Create, start, and manage Android emulators without opening Android Studio. emu works as a shorthand for emulator.
emulator create
Create or update an Android emulator. Run it without arguments for interactive prompts:
emulator delete
Delete one or more Android emulators:
emulator images
Manage Android system images with the install, list, and delete subcommands:
emulator list
List installed Android emulators:
emulator start
Start an Android emulator. Run it without a name to pick one interactively. After boot, the CLI applies the tune tweaks automatically:
emulator status
Show the status of an Android emulator by name or serial:
emulator stop
Stop a running Android emulator by name or serial:
emulator tune
Apply agent-friendly tweaks to a running Android emulator: it disables animations, first-run dialogs, lock screen, and boot notifications that get in the way of automation. emulator start and emulator create --start apply these tweaks automatically after boot (skip with --no-tune); run tune to apply them to an emulator that is already running:
Tweaks only apply to emulators — physical device serials are refused.
Last modified on September 1, 2026
