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1page.title=Building and Running from Eclipse with ADT
2parent.title=Building and Running
3parent.link=index.html
4@jd:body
5
6<div id="qv-wrapper">
7    <div id="qv">
8      <h2>In this document</h2>
9
10      <ol>
11        <li><a href="#RunningOnEmulatorEclipse">Running on an Emulator</a></li>
12
13        <li><a href="#RunningOnDeviceEclipse">Running on a Device</a></li>
14
15        <li><a href="#RunConfig">Creating a Run Configuration</a></li>
16      </ol>
17    </div>
18  </div>
19
20  <p>Eclipse and ADT provide an environment where most of the details of the build process are
21  hidden from you. By default, the build process constantly runs in the background as you make
22  changes to your project.</p>
23
24  <p>When Eclipse automatically builds your application, it enables debugging and signs the
25  <code>.apk</code> with a debug key, by default. When you run the application,
26  Eclipse invokes ADB and installs your application to a device or emulator, so you do not have to
27  manually perform these tasks. Since most of the build process is taken care of by Eclipse, the
28  following topics show you how to run an application, which will automatically build your
29  application as well.</p>
30
31  <p>To distribute your application, however, you must build your application in release mode and sign the
32  <code>.apk</code> file with your own private key.</p>
33
34   <p>This document shows you how to run your application on an emulator or a real device
35   from Eclipse&mdash;all of which is done using the debug version of your application.
36   For more information about how to sign your application with a private key for release, see <a href=
37  "{@docRoot}tools/publishing/app-signing.html#ExportWizard">Signing Your Applications</a></p>
38
39  <h2 id="RunningOnEmulatorEclipse">Running on the emulator</h2>
40
41  <p>Before you can run your application on the Android Emulator, you must <a href=
42  "{@docRoot}tools/devices/managing-avds.html">create an AVD</a>.</p>
43
44  <p>To run (or debug) your application, select <strong>Run</strong> &gt; <strong>Run</strong> (or
45  <strong>Run</strong> &gt; <strong>Debug</strong>) from the Eclipse menu bar. The ADT plugin will
46  automatically create a default run configuration for the project. Eclipse will then perform the
47  following:</p>
48
49  <ol>
50    <li>Compile the project (if there have been changes since the last build).</li>
51
52    <li>Create a default run configuration (if one does not already exist for the project).</li>
53
54    <li>Install and start the application on an emulator (or device), based on the Deployment
55    Target defined by the run configuration.
56
57      <p>By default, Android run configurations use an "automatic target" mode for selecting a
58      device target. For information on how automatic target mode selects a deployment target, see
59      <a href="#AutoAndManualTargetModes">Automatic and manual target modes</a> below.</p>
60    </li>
61  </ol>
62
63  <p>If you run the application with the Debug option, the application will start in the "Waiting For Debugger" mode. Once the debugger
64  is attached, Eclipse opens the Debug perspective and starts the application's main activity. Otherwise, if you run the
65  application with the normal Run option, Eclipse installs the application on the device and launches the main activity.</p>
66
67  <p>To set or change the run configuration used for your project, use the run configuration
68  manager. See the section below about <a href="#RunConfig">Creating a Run Configuration</a> for more information.</p>
69
70  <p>Be certain to create multiple AVDs upon which to test your application. You should have one
71  AVD for each platform and screen type with which your application is compatible. For instance, if
72  your application compiles against the Android 1.5 (API Level 3) platform, you should create an
73  AVD for each platform equal to and greater than 1.5 and an AVD for each <a href=
74  "{@docRoot}guide/practices/screens_support.html">screen type</a> you support, then test your
75  application on each one.</p>
76
77  <h2 id="RunningOnDeviceEclipse">Running on a device</h2>
78
79  <p>Before you can run your application on a device, you must perform some basic setup for your
80  device:</p>
81
82  <ul>
83    <li>Ensure that your application is debuggable by setting the
84    <code>android:debuggable</code> attribute of the <code>&lt;application&gt;</code>
