How to make an Android app
from scratch

• A Windows, macOS or Linux computer (8 GB RAM is workable; 16 GB is comfortable)
• Android Studio, Google's free official IDE¹
• An Android phone with a USB cable, or the emulator built into Android Studio
• About 5–10 hours a week for the first two months

1. Install Android Studio and open it.
2. Choose New Project → Empty Activity (this uses Jetpack Compose).
3. Name it, keep Kotlin as the language and accept the default minimum SDK.
4. Click Run with an emulator or your phone connected — you will see "Hello Android".

On your phone, enable Developer options and USB debugging so Android Studio can install the app directly.

Open MainActivity.kt. A Compose screen is just a Kotlin function marked @Composable. Here is a tiny counter — the "hello world" of interactive apps:

@Composable
fun Counter() {
    var count by remember { mutableStateOf(0) }
    Column(modifier = Modifier.padding(24.dp)) {
        Text("You tapped $count times")
        Button(onClick = { count++ }) { Text("Tap me") }
    }
}

Two ideas are doing the work. mutableStateOf holds a value that can change, and when it changes, Compose redraws the screen. That pattern — state drives the UI — is the heart of modern Android.

1. Layouts — Column, Row, Box, modifiers, padding and spacing.
2. State — remember, mutableStateOf, and lifting state up.
3. Lists — LazyColumn for scrolling lists of data.
4. Navigation — moving between screens with the Navigation library.
5. Architecture — ViewModel to keep logic and data out of your screens.
6. Data — a local database with Room, or an API with Retrofit or Ktor.
7. Testing and polish — previews, basic tests, accessibility and dark mode.

Google's free Android Basics with Compose course follows almost exactly this sequence with projects at each step⁴. It is the best structured path for a beginner.

Pick something you or someone you know would use for a week: a habit tracker, a kirana store's credit book, a class attendance app. Keep it to one core job. A finished small app teaches more than an abandoned big one — and becomes your first portfolio piece.

When it works, build a signed Android App Bundle (Build → Generate Signed App Bundle), create a Google Play developer account for a one-time US$25, and follow the release steps. Your app must target a recent Android API level to be accepted⁵. New personal accounts must also run a closed test with 12 testers for 14 days before going to production. Our Google Play publishing guide walks every step.

Android Studio — Google's official tool for building Android apps. Kotlin — the language Google recommends for Android. Jetpack Compose — Android's modern UI toolkit. State — data that can change and that the screen reflects. Android App Bundle — the format you upload to Google Play. Emulator — a virtual Android phone on your computer.