docs/html/tools/help/sdk-manager.jd

page.title=SDK Manager
@jd:body


<p>The Android SDK Manager separates the SDK tools, platforms, and other components into packages
for easy access and management. You can also customize which sites the SDK Manager checks for new
or updated SDK packages and add-on tools. For example, you can configure the SDK Manager
to automatically check for updates and notify you when an installed SDK Tools package is updated.
When you receive such a notification, you can then quickly decide whether to download the changes.  </p>

<p>By default, Android Studio does not check for Android SDK updates. To enable automatic Android
SDK checking: </p>
<ol>
  <li>Choose <strong>File</strong> &gt; <strong>Settings</strong>
    &gt; <strong>Appearance & Behavior</strong> &gt; <strong>System Settings</strong>
    &gt; <strong>Updates</strong>. </li>
  <li>Check the <strong>Automatically check updates for Android SDK</strong> checkbox and select an
    <ahref="{@docRoot}tools/studio/studio-config.html#update-channel">update channel</a>.</li>


  <li>Click <strong>OK</strong> or <strong>Apply</strong> to enable the update checking. </li>
</ol>

<p>You can launch the SDK Manager in one of the following ways:</p>
<ul>
  <li>From the Android Studio <strong>File</strong> menu:  <strong>File</strong> &gt;
    <strong>Settings</strong> &gt; <strong>Appearance & Behavior</strong> &gt;
    <strong>System Settings</strong> &gt; <strong>Android SDK</strong>.</li>
  <li>From the Android Studio <strong>Tools</strong> menu: <strong>Tools</strong> &gt;
    <strong>Android</strong> &gt; <strong>SDK Manager</strong>.</li>
  <li>From the SDK Manager icon
    (<img src="{@docRoot}images/tools/sdk-manager-studio.png" style="vertical-align:sub;margin:0;height:17px" alt="" />)
    in the menu bar.  </li>
</ul>

<p class="note"><strong>Tip:</strong> The standalone SDK Manager is still available from the
command line, but we recommend it only for use with Eclipse ADT and standalone SDK installations.</p>

<p>By default, the SDK Manager installs the latest packages and tools. Click the checkbox next to
each additional SDK platform and tool that you want to install. Clear the
checkbox to uninstall a SDK platform or tool. Click <strong>Apply</strong> or <strong>OK</strong>
to update the packages and tools. </p>

<p class="note"><strong>Tip:</strong> When an update is available for an installed
package, a hyphen (-) appears in the checkbox next to the package. A download icon
(<img src="{@docRoot}images/tools/studio-sdk-dwnld-icon.png" style="vertical-align:sub;margin:0;height:17px" alt="" />)
also appears next
to the checkbox to indicate the pending update. An update icon
(<img src="{@docRoot}images/tools/studio-sdk-removal-icon.png" style="vertical-align:sub;margin:0;height:17px" alt="" />) appears next to the checkbox to
indicate pending removals.</p>

<p>Click the <em>SDK Update Sites</em> tab to manage which SDK sites Android Studio checks for
tool and add-on updates. </p>

<img src="{@docRoot}images/tools/studio-sdk-manager-packages.png" alt="" />
<p class="img-caption"><strong>Figure 1.</strong> The Android SDK Manager shows the
SDK platforms and packages that are available and installed along with the SDK update sites.</p>

<p>There are several different packages available for the Android SDK. The table below describes
most of the available packages and where they're located in your SDK directory
once you download them.</p>



<h2 id="Recommended">Recommended Packages</h2>

<p>Here's an outline of the packages required and those we recommend you use:
</p>

