Run on Android

Install dependencies, start an emulator, and run a React Native app with the Android build tools.

This guide shows how to run a React Native app on an Android emulator or physical device. It applies to any React Native project with an android/ folder.

Quick Answer

From the app folder, install dependencies with corepack yarn install, start an emulator or connect a device, start Metro with corepack yarn start, then run the app with corepack yarn android.

Prerequisites

Android Studio installed, with at least one SDK platform and one emulator image;
ANDROID_HOME set and platform-tools on your PATH;
a JDK (normally bundled with Android Studio);
Node and a package manager configured.

If your machine isn't ready yet, start with Set Up Your Development Environment.

1. Open the App Folder

Run commands from the folder containing package.json, ios/, and android/.

2. Install Dependencies

corepack enable
corepack yarn install

3. Start an Emulator or Connect a Device

Launch an emulator from Android Studio's Device Manager, or connect a physical device with USB debugging enabled. Confirm it's visible:

adb devices

4. Start Metro

corepack yarn start

5. Run the Android App

In a second terminal:

corepack yarn android

If more than one device is attached, target one explicitly:

corepack yarn android --deviceId <id-from-adb-devices>

6. Build a Release APK

Once the debug build runs, a release build is:

cd android
./gradlew assembleRelease

The output lands in android/app/build/outputs/apk/release/. Release builds need a signing key configured; a debug key won't be accepted by the Play Store.

Common Issues

SDK location not found create android/local.properties containing sdk.dir=/path/to/Android/sdk, or confirm ANDROID_HOME is exported in your shell profile.

Gradle build fails on first run open the android/ folder in Android Studio once and let it sync Gradle, then retry the CLI command.

adb devices shows nothing restart the emulator, or reset the bridge with adb kill-server && adb start-server.

App installs but shows a red error screen check the Metro terminal for the underlying JavaScript error. A stale bundler cache is a common cause try corepack yarn start --reset-cache.

Verification Checklist

corepack yarn install completes;
an emulator or device appears in adb devices;
corepack yarn start starts Metro;
corepack yarn android builds and installs the app;
the app launches without a startup error screen.