85    element to <code>true</code>. As of ADT 8.0, this is done by default when you build in debug mode.</li>
86
87    <li>Enable USB Debugging on your device. You can find the setting on most Android devices by
88    going to <strong>Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging</strong>.</li>
89
90    <li>Ensure that your development computer can detect your device when connected via USB</li>
91  </ul>
92
93  <p>Read <a href="{@docRoot}tools/device.html">Using Hardware Devices</a>
94  for more information.</p>
95
96  <p>Once set up and your device is connected via USB, install your application on the device by
97  selecting <strong>Run</strong> &gt; <strong>Run</strong> (or <strong>Run</strong> &gt;
98  <strong>Debug</strong>) from the Eclipse menu bar.</p>
99
100  <h2 id="RunConfig">Creating a Run Configuration</h2>
101
102  <p>The run configuration specifies the project to run, the Activity to start, the emulator or
103  connected device to use, and so on. When you first run a project as an <em>Android
104  Application</em>, ADT will automatically create a run configuration. The default run
105  configuration will launch the default project Activity and use automatic target mode for device
106  selection (with no preferred AVD). If the default settings don't suit your project, you can
107  customize the run configuration or even create a new one.</p>
108
109  <p>To create or modify a run configuration, refer to the Eclipse documentation on how to create Run configurations.
110  The following steps highlight the important things you need to do for an Android project:</p>
111
112  <ol>
113    <li>Open the run configuration manager from the Run Menu.</li>
114
115    <li>Expand the <strong>Android Application</strong> item and create a new configuration or open
116    an existing one.
117    </li>
118
119    <li>With the Run Configuration selected, adjust your desired run configuration settings:
120      <ul>
121      <li>In the Android tab, specify the Project and Activity to launch.
122      </li>
123      <li><p>In the Target tab, consider whether you'd like to use Manual or Automatic mode when
124      selecting an AVD to run your application. See the following section on <a href=
125      "#AutoAndManualTargetModes">Automatic and manual target modes</a>).</p>
126
127      <p>You can specify any emulator options to the Additional Emulator Command Line Options
128      field. For example, you could add <code>-scale 96dpi</code> to scale the AVD's screen to an
129      accurate size, based on the dpi of your computer monitor. For a full list of emulator
130      options, see the <a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/emulator.html">Android
131      Emulator</a> document.</p>
132      </li>
133      </ul>
134    </li>
135  </ol>
136
137  <h4 id="AutoAndManualTargetModes">Automatic and manual target modes</h4>
138
139  <p>By default, a run configuration uses the <strong>automatic</strong> target mode in order to
140  select an AVD. In this mode, ADT will select an AVD for the application in the following
141  manner:</p>
142
143  <ol>
144    <li>If there's a device or emulator already running and its AVD configuration meets the
145    requirements of the application's build target, the application is installed and run upon
146    it.</li>
147
148    <li>If there's more than one device or emulator running, each of which meets the requirements
149    of the build target, a "device chooser" is shown to let you select which device to use.</li>
150
151    <li>If there are no devices or emulators running that meet the requirements of the build
152    target, ADT looks at the available AVDs. If there is an AVD that matches the build target of the project,
153    ADT chooses that AVD. If the AVD versions are newer than the build target of the project, ADT chooses
154    the oldest possible version of an AVD that meets the project's build target requirement.</li>
155
156    <li>If there are no suitable AVDs, the application is not installed a console error warning tells
157    you that there is no existing AVD that meets the build target requirements.</li>
158  </ol>
159
160  <p>However, if a "preferred AVD" is selected in the run configuration, then the application will
161  <em>always</em> be deployed to that AVD. If it's not already running, then a new emulator will be
162  launched.</p>
163
164  <p>If your run configuration uses <strong>manual</strong> mode, then the "device chooser" is
165  presented every time that your application is run, so that you can select which AVD to use.</p>