'Error: the command “android” failed' using cordova

Question

I\'m trying to get the android platform added on cordova. I\'ve added and downloaded the most recent SDK in Android SDK, my path is :export PATH=${PATH}:/Users/xxx/Develop

Answer 1

the android command is part of the android sdk's tools package. Both android and adb are used by the Cordova tools to work their magic and both need to be put on the path.

They are located in the following directories:

path/to/android/sdk/tools
path/to/android/sdk/platform-tools  

I don't know what OS you are developing on. The process for modifying the path is different on windows and unix based systems

add to path on unix-like systems

On my system (OSX) this is done by adding the following lines to .bash_profile:

PATH=$PATH:/Users/lorenzo/dev/sdks/adt-bundle/sdk/tools
PATH=$PATH:/Users/lorenzo/dev/sdks/adt-bundle/sdk/platform-tools

this could also be done in a single line:

PATH=$PATH:/Users/lorenzo/dev/sdks/adt-bundle/sdk/tools:/Users/lorenzo/dev/sdks/adt-bundle/sdk/platform-tools

this appends the path strings to the global PATH variable. On unix the path delimiter is ':'

add to path on windows

much the same process, here is the official docs: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms682653%28v=vs.85%29.aspx

additional reading and next steps

This blog article will walk you through path setup, and is up to date.

You can look at the Getting Started guide for Cordova Android, which details how to add the necessary components to your path.

After your path is setup, you will need to run the android tool and install additional tools and android platforms (versions).

Your system will need Apache ANT and the java run time as well.

Note that these are not cordova specific requirements, but requirements for Android development with the SDK.