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How to download and install Android Studio on Mac

Android Studio is Google’s free app for building Android apps, and it comes from developer.android.com. Here is which build to pick, how to install it and what the setup wizard downloads on the first launch.

Android Studio

  • macOS 12 or later
  • Apple Silicon and Intel
  • Free
Official Android Studio websitedeveloper.android.com ↗

The links go to the developer’s website (developer.android.com). MacWashing is not affiliated with the developer and keeps no installers.

Open Terminal (Applications › Utilities) and run:

brew install --cask android-studio

Homebrew downloads the app from the developer’s server, checks the file and puts the app in Applications.

No Homebrew yet? How to install Homebrew: one command from brew.sh.

Which version to download

Android Studio has separate builds for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, and the download page offers both. To know your chip:

  1. Choose Apple menu › About This Mac.
  2. If you see Chip with Apple M1, M2 or later, take the build for Apple Silicon (mac_arm). If you see Processor with Intel, take the one for Intel.

Google asks for macOS 12 or later, 8 GB of memory and 8 GB of free space, or 16 GB of each with the emulator. Support for Intel Macs is being phased out. Before the download starts, you have to agree to the license terms on the page.

How to install Android Studio

  1. Open the downloaded android-studio-…-mac_arm.dmg or android-studio-…-mac.dmg in your Downloads folder.
  2. Drag Android Studio to the Applications folder and wait for the copy to finish: the app is large.
  3. Open Android Studio from Applications and click Open when macOS asks about an app downloaded from the internet.
  4. If it asks whether to import settings, don’t import anything unless you used Android Studio before.
  5. Follow the Setup Wizard: choose the Standard setup, accept the licenses and wait while it downloads the Android SDK and the emulator.

What to set up after the first launch

  • The SDK. It goes to ~/Library/Android/sdk and grows with every Android version you add. Remove the ones you don’t use in Tools › SDK Manager.
  • Emulators. Each virtual device takes several gigabytes in ~/.android/avd. Delete the ones you no longer need in the Device Manager.
  • Gradle cache. Builds download libraries into ~/.gradle, which also grows with every project.
  • The installer. Move the .dmg from Downloads to the Trash once Android Studio runs: it takes about 1.5 GB.

If Android Studio won’t install or open

  • «Android Studio is damaged and can’t be opened». The download was incomplete. Delete it and download it again from Google’s site.
  • Android Studio is slow on Apple Silicon. Check that you took the build for Apple Silicon (mac_arm): the Intel build runs through Rosetta and is slower.
  • Nothing helps. Remove Android Studio completely, with its SDK and settings, and install it again: see how to uninstall Android Studio on Mac.

Keep your Mac tidy

MacWashing, System Junk: Xcode junk, user caches, installers and logs found, 22.83 GB ready to be cleaned

Android Studio builds up caches, logs and SDK files over time. System Junk in MacWashing finds the caches apps and developer tools build up, and the Uninstaller removes Android Studio with its files if you no longer need it.

Download MacWashingHow it works

Free trial · macOS 14 or later

Questions and answers

Is Android Studio free?

Yes. Android Studio and the Android SDK are free. Publishing apps on Google Play needs a developer account with a one-time fee.

Do I need a Google account to download Android Studio?

No. You only agree to the license terms on the download page. Signing in with a Google account inside Android Studio is optional.

Why does Android Studio take so much space?

The app itself is only part of it: the SDK, emulator images and Gradle caches can take tens of gigabytes. Remove the SDK versions and emulators you don’t use.