Android Studio is Google’s IDE for Android apps—Kotlin and Java editing, Gradle builds, layout tools, profilers, and the Android SDK manager. Debian does not package it in apt; you install Google’s official Linux tarball, a Snap, or a Flathub Flatpak, then finish setup in the Setup Wizard (SDK, emulator images, licenses).
This guide covers install Android Studio on Debian for Debian 11 (Bullseye), 12 (Bookworm), and 13 (Trixie) on amd64: prerequisites, all three install paths, first launch, SDK layout, emulator KVM notes, updates, and uninstall. I ran the official tarball and Snap installs on Debian 13 and kept real terminal output below.
Tested on: Debian 13 (trixie); kernel 6.12.94+deb13-amd64; amd64.
Choose an install method
| Method | Best for | Result on disk |
|---|---|---|
Official .tar.gz |
Google’s documented path; /opt layout; in-IDE updates |
~1.4 GB archive + ~3.3 GB extracted; SDK in ~/Android |
| Snap classic | Fastest one-liner when snapd is already enabled | ~1.62 GB under /var/lib/snapd |
| Flatpak (Flathub) | Sandboxed install with Flathub updates | Wrapper + runtime; SDK still under your home dir |
| JetBrains Toolbox | Managing multiple JetBrains/Google IDE versions | User install under ~/.local/share/JetBrains/Toolbox |
Most developers should use the official tarball unless you already standardize on Snap or Flatpak for desktop apps.
Prerequisites
- Debian 11, 12, or 13 on amd64 (
dpkg --print-architecture→amd64). - A graphical desktop (GNOME, KDE, Xfce, etc.)—Android Studio is not a headless CLI tool.
- RAM: 8 GB minimum for the IDE; 16 GB+ recommended with the emulator (Google system requirements).
- Disk: ~1.4 GB for the IDE archive, ~3 GB extracted, plus SDK/AVD downloads (often 10 GB+ over time).
- Run as a normal user—not root (see Troubleshooting).
- curl or wget and tar for the official archive.
- sudo when installing under
/optor using Snap/Flatpak. - Optional: KVM for the emulator (
qemu-kvm, user in groupkvm,/dev/kvmpresent).
Check the host:
. /etc/os-release && echo "$PRETTY_NAME"
dpkg --print-architecture
free -h | head -2Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie)
amd64
total used free shared buff/cache available
Mem: 3.4Gi 1.5Gi 665Mi 328Mi 1.7Gi 1.9GiOn my VM, KVM was not available (egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo returned 0), so I used the IDE and documented emulator prep without running AVDs here.
Install from the official Linux tarball (recommended)
Google’s Install Android Studio page ships a Linux 64-bit .tar.gz. Pick the current build from developer.android.com/studio—URLs follow android-studio-<version>-linux.tar.gz.
Download the archive
mkdir -p ~/Downloads && cd ~/Downloads
curl -fL -o android-studio-linux.tar.gz \
"https://redirector.gvt1.com/edgedl/android/studio/ide-zips/2025.1.3.7/android-studio-2025.1.3.7-linux.tar.gz"
ls -lh android-studio-linux.tar.gz-rw-r--r-- 1 user user 1.4G Jun 29 05:44 android-studio-linux.tar.gzThe file was 1,470,452,324 bytes (~1.37 GiB) over HTTPS. Replace the version segment when a newer stable release appears on the download page.
Extract under /opt
sudo tar -xzf android-studio-linux.tar.gz -C /opt
ls /opt/android-studio/bin/studio.sh/opt/android-studio/bin/studio.shExtracted size on my host:
du -sh /opt/android-studio3.3G /opt/android-studio$HOME/android-studio instead of /opt if you want in-IDE updates without sudo—Google’s docs note tarball upgrades need write access to the install directory (Debian Wiki — AndroidStudio).
Verify the build
/opt/android-studio/bin/studio.sh --versionAndroid Studio Narwhal 3 Feature Drop | 2025.1.3
Build #AI-251.26094.121.2513.14007798Android Studio bundles JetBrains Runtime 21—you do not need a separate openjdk package for the IDE itself:
/opt/android-studio/jbr/bin/java -versionopenjdk version "21.0.7" 2025-04-15
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 21.0.7+-13880790-b1038.58)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 21.0.7+-13880790-b1038.58, mixed mode)Optional command-line launcher
sudo ln -sf /opt/android-studio/bin/studio /usr/local/bin/android-studioLaunch as your desktop user (not root):
/opt/android-studio/bin/studio.sh &After the GUI opens, use Tools → Create Desktop Entry so Android Studio appears in your application menu (official Linux tip).
Install Android Studio from Snap
The Android Studio Snap is published by Snapcrafters (community packaging, not Google’s own build pipeline). It uses classic confinement because the IDE needs broad filesystem access.
Enable Snap if needed (same pattern as install Steam on Debian):
sudo apt install -y snapd
sudo snap install snapdInstall Android Studio:
sudo snap install android-studio --classicandroid-studio 2026.1.1.10-quail1-patch2 from Snapcrafters* installedCheck version and path:
snap list android-studio
snap run android-studio --versionName Version Rev Tracking Publisher
android-studio 2026.1.1.10-quail1-patch2 232 latest/stable snapcrafters* classic
Android Studio Quail 1 | 2026.1.1 Patch 2
Build #AI-261.23567.138.2611.15646644Launch:
android-studio &snap refresh updates; use the tarball when you want Google’s exact archive layout.
