App Inventor Setup

App Inventor runs through a Web browser. If you're using a phone, you work with the phone connected to your computer by a USB cord. Your app will emerge on the phone bit by bit as you work. If you don't have a phone, there's a phone emulator included with the App Inventor setup package that you can use instead. When you're done building, you can "package" your finished app to produce an "application package" (Android apk file) that can be shared around and installed on any Android phone, just like any other Android app.

To get started you need to complete the following steps:

Set up your computer

System requirements:

Computer and operating system

  • Macintosh (with Intel processor): Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6
  • Windows: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
  • GNU/Linux: Ubuntu 8+, Debian 5+


  • Mozilla Firefox 3.6 or higher
  • Apple Safari 5.0 or higher
  • Google Chrome 4.0 or higher
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 or higher

Test your Java configuration

Your computer needs to run Java 6 (also known as Java 1.6). You can download Java from www.java.com .

Test your Java configuration by performing both of the following tests:

  1. Visit the Java test page . You should see a message that Java is working and that the version is Java 1.6.
  2. Run the AppInventor Java test by clicking on this link . This will check that your browser is properly configured to run Java, and that your computer can launch applications with Java Web Start.
App Inventor will not work on your computer if these tests do not succeed. Don't go on to try to use App Inventor until you've dealt with the issue.

Install the App Inventor Setup Software

Before you can use App Inventor, you need to install some software on your computer. The software you need is provided in a package called App Inventor Setup . Follow the instructions for your operating system to do the installation, and then go on to build the demo app (Hello Purr) with the phone or with the emulator.

Something not working right? Visit the troubleshooting page , or check the App Inventor User Forum for help.