docker-github-actions-runner-android

Based off https://github.com/myoung34/docker-github-actions-runner but adds the android sdk into the container so we don't need to run the setup-android action every time from: https://github.com/android-actions/setup-android

The Android SDK requires Java, so the container includes a Temurin JDK as well, which means you can also skip the setup-java action: https://github.com/actions/setup-java

To run the container, check out the environment variables from the base image: https://github.com/myoung34/docker-github-actions-runner#environment-variables

There is also an example docker-compose file which uses .env file to set the variables.

Image tags

Images are published to both Docker Hub and GitHub Container Registry (GHCR):

• compscidr/github-runner-android
• ghcr.io/compscidr/github-runner-android

Tag scheme

Each image is built with a specific combination of base runner version, JDK version, and Android SDK level. Tags let you choose how tightly to pin:

Tag	Example	What it pins	What floats
latest	latest	Nothing	Runner, JDK, and SDK all track latest
jdk<VERSION>	jdk21	JDK major version	Runner and SDK track latest
<RUNNER>-jdk<JDK>-sdk<SDK>	2.332.0-jdk21-sdk36	Everything	Nothing — fully pinned
<RUNNER>-jdk<JDK>-sdk<SDK>-ndk<NDK>	2.338.0-jdk21-sdk36.1-ndk30.0.16248370	Same image, NDK spelled out	Nothing — fully pinned
<RUNNER>-jdk<JDK>-sdk<SDK>-bt<BUILD_TOOLS>-ndk<NDK>	2.338.0-jdk21-sdk36.1-bt37.0.0-ndk30.0.16248370	Same image, build-tools and NDK spelled out	Nothing — fully pinned

The longer tags exist so a consumer can let Renovate derive its Gradle compileSdk, buildToolsVersion and ndkVersion from the image pin: when they match what the image ships, AGP doesn't download SDK components on every job.

Which tag should I use?

• latest — always the newest runner, default JDK, and latest Android SDK. Good for staying current, but builds may break if a new SDK introduces incompatibilities.
• jdk21 or jdk17 — pin the JDK version but still get runner and SDK updates automatically. A good balance for most users.
• 2.332.0-jdk21-sdk36 — fully pinned. Use this for reproducible builds where you want complete control over when to upgrade. Old pinned tags are never overwritten; they remain in the registry from previous builds.

What's in each image?

Every image includes:

• The myoung34/github-runner base image
• Temurin JDK (the version in the tag)
• Android SDK platform matching the SDK level in the tag (e.g., sdk36 = platforms;android-36)
• Latest Android build-tools and NDK for that SDK level
• Android SDK command-line tools, platform-tools, and cmake

Projects that need additional SDK platforms (e.g., an older compileSdk) can install them at build time:

- run: sdkmanager "platforms;android-28"

Currently available JDK versions

The build matrix is defined in matrix.json. Check that file for the current list of JDK versions and which one is the default.

Automated updates

Versions are kept up to date automatically:

Component	Mechanism
Base runner image	Renovate tracks myoung34/github-runner Docker tags
GitHub Actions versions	Renovate (config:base)
New JDK major versions	Weekly workflow queries the Adoptium API and opens a PR
Android SDK platform level	Weekly workflow queries sdkmanager and opens a PR
Android build-tools	Weekly workflow queries sdkmanager and opens a PR
Android NDK	Weekly workflow queries sdkmanager and opens a PR

Building locally

docker build -f Dockerfile .

Build args can be used to customize the image. See the top of the Dockerfile for the current defaults and available args (VERSION, JAVA_VERSION, COMPILE_SDK, BUILD_TOOLS, NDK_VERSION, SDK_TOOLS).

Example:

docker build --build-arg JAVA_VERSION=17 --build-arg COMPILE_SDK=35 -f Dockerfile .

Inspiration

• https://github.com/kriskda/docker-github-action-android-container (comes with emulator which we don't need)
• https://github.com/jordond/docker-android-github-runner (desire more configurability - re:version of myoung34 container, etc)