/ and /tmp. On my first attempt, a full /tmp produced No space left on device from unsquashfs—free several gigabytes before installing.
Install Android Studio from Flatpak
Flathub distributes a community Flatpak wrapper around the upstream tarball (Debian Wiki — AndroidStudio). It is convenient when you already use Flatpak for other apps.
sudo apt install -y flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak remote-info flathub com.google.AndroidStudio | head -15Android Studio - IDE for Android app development
ID: com.google.AndroidStudio
Ref: app/com.google.AndroidStudio/x86_64/stable
Arch: x86_64
Branch: stable
Version: 2026.1.1.10
License: LicenseRef-proprietary
Collection: org.flathub.Stable
Download: 2.4 MB
Installed: 3.1 MB
Runtime: org.freedesktop.Sdk/x86_64/25.08Install and run:
flatpak install flathub com.google.AndroidStudio
flatpak run com.google.AndroidStudioThe install pulls the Freedesktop SDK runtime in addition to the app—budget several gigabytes and enough RAM. On my 3.4 GiB test VM the install was killed by the OOM killer at 100% progress; a machine with 8 GB+ RAM or adequate swap completed installs reliably in practice.
First launch: Setup Wizard and SDK
Whichever channel you chose, the first GUI run opens the Setup Wizard:
- Import prior settings or start fresh.
- Choose Standard install (recommended) or Custom SDK paths.
- Accept SDK license agreements.
- Wait while Android SDK, platform-tools, and often an ** emulator system image** download.
Default SDK location:
~/Android/SdkConfirm after setup:
ls ~/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb 2>/dev/null && ~/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb --versionEnvironment variables many projects expect (add to ~/.profile or ~/.bashrc):
export ANDROID_HOME="$HOME/Android/Sdk"
export PATH="$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$ANDROID_HOME/emulator"For Gradle/Kotlin projects you will also use Git and often Node.js for React Native tooling—install those separately when a tutorial requires them.
Android Emulator and KVM on Debian
The Android Emulator needs hardware virtualization:
egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo
groups "$USER" | tr ' ' '\n' | grep -x kvm
ls -l /dev/kvm 2>/dev/nullInstall KVM tools:
sudo apt install -y qemu-kvm libvirt-daemon-system
sudo usermod -aG kvm,libvirt "$USER"Log out and back in so group membership applies. Create an AVD from Tools → Device Manager in Android Studio.
/dev/kvm), emulator boot times are impractical on Debian. Use a USB-connected phone with USB debugging enabled, or Android Device Streaming, when virtualization is unavailable.
Update Android Studio
| Channel | Update command |
|---|---|
| Official tarball | Help → Check for Update inside the IDE |
| Snap | sudo snap refresh android-studio |
| Flatpak | flatpak update com.google.AndroidStudio |
SDK components update from Tools → SDK Manager or sdkmanager under ~/Android/Sdk/cmdline-tools/.
Uninstall Android Studio
Official tarball
sudo rm -rf /opt/android-studio
sudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/android-studio
rm -rf ~/.config/Google/AndroidStudio* ~/.local/share/Google/AndroidStudio*
rm -rf ~/Android ~/.androidSnap
sudo snap remove android-studioFlatpak
flatpak uninstall com.google.AndroidStudioRemove leftover SDK data under ~/Android only when you no longer need projects or AVD images.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
No space left on device during Snap or download |
/tmp or / full (IDE + SDK are large) |
Run df -h and free several GB—see list installed packages on Debian for inventory commands |
| IDE refuses to start as root | Built-in safety check | Log in as a normal user; do not use --no-sandbox in production |
| Emulator extremely slow | No KVM | Enable VT-x/AMD-V in firmware; sudo usermod -aG kvm "$USER" |
| Flatpak install killed at 100% | Low RAM during SDK/runtime unpack | Add swap or install on a host with 8 GB+ RAM |
| Tarball in-IDE update fails | /opt owned by root |
Install under $HOME or chown the tree to your user |
adb: command not found |
SDK not on PATH |
Export ANDROID_HOME and add platform-tools to PATH |
| Snap vs tarball version mismatch | Independent release channels | Pick one channel and stick to it |
References
- Install Android Studio — Android Developers
- Download Android Studio
- Android Studio on Debian Wiki
- Android Studio on Snap Store
- Android Studio on Flathub
- Run apps on the Android Emulator
- Run apps on a hardware device
- On-site: install Steam on Debian (Snap/Flatpak pattern), install Node.js on Debian, list installed packages on Debian
Summary
Install Android Studio on Debian with Google’s official Linux .tar.gz (extract to /opt/android-studio, run bin/studio.sh --version), or use sudo snap install android-studio --classic / flatpak install flathub com.google.AndroidStudio. I verified Narwhal 2025.1.3 from the tarball and Quail 2026.1.1 Patch 2 from Snap on Debian 13. Finish the Setup Wizard, point ANDROID_HOME at ~/Android/Sdk, enable KVM for the emulator, and remove only one channel at uninstall time so you do not duplicate multi-gigabyte installs.
