Android emulator

This page explains how to create a rooted Android emulator using command line tools, how to verify it is rooted, and how to use it with Octopus.

Prerequisites

You must have the Android SDK installed and the following tools in your PATH:

sdkmanager
avdmanager
emulator
adb

These are typically found in $ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/latest/bin/ and $ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools/.

Creating a rooted emulator

To have a rooted emulator that works easily with Frida and Octopus, it is recommended to use a Google APIs system image instead of a Google Play image. Google Play images are production builds and are much harder to root.

List and install a system image

First, identify and install a suitable system image.

For x86_64 hosts:

sdkmanager "system-images;android-33;google_apis;x86_64"

For arm64 hosts:

sdkmanager "system-images;android-33;google_apis;arm64-v8a"

Create the Android Virtual Device (AVD)

Create a new AVD using the installed image.

For x86_64:

avdmanager create avd -n octopus-x86_64 -k "system-images;android-33;google_apis;x86_64" -d pixel_c

For arm64:

avdmanager create avd -n octopus-arm64 -k "system-images;android-33;google_apis;arm64-v8a" -d pixel_c

Launch the emulator

Launch the emulator (replace <avd-name> with octopus-x86_64 or octopus-arm64).
```
emulator -avd <avd-name> -no-snapshot-load
```

Rooting the emulator

Once the emulator is running, you can gain root access using ADB:

adb root

If successful, ADB will restart as root. You can also remount the system partition as writable if needed:

adb remount

Checking root status

To verify that the emulator is rooted and accessible by Octopus:

Check ADB user

Run the following command:
```
adb shell whoami
```
It should return root.
Check SU availability

If you are not running as root by default but have a su binary installed:
```
adb shell su -c "id"
```
This should return information about the root user.