Posted by Paris Hsu – Product Supervisor, Android Studio
Welcome to the Android Studio Narwhal Function Drop 3 launch. This replace delivers vital enhancements throughout the board to boost your productiveness. Whereas we proceed to innovate with highly effective, project-aware AI help in Gemini, this launch additionally brings basic upgrades to core growth workflows. Highlights embrace a resizable Compose Preview for quicker UI iteration and sturdy app Backup & Restore instruments to make sure easy app transfers throughout gadgets to your customers. These additions, alongside a extra context-aware Gemini, intention to streamline each part of your growth course of.
These options are delivered as a part of our new month-to-month launch cadence for Android Studio, which permits us to offer enhancements extra incessantly. Study extra about this transformation and the way we’re accelerating growth with month-to-month releases for Android Studio.
Develop with AI 🚀
Since launching Gemini in Android Studio, we have been working arduous to introduce options and integrations throughout Studio with the wants of Android builders in thoughts. Builders have been telling us in regards to the productiveness advantages AI brings to their workflow — akin to Entri, who decreased their UI growth time per display by 40%.
With this launch, enhanced the way you work together with Gemini — with improved choices for offering venture context, file attachments, and help for picture attachments.
AGENTS.md: offering project-level context to Gemini
AGENTS.md is a Markdown file that allows you to present project-specific directions, coding type guidelines, and different steerage that Gemini robotically makes use of for context. The AGENTS.md file may be checked into your model management system (like Git), making certain your whole crew shares the identical core directions and receives constant, context-aware AI help. AGENTS.md information are positioned proper alongside your code; use a number of AGENTS.md information throughout completely different directories for extra granular management over your codebase.
We’re making it a lot simpler to offer wealthy, on-the-fly context. That’s why we’re additionally excited to share that two highly effective options, Picture Attachment and the @File Context, are graduating from Studio Labs and are actually steady:
Picture attachment – Gemini in Android Studio
The flexibility to connect pictures to your queries with Gemini is now accessible within the steady channel! This characteristic accelerates UI growth and improves architectural understanding. You possibly can:
- Generate UI from a mock-up: Present a design picture and ask Gemini to generate the Compose code.
- Perceive an present display: Add a screenshot and ask Gemini to elucidate the UI’s element construction and information circulation.
- Debug UI bugs: Take a screenshot of a bug, circle the difficulty, and ask Gemini for options.
@file attachment – Gemini in Android Studio
The File attachment and context drawer are additionally graduating from Studio Labs! Simply connect related venture information to your prompts by typing @ within the chat window. Gemini can then use the total context of these information to offer extra correct and related solutions. Gemini will even recommend information it thinks are related, which you’ll simply add or take away.
What’s subsequent: Deeper integration with MCP help
Trying forward, in our summer time episode of #TheAndroidShow, we went behind the scenes with Android Studio’s new MCP (Mannequin Context Protocol) help. This protocol enhances Gemini’s interoperability with the broader developer ecosystem, permitting it to hook up with instruments like GitHub. Learn the way MCP help could make Gemini’s Agent Mode much more useful to your workflow, and check out it immediately within the Canary channel.
Optimize and refine ✨
This launch consists of a number of new options that will help you optimize your app, enhance venture group, and guarantee compliance.
Check app backup and restore
With new Android {hardware} gadgets popping out, making certain a easy app switch expertise to your customers switching to a brand new gadget is important. Android Studio now supplies instruments to generate a backup of your app’s information and restore it to a different gadget. This makes it a lot simpler to check your app’s backup and restore performance and shield customers from information loss. Moreover, you may create and fix backups to your run configurations, making it straightforward to make the most of Backup and Restore to your day-to-day growth.
Play coverage insights
Get early warnings about potential Play coverage violations that will help you construct extra compliant apps with Play Coverage Insights, now in Android Studio. The IDE now exhibits lint warnings immediately in your code when it pertains to a Google Play coverage requirement. You can too combine these lint checks into your CI/CD pipelines. These insights present an summary of the coverage, dos and don’ts, and hyperlinks extra assets, serving to you deal with potential points early in your growth cycle.
Proguard inspections for overly broad maintain guidelines
Android Studio’s Proguard file editor now warns you about maintain guidelines which can be overly broad. These guidelines can restrict R8’s capability to optimize your code, doubtlessly impacting app dimension and efficiency. This inspection helps you write extra exact guidelines for a extra optimized app.
Improved Android view for multi-module initiatives
For these engaged on massive initiatives, the Android view has a brand new setting to show construct information immediately beneath their corresponding modules. This variation makes it simpler to navigate and handle construct scripts in initiatives with many modules.
Extra management over automated venture sync
For builders engaged on massive initiatives, automated Gradle syncs can typically interrupt your workflow. To present you extra management, we’re introducing an choice to modify to guide venture sync with reminders. When enabled, Android Studio will inform you when a sync is required, however enables you to determine when to run it, so there aren’t surprising interruptions. You possibly can do that characteristic by navigating to Settings > Construct, Execution, Deployment > Construct Instruments.
Quicker UI iteration 🎨
Resizable compose preview
Constructing responsive UIs simply acquired simpler: Compose Preview now helps dynamic resizing, providing you with instantaneous visible suggestions on how your UI adapts to completely different display sizes. Merely enter Focus mode within the Compose Preview and drag the sides to see your format change in real-time. You possibly can even save a selected dimension as a brand new @Preview annotation with a single click on, streamlining your multi-device growth course of.
Abstract
To recap, Android Studio Narwhal Function Drop 3 consists of the next enhancements and options:
Develop with AI
- AGENTS.md help: Present project-specific context to Gemini for extra tailor-made responses.
- Picture attachment (Steady): Simply connect picture information for Gemini in Android Studio.
- @File attachment (Steady): Simply connect venture information as context for Gemini in Android Studio.
Optimize and refine
- Backup and restore help: Simply check your app’s information backup and restoration circulation.
- Play coverage insights: Get early warnings about potential Play Coverage violations.
- Proguard inspections: Determine and repair overly broad maintain guidelines for higher optimization.
- Show construct information beneath module: Enhance venture navigation within the Android view.
- Handbook venture sync: Acquire extra management over when Gradle syncs happen in massive initiatives.
Quicker UI iteration
- Resizable compose preview: Dynamically resize your previews to check responsive UIs immediately.
Get began
Able to speed up your growth? Obtain Android Studio Narwhal 3 Function Drop from the steady channel immediately!
Your suggestions is important. Please proceed to share your ideas by reporting bugs or suggesting options. For early entry to the most recent options, obtain Android Studio from the Canary channel.
Be a part of our vibrant Android developer neighborhood on LinkedIn, Medium, YouTube, or X. We won’t wait to see what you construct!