That might seem really old, but it’s actually a long-term support (LTS) version of Java and is a supported version of Java un til 2030. The Android SDK Manager depends on Java 8. So, let’s discuss some of the problems we’ll encounter when running an emulator without Android Studio, how we’ll move past them, and how to create a React app on an Android emulator.Įxpected issues when running the emulator without Android Studio Java version management If you’ve hit this article, then you’ve probably been trying for a little while to get this to work.

Plus, it has a lot of features you will never use as a React Native developer and it requires a lot of effort to install Android Studio just to use the emulator.ĭon’t get me wrong, it is easier and more straightforward than trying to manually configure an emulator like we’ll do in this article.īut, you should get the Android Emulator working without installing Android Studio separately, giving you the exact functionalities you need without Android Studio’s overkill. Even the official documentation tells you to install Android Studio and be done with it.īut, Android Studio is a fully-fledged IDE and takes up a lot of space on your computer. It’s not easy or straightforward to configure the Android Emulator on macOS without Android Studio. Trying to get the emulator to work without having these things configured correctly won’t work, and you’ll get cryptic error messages when it doesn’t.

Making matters worse, Android Studio comes with all the “correct” bits that make the underlying emulators work, like the correct version of Java. Unfortunately, as a React Native developer, you’re not using Android Studio. However, after feverishly searching for Google for “macOS android emulator,” you likely found there’s not much available.Īs you probably know, Android Studio comes with a great management tool for managing your emulated devices. Being able to test your apps on your local computer without installing the app on a physical device drastically speeds up your development cycle. If you’re a React Native developer, sooner or later you’ll need the ability to run an Android emulator on your Mac. Run React Native apps on an Android emulator for macOS Given the chance, I'll talk to you for far too long about why I love Flutter so much. Lewis Cianci Follow I'm a passionate mobile-first developer, and I've been making apps with Flutter since it first released.

Run react native in android studio