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Subham Kumar
Subham Kumar

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Complete Guide: Setting up React Native CLI for Android on macOS (2025 Edition)

#reactnative #cli #android #tutorial

If you’re on macOS and want to develop React Native apps using the CLI (not Expo), this guide walks you through everything — from installing Java to running your first Android emulator and building an APK.

`🧩 Prerequisites

You’ll need:

macOS (Intel or Apple Silicon)

Node.js & npm installed

Terminal (zsh or bash)`

⚙️ Step 1 — Install Watchman

Watchman is a file watcher used by React Native to track code changes.

brew install watchman
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Verify installation:

watchman --version
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Step 2 — Install OpenJDK 17 (via Zulu)

brew install --cask zulu@17
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React Native requires Java for Android builds.
The Zulu distribution is stable and widely recommended.

Verify:

 java -version
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You should see:
openjdk version "17.0.17" 2025-10-21 LTS
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Zulu17.62+17-CA

Step 3 — Install React Native CLI

npm install -g react-native-cli
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react-native --version

Step 4 — Install Android Studio (Recommended)

Although you can install SDKs manually, using Android Studio is the easiest and most reliable way.

Option 1 (Recommended UI method)
Download from
👉 https://developer.android.com/studio

  1. Choose the macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel) version.

  2. Open .dmg → drag Android Studio to Applications.

  3. Launch it → follow the Standard installation wizard.

  4. It will install:

    • Android SDK
    • Platform Tools (adb)
    • Emulator
    • Build Tools

Accept all SDK licenses when prompted.

Option 2: Install Android Studio via Homebrew Cask (semi-automated)

You can install the Android Studio app itself using Homebrew, but you’ll still need to open it once to complete SDK & emulator setup.

Steps:

brew install --cask android-studio
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Then open it once:

open -a "Android Studio"
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Inside the Android Studio UI:

Choose Standard Installation

Accept all SDK licenses

Wait for SDK, Platform Tools, and Emulator to install

After that, you can manage SDKs & virtual devices (AVDs) from command line later

Step 5 — Confirm SDK Location

Open Android Studio →
Preferences → Appearance & Behavior → System Settings → Android SDK

You’ll see something like:
/Users/<your-username>/Library/Android/sdk

That’s your $ANDROID_HOME.

🌿 Step 6 — Add Environment Variables

Open Terminal and run:

echo 'export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Library/Android/sdk' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/emulator' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/latest/bin' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc
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Verify:

echo $ANDROID_HOME
adb --version
sdkmanager --list | head
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Step 7 — Create an Android Emulator

Open Android Studio → Tools → Device Manager → Create Device
Then:

Select a Pixel device (e.g. Pixel 7)

Choose a system image (Android 13 or 14 recommended)

Download → Next → Finish

Click ▶️ (Play) to launch the emulator

Once it boots up, verify via terminal:
adb devices

✅ You should see:
emulator-5554 device

Step 8 — Run Your React Native App
Inside your project folder:

cd your-project
npx react-native run-android

This will:

Build the app using Gradle

Install it on your running emulator

Launch it automatically 🎉

To generate an APK file:
cd android
./gradlew assembleDebug

You’ll find your APK here:
android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

You can install it on any Android phone:
adb install app-debug.apk

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