openFrameworks | Documentation table of contents

Android Studio 2025

The Android distribution of openFrameworks is setup to work with Android Studio IDE.

Installation

Setting up openFrameworks with Android Studio is fairly straightforward. The basic steps are:

• Install the latest version of Android Studio (tested with Android Studio Meerkat | 2024.3.1).

Select the following to be installed in SDK Manager (options)

• Android SDK 36.0 (or latest) - add any older APIs if targetting
• Build Tools 36.0.0 (or latest)
• NDK 28.0.13004108 (Side by Side)
• Android SDK Command Line Tools 19.0 (or latest)
• CMake 3.31.6 (or latest)

Install openFrameworks

• Download openFrameworks 0.12.1 or later from the download page or from github.
• If you got openFrameworks from git:
  • Run scripts/android/download_libs.sh to download libraries.
  • Use the Project Generator to generate Android Studio project files for android examples.
• In Android Studio, use Open an existing Android Studio project and select an openFrameworks example from the examples/android folder.
• It will ask you for NDK location, either put the path in local.properties or click Project Structure and select the NDK location.
• Let Android Studio download all other dependencies missing automatically.
• Build and run.

Build and run

Press the Play button next to the androidEmptyExample shown in the toolbar. It will build the app and deploy it to your Android device after a few seconds (or prompt you to deploy it to a suitable emulator). If the app runs, congratulations! You have setup openFrameworks.

Building directly with Gradle

• Can build directly in folder with ./gradlew assembleDebug
• System will need latest version of JDK for this https://www.oracle.com/us/java/technologies/downloads/#jdk23-mac

Creating new projects

1. Use the Project Generator to generate new projects for Android Studio.
2. Open Android Studio and click Open an existing Android Studio project, and point to the newly created project folder.
3. Certain apps need additional permissions, for example access to camera. Add these in the AndroidManifest.xml file.

Troubleshooting

• You may need to adjust the following numbers to match your installed Android Studio and Android SDK. Android Studio should offer to fix these values for you when you open the appropriate build files.

  • The Gradle version specified in /build.gradle
  • The compileSdkVersion, buildToolsVersion, minSdkVersion, targetSdkVersion values in /addons/ofxAndroid/ofAndroidLib/build.gradle and /apps/myApps/androidEmptyExample/build.gradle

• If you get strange linker errors, make sure you are using NDK version r15c. Newer NDKs might work but usually require some changes.

• If your connected device is not recognized by Android Studio, restart adb with adb kill-server && adb start-server.

• If, when synchronizing a project for the first time, clicking on the console messages does not solve the problem regarding a missing dependency of the android API (like for example Android API 22), open the sdk from the console, select the missing API and install it.