A How-To Guide on Setting Up an Expo Development Environment Fully Without Android Studio
This guide walks you through the complete journey of getting an Expo React Native app to build and run on an Android device, without ever installing Android Studio. It’s based on a real-world troubleshooting log from a clean Linux system and explains not just what to do, but why each step matters.
Why This Guide Exists
Expo’s npx expo run:android command promises a smooth developer experience, but only if your environment is correctly configured. On Linux, that often means manually installing and wiring together the Android SDK, Java, and ADB. Android Studio bundles all of this automatically, but if you prefer a leaner setup (or are working on a headless server), this guide shows you how to do it entirely from the command line.
We’ll go step by step through the actual errors encountered, the reasoning behind each fix, and how to avoid common pitfalls.
Step 1: Install and Verify ADB
What is ADB?
Android Debug Bridge (adb) is the command-line tool that lets your computer communicate with an Android device over USB or Wi-Fi. Expo uses it to install and launch your app.
Check if ADB is installed
which adb || command -v adb
If you see adb not found, it’s not installed.
Install ADB via APT
Since we’re on Linux (Ubuntu/Debian family), we use apt:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y adb
Why sudo? Installing system packages requires elevated privileges.
Verify device connection
Plug in your Android device with USB debugging enabled (found in Developer Options), then run:
adb devices
You’ll likely see:
List of devices attached
pfcaivx8usm7orr4 unauthorized
This means your device is connected but hasn’t trusted your computer yet. Unlock your phone and tap “Allow” on the popup. Then run adb devices again:
List of devices attached
pfcaivx8usm7orr4 device
Success! Your device is now ready for development.
Step 2: Install the Expo CLI Package
When you run npx expo run:android in a project that doesn’t have expo installed locally, you’ll get:
ConfigError: Cannot determine the project's Expo SDK version because the module `expo` is not installed.
This happens because npx can run global binaries, but the Expo build system needs the actual expo package in your node_modules.
Fix it by installing Expo
npm install expo
Note: You may see deprecation warnings, these are common in the React Native ecosystem and usually safe to ignore for now.
Once installed, you’re ready for the next step, but you’ll quickly hit another wall.
Step 3: Install Java (OpenJDK)
Expo’s Android build process relies on Gradle, which requires Java. If Java isn’t installed, you’ll see:
ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
Install OpenJDK 17
Android build tools officially support JDK 17, so we install that:
sudo apt install -y openjdk-17-jdk
Verify it worked:
java -version
You should see something like:
openjdk version "17.0.16" 2025-07-15
Java is now ready.
Step 4: Set Up the Android SDK (Without Android Studio)
This is the trickiest part. Expo expects the Android SDK to be in a specific location with specific tools installed. Android Studio normally handles this, but we’ll do it manually.
why ?, because they did not sponser me ;)
Download the Command-Line Tools
Google provides a minimal SDK package that includes sdkmanager, the tool used to install the rest of the SDK.
Pro tip: Always get the latest link from Android Studio’s command-line tools page.
Link : https://developer.android.com/tools/releases/cmdline-tools#android_sdk_command-line_tools_50_canary
Install to a system-wide location
We’ll place the SDK in /usr/lib/android-sdk, a clean and conventional path:
But here’s the catch: If you run this as a regular user and the SDK is in a sudo-owned directory, permissions will block the install, especially for build-tools.
In our logs, platform-tools (which includes adb) installed fine, but build-tools silently failed.
Workaround: Manual copy (when auto-install fails)
Sometimes, the build process extracts tools to a temporary folder (like /home/x7dl8p/Android/sdk/build-tools). If that happens, you can manually move them to the correct SDK location:
Setting up Android development on Linux without Android Studio is absolutely possible, but it requires understanding how the pieces fit together:
ADB talks to your device
Java powers Gradle
SDK tools compile your app
Licenses and permissions are silent gatekeepers
By following this guide, you not only fix your current issue, you gain deeper insight into the Android build pipeline, making you a more resilient developer.
