Get Started

This guide is a quick start for creating an Android app that displays a map. Android Studio is the recommended development environment for building an app with the Maps SDK for Android.

Step 1. Download Android Studio

Follow the guides to download and install Android Studio.

Step 2. Install the Google Play services SDK

Add Google Play services to Android Studio.

Step 3. Create a Google Maps project

Step 4. Set up a Google Maps API key

1. Enable billing on your project. For details, see create a billing account.
2. In the Cloud Console, enable the Maps SDK for Android on your project. For details, see enable APIs.
3. Follow the Get an API Key guide to get, add, and restrict an API key.

Step 5. Look at the code

Examine the code supplied by the template. In particular, look at the following files in your Android Studio project.

The XML layout file

By default, the XML file that defines the app's layout is at res/layout/activity_maps.xml. It contains the following code:

<fragment xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:id="@+id/map"
    tools:context=".MapsActivity"
    android:name="com.google.android.gms.maps.SupportMapFragment" />

The maps activity Java file

By default, the Java file that defines the maps activity is named MapsActivity.java. It should contain the following code after your package name:

// Copyright 2020 Google LLC
//
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
//      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.

package com.google.maps.example;


import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;

import android.os.Bundle;

import com.google.android.gms.maps.CameraUpdateFactory;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.GoogleMap;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.OnMapReadyCallback;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.SupportMapFragment;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.model.LatLng;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.model.MarkerOptions;

public class MapsActivity extends AppCompatActivity implements OnMapReadyCallback {

    private GoogleMap mMap;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_maps);
        // Obtain the SupportMapFragment and get notified when the map is ready to be used.
        SupportMapFragment mapFragment = (SupportMapFragment) getSupportFragmentManager()
                .findFragmentById(R.id.map);
        mapFragment.getMapAsync(this);
    }

    /**
     * Manipulates the map once available.
     * This callback is triggered when the map is ready to be used.
     * This is where we can add markers or lines, add listeners or move the camera. In this case,
     * we just add a marker near Sydney, Australia.
     *
     * If Google Play services is not installed on the device, the user will be prompted to install
     * it inside the SupportMapFragment. This method will only be triggered once the user has
     * installed Google Play services and returned to the app.
     */
    @Override
    public void onMapReady(GoogleMap googleMap) {
        mMap = googleMap;

        // Add a marker in Sydney and move the camera
        LatLng sydney = new LatLng(-34, 151);
        mMap.addMarker(new MarkerOptions()
                .position(sydney)
                .title("Marker in Sydney"));
        mMap.moveCamera(CameraUpdateFactory.newLatLng(sydney));
    }
}

      

// Copyright 2020 Google LLC
//
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
//      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.

package com.google.maps.example.kotlin

import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import android.os.Bundle

import com.google.android.gms.maps.CameraUpdateFactory
import com.google.android.gms.maps.GoogleMap
import com.google.android.gms.maps.OnMapReadyCallback
import com.google.android.gms.maps.SupportMapFragment
import com.google.android.gms.maps.model.LatLng
import com.google.android.gms.maps.model.MarkerOptions
import com.google.maps.example.R

internal class MapsActivity : AppCompatActivity(), OnMapReadyCallback {

    private lateinit var mMap: GoogleMap

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_maps)
        // Obtain the SupportMapFragment and get notified when the map is ready to be used.
        val mapFragment = supportFragmentManager
            .findFragmentById(R.id.map) as SupportMapFragment
        mapFragment.getMapAsync(this)
    }

    /**
     * Manipulates the map once available.
     * This callback is triggered when the map is ready to be used.
     * This is where we can add markers or lines, add listeners or move the camera. In this case,
     * we just add a marker near Sydney, Australia.
     * If Google Play services is not installed on the device, the user will be prompted to install
     * it inside the SupportMapFragment. This method will only be triggered once the user has
     * installed Google Play services and returned to the app.
     */
    override fun onMapReady(googleMap: GoogleMap) {
        mMap = googleMap

        // Add a marker in Sydney and move the camera
        val sydney = LatLng(-34.0, 151.0)
        mMap.addMarker(MarkerOptions()
            .position(sydney)
            .title("Marker in Sydney"))
        mMap.moveCamera(CameraUpdateFactory.newLatLng(sydney))
    }
}
      

If your maps activity file doesn't contain the above code, replace the contents of the file with the above code, after your package name.

Step 6. Connect an Android device

The simplest way to see your app in action is to connect an Android device to your computer. Follow the instructions to enable developer options on your Android device and configure your application and system to detect the device.

Alternatively, you can use the Android Emulator to run your app. Use the Android Virtual Device (AVD) Manager to configure one or more virtual devices which you'll be able to use with the Android Emulator when you build and run your app. When choosing your emulator, ensure that you use Android 4.1.1 or higher, and be careful to pick an image that includes the Google APIs, or the application will not have the requisite runtime APIs in order to execute. Also, take note of the instructions for configuring virtual machine acceleration, which you should use with an x86 target AVD as described in the instructions. This will improve your experience with the emulator.

Step 7. Deploy and run your app

In Android Studio, click the Run menu option (or the play button icon) to run your app.

When prompted to choose a device, choose one of the following options:

• Select the Android device that's connected to your computer.
• Alternatively, select the Launch emulator radio button and choose the virtual device that you've previously configured.

Click OK. Android Studio will invoke Gradle to build your app, and then display the results on the device or on the emulator. It could take a couple of minutes before the app opens.

Next steps

You may wish to look at some sample code.

You can read more about map objects in the developer's guide.