Getting started

Device requirements

No root, no unlocked bootloader, and no desktop computer are required at any point.

First run

The first launch sets up the toolchain. This is a one-time download and unpack, it needs a decent connection, and it is worth doing on Wi-Fi while charging. The setup screen shows each component as it lands, so you can see what's happening rather than watching a featureless spinner.

You don't need to sign in to look around: opening projects, editing, the terminal and Git all work signed out. Signing in with Google is required before your first build.

What installs on demand

The APK deliberately doesn't contain everything — that would be a huge download most people would never fully use. Instead, components arrive when you first need them:

You are told what is downloading and roughly how big it is before it starts.

Your first build

1. Get a project. Create one from the built-in template, or clone an existing repository with the Git panel, or open a folder already on the device.
2. Let it sync. Gradle resolves dependencies on first open, exactly as on a desktop. This is the slowest step and it needs the network.
3. Press Run. The build runs on the device and streams its output to the Build workspace.
4. Install it. On success you get a real APK, which you can install and launch from the app.

Every build needs a connection: the app checks in for a build permit before it starts. See the terms for what that means and why it works that way.

Permissions

Signing a release

You have two options, and they're both real:

• Your own keystore, on the device. Manage keystores in the app and sign locally. Nothing leaves your phone. Available on every tier.
• Server-side signing (paid tiers). We generate a signing key for your account, hold it encrypted, and sign artifacts you upload. Convenient, and it means the key survives losing your phone — but read the terms section on signing first, because deleting your account destroys that key permanently.

Either way, you get a standard signed APK or AAB and you upload it to Google Play yourself. Pocket Studio never publishes on your behalf.

Troubleshooting

The build stopped, or the app closed mid-build

Almost always memory pressure — Android kills apps to reclaim RAM, including the one you're looking at, and a big Gradle build is exactly the trigger. The app tries to abort the build cleanly before that happens rather than dying mid-compile.

Close other apps first, lower the build memory settings on smaller devices, and prefer incremental builds while iterating.

The device is hot and the build slowed down

Sustained compilation heats a phone, and Android throttles the CPU to protect it — so a second long build back-to-back is genuinely slower than the first. Build while charging, take the case off if it's a thick one, and give it a minute between heavy builds. This is also why benchmark results flag throttled runs separately.

"Build requires a connection"

Expected behaviour, on all tiers — builds check in with the server first. Editing, the terminal and Git work offline. If you're online and still blocked, check the service status.

Running out of storage

Gradle's caches grow steadily and dependencies are not small. If you're tight on space, remove Android platform versions you no longer target, and clean build outputs for projects you're not actively working on.

Completion or go-to-definition isn't working

Confirm the language server for that language finished downloading, and give it time to index a freshly opened project. For Kotlin specifically, resolution across your dependencies gets much better after the project has been built once — that's when the real classpath becomes available.