<dl>
  <dt>SDK Tools</dt>
  <dd><strong>Required.</strong> Your new SDK installation installs the latest version. Be sure
    to respond to the Android Studio update prompts to keep your SDK Tools up-to-date.</dd>
  <dt>SDK Platform-tools</dt>
  <dd><strong>Required.</strong> Your new SDK installation installs the latest stable version.
    Be sure to respond to the Android Studio update prompts to keep your SDK Platform-tools
    up-to-date.</dd>
  <dt>SDK Platform</dt>
  <dd><strong>Required.</strong><em> At least one platform</em> is required in your
environment so you're able to compile your application. In order to provide the best user experience
on the latest devices, we recommend that you use the latest platform version as your build target.
You'll still be able to run your app on older versions, but you must build against the latest
version in order to use new features when running on devices with the latest version of Android.
  <p>The SDK Manager downloads the latest Android version. It also downloads the earliest version
  of Android (Android 2.2 (API level 8)) that we recommend that your app support. </p></dd>
  <dt>System Image</dt>
  <dd>Recommended. Although you might have one or more Android-powered devices on which to test
 your app, it's unlikely you have a device for every version of Android your app supports. It's
a good practice to download system images for all versions of Android your app supports and test
your app running on them with the
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/devices/emulator.html">Android emulator</a>. Each SDK platform package
contains the supported system images. Click <strong>Show Package Details</strong> to display the available
system images for each available platform. You can also download system images when creating
Android Virtual Devices (AVDs) in the
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/avd-manager.html">AVD Manager</a>. </dd>

  <dt>Android Support Library</dt>
  <dd>Recommended. Includes a static library that allows you to use some of the latest
Android APIs (such as <a href="{@docRoot}guide/components/fragments.html">fragments</a>,
plus others not included in the framework at all) on devices running
a platform version as old as Android 1.6. All of the activity templates available when creating
a new project with the <a href="{@docRoot}tools/sdk/eclipse-adt.html">ADT Plugin</a>
require this. For more information, read <a
href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/index.html">Support Library</a>.</dd>

  <dt>Android Support Repository</dt>
  <dd>Recommended. Includes local Maven repository for Support libraries.</dd>

  <dt>Google Play services</dt>
  <dd>Recommended. Includes Google Play services client library and sample code.</dd>

  <dt>Google Repository</dt>
  <dd>Recommended. Includes local Maven repository for Google libraries.</dd>


<p class="note"><strong>Tip:</strong> For easy access to the SDK tools from a command line, add the
location of the SDK's <code>tools/</code> and
<code>platform-tools</code> to your <code>PATH</code> environment variable.</p>


<p>The above list is not comprehensive and you can <a
href="#AddingSites">add new sites</a> to download additional packages from third parties.</p>

<p>In some cases, an SDK package may require a specific minimum revision of
another package or SDK tool.
The development tools will notify you with warnings if there is dependency that you need to
address. The Android SDK Manager also enforces dependencies by requiring any
packages that are needed by those you have selected.</p>



<h2 id="AddingSites">Adding New Sites</h2>

<p>The <em>SDK Update Sites</em> tab displays the sites that Android Studio checks for Android SDK
and third-party updates. You can add other sites that host their own Android SDK add-ons, then
download the SDK add-ons from those sites.</p>

<p>For example, a mobile carrier or device manufacturer might offer additional
API libraries that are supported by their own Android-powered devices. In order
to develop using their libraries, you must install their Android SDK add-on, if it's not already
available as a <em>third-party add-on</em>. </p>

<p>If a carrier or device manufacturer has hosted an SDK add-on repository file
on their website, follow these steps to add their site to the Android SDK Manager:</p>

<ol>
  <li>Click the <strong>SDK Update Sites</strong> tab.</li>
  <li>Click the <strong>Add</strong> icon in the tools area and enter the name and URL of the
    <code>add-on</code> site.</li>
  <li>Click <strong>OK</strong>.</li>
  <li>Make sure the checkbox is checked in the <em>Enabled</em> column.</li>
  <li>Click <strong>OK</strong> or <strong>Apply</strong>.</li>
</ol>
<p>Any SDK packages available from the site appear in the <em>SDK Platforms</em> or
<em>SDK Tools</em> tabs.</p>