A GitHub Action that installs Google's agent-first android CLI, sets up the Android SDK, and caches between runs. An alternative to setup-android with explicit SDK packages and caching.

steps:
  - uses: actions/checkout@v4
  - uses: actions/setup-java@v4
    with:
      distribution: temurin
      java-version: '21'
  - uses: premex-ab/setup-android-cli@v1
    with:
      packages: platform-tools
  - run: ./gradlew --no-daemon build

  - uses: premex-ab/setup-android-cli@v1
    with:
      packages: |
        platforms/android-34
        build-tools/34.0.0
        platform-tools

  - uses: premex-ab/setup-android-cli@v1
  - run: android --version

  - uses: premex-ab/setup-android-cli@v1
    with:
      sdk-path: /opt/android-sdk
      packages: platforms/android-34 build-tools/34.0.0 platform-tools

  - uses: premex-ab/setup-android-cli@v1
    with:
      cache: 'false'
      packages: platform-tools

The action exports the following environment variables for subsequent steps:

1. Downloads the current android CLI launcher (android.exe on Windows) into the runner's tool cache on every run, including persistent self-hosted runners.
2. Unpacks embedded resources on first run into ~/.android/bin/ (~78 MB, cached).
3. Exports ANDROID_HOME and ANDROID_SDK_ROOT, and adds platform-tools/, emulator/, and cmdline-tools/latest/bin/ to PATH.
4. Runs android sdk install <packages> if packages are specified.
5. Registers Gradle, Kotlin, and Android Lint problem matchers so build errors show inline in the GitHub UI.
6. Writes a job summary table with CLI version, SDK path, and cache status.

By default the action caches ~/.android/bin (CLI resources, ~78 MB) and the full SDK directory between runs. The cache key includes OS, architecture, and the hash of **/libs.versions.toml, **/build.gradle*, and **/settings.gradle* plus a hash of the requested packages, resolved SDK path, and download URL. Changing workflow inputs therefore invalidates the SDK cache too. ANDROID_USER_HOME, when set, determines where CLI resources are cached.

Gradle caching is not handled by this action. Use gradle/actions/setup-gradle@v4 for that.

The action uses Git Bash, including curl and cygpath, supplied by Git for Windows. Install Git for Windows and ensure the runner service can find bash on PATH. Java must be available for Gradle builds. SDK setup supports Windows x64; Google's android emulator command currently does not support Windows.

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: [self-hosted, windows, x64]
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
      - uses: actions/setup-java@v6
        with:
          distribution: temurin
          java-version: '21'
      - uses: premex-ab/setup-android-cli@v1
        with:
          packages: platforms/android-36 build-tools/36.0.0 platform-tools
      - run: ./gradlew.bat assembleDebug

The default SDK path is %LOCALAPPDATA%/Android/Sdk; custom paths containing spaces are supported. Paths exported through ANDROID_HOME, ANDROID_SDK_ROOT, and the action outputs work in subsequent PowerShell steps as well as Git Bash.

 - name: Setup Android SDK
-  uses: android-actions/setup-android@v3
-  with:
-    packages: 'tools platform-tools'
+  uses: premex-ab/setup-android-cli@v1
+  with:
+    packages: platform-tools

Key differences:

• Specify every required platform and build-tools package explicitly. The default installs only the CLI and does not adopt the runner's preinstalled SDK path.
• No cmdline-tools-version input (always current release). A custom install-url-base can select a versioned mirror; the launcher is refreshed each run.
• Direct sdkmanager/avdmanager calls are not provided by the CLI launcher. Migrate them separately or explicitly install the required command-line tools.
• No accept-android-sdk-licenses input (auto-accepted).
• Package names use slashes instead of semicolons: platforms/android-34 not "platforms;android-34".
• tools package doesn't exist in the new CLI; drop it.

This action registers problem matchers for:

• Android Lint warnings and errors
• Gradle build errors
• Kotlin compiler warnings and errors

These surface build issues as inline annotations in the GitHub UI.

MIT

This repository uses our self-hosted pools exclusively: Tart (macOS ARM64) for validation, SDK scenarios, releases and maintenance; Linux x64 for the Linux installation smoke test; and Windows x64 for Windows installation tests. External fork pull requests do not execute repository code on these pools.