation location. Then, click next.
Step 4 – Install Android Studio
Choose the start menu option folder and click Install button.
Step 5 – Install Android Studio
Now, wait for some time to get it installed.
Step 6 – Install Android Studio
After successful installation, you will see the screen as below. Click Next.
Step 7 – Install Android Studio
Then, check the option to Start Android Studio and click Finish button.
Step 8 – Install Android Studio

That’s it. Android Studio is successfully installed now.

Since we have selected Start Android Studio, it will be started.

Now, we will see how to setup android studio and download necessary components, SDKs using android SDK manager to create and run our android application.

4. First Time Setup Android Studio

When you will open android studio for the first time, you will see the welcome / setup screen as shown below –
Tutorialwing – Android SDK component setup step-1
Clicking next in the welcome screen will redirect you to the next screen. You will see 2 options there. If you want to install the sdk component manually, you can select Custom. Otherwise, you select Standard. Most of the things will be automatically done on behalf of you.

Tutorialwing – Android SDK component setup step-2
Then, Select the options you want to install. Then, Click next.

Tutorialwing – Android SDK component setup step-3

Note: Ignore the message “An existing Android SDK was detected…..”. You will see this message only if you have already install Android SDK.
Clicking Finish button will start installing the components you have selected. So, make sure you have selected what you want to install. You can also go back and change your selection.

Tutorialwing – Android SDK component setup step-4
After clicking finish button, you will see screen similar as below. It shows current downloading progress. Also, you can cancel this operation whenever you wish.

Tutorialwing – Android SDK component setup step-5
On complete installation, you will see the screen as below. Click Finish and you are done.

Tutorialwing – Android SDK component setup step-6

5. Install Android SDK Components

Let’s first know what is Android SDK

Android SDK, stands for Software Development Kit, is a set of development tools used to develop application for android platform. It includes –

Debugger

Required Libraries

Emulator

Android API Documentation

Sample Source Code

Tutorials on Android OS

Now, you must have come across this question –

Why do we need Android SDK?

The answer is “you need it to develop android application for any particular android version.”

Each version of android has its own SDK(Software development kit). SDK provides the ability to create an application for that version. e.g. If you have installed SDK for Android Lollipop, you can create android application for Lollipop version. Similarly, you need to install the SDK for all the versions in which you want to create the android applications. Now, Since you just went through the setup wizard, you will already have the latest version installed.
However, you can install the new SDK as mentioned below.

Installing a new Android SDK

Follow below procedure to install new Android SDK –

Open Android Studio.
In Mac, click on Android Studio -> Preferences. In other platform, you need to open Android Studio Settings.
Now, click on Appearance & Behaviour -> System Settings -> Android SDK.
There you will see various SDKs available.
In above image, you can see some items as checked. This is because we have already installed those packages in our system. Similarly, if you need to install any package, you can check it and click on OK button.

Here, we have selected Android 4.4W. However, you can select any version of your need and click on OK button to install.

Do you know a shortcut to open Android SDK window in Android Studio?

Answer –
There is a shortcut icon, like red-rounded box in below image, at top toolbar section in android studio. Click on that icon to open Android SDK Window.

What Next?

Now, we will learn how to create android application in our next post.