Android Emulators - Namespace Documentation

Run Android emulators with hardware acceleration on Namespace runners. Namespace runners support hardware-accelerated Android virtualization using KVM. This enables fast Android emulator testing without the performance penalty of software emulation. KVM-backed Android emulators are currently supported on Linux AMD64 runners (linux/amd64). No additional KVM setup is required when using that platform.

Getting started

Create a runner profile

We recommend using a dedicated profile for Android Emulator workflows.Go to your runner profiles and create a profile named namespace-profile-android with:

Linux AMD64 ( linux/amd64 )
Enough resources for your emulator, 4 vCPU x 8 GB RAM is a good starting point
Caching enabled to cache Gradle dependencies.

Then use the created profile as your runs-on label:

jobs:
  android-tests:
    runs-on: namespace-profile-android

Set up caching

Use namespacelabs/nscloud-cache-action to cache Gradle dependencies for faster builds:

- name: Set up Gradle cache
  uses: namespacelabs/nscloud-cache-action@v1
  with:
    cache: gradle

Set up JDK and Android SDK

Use actions/setup-java and android-actions/setup-android to install the required tooling:

- name: Set up JDK
  uses: actions/setup-java@v4
  with:
    distribution: temurin
    java-version: 17

- name: Set up Android SDK
  uses: android-actions/setup-android@v3

Run the emulator

Start an emulator and run your tests, for example by using the reactivecircus/android-emulator-runner action:

- name: Run Android tests
  uses: reactivecircus/android-emulator-runner@v2
  with:
    api-level: 30
    arch: x86_64
    script: ./gradlew connectedCheck

Full example

Here’s a complete workflow for running Android tests:

name: Android Tests

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:

jobs:
  android-tests:
    runs-on: namespace-profile-android
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: namespacelabs/nscloud-checkout-action@v7

      - name: Set up Gradle cache
        uses: namespacelabs/nscloud-cache-action@v1
        with:
          cache: gradle

      - name: Set up JDK
        uses: actions/setup-java@v4
        with:
          distribution: temurin
          java-version: 17

      - name: Set up Android SDK
        uses: android-actions/setup-android@v3

      - name: Run Android tests
        uses: reactivecircus/android-emulator-runner@v2
        with:
          api-level: 30
          arch: x86_64
          script: ./gradlew connectedCheck

Gradle build cache

In addition to caching Gradle dependencies with Cache Volumes, you can also use Namespace’s Gradle build cache to share build outputs across runs. This is complementary to caching dependencies — while Cache Volumes store downloaded dependencies, the Gradle build cache stores compilation outputs and task results. To use both in your workflow:

- name: Set up Gradle dependency cache
  uses: namespacelabs/nscloud-cache-action@v1
  with:
    cache: gradle

- name: Set up Gradle build cache
  run: nsc cache gradle setup --init-gradle /tmp/init.gradle

- name: Run Android tests
  uses: reactivecircus/android-emulator-runner@v2
  with:
    api-level: 30
    arch: x86_64
    script: ./gradlew --init-script=/tmp/init.gradle connectedCheck

Nested Virtualization — Platform support for /dev/kvm
Gradle integration — Gradle build caching
Machine Shapes — Available machine configurations
Caching — Speed up builds with cache volumes

​Getting started

Create a runner profile

Set up caching

Set up JDK and Android SDK

Run the emulator

​Full example

​Gradle build cache

​Related documentation

Getting started

Full example

Gradle build cache

Related documentation