Building Android from Source (AOSP 15) on Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G5 IRX

🚀 Building Android from Source (AOSP 15) on Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G5 IRX

Author: Porfy Vidal
Platform: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
Target: AOSP 15 (Vanilla Ice Cream, Cuttlefish Emulator)

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🧩 1. System Overview

After multiple rebuilds and optimizations, this guide shows the complete setup for a working AOSP 15 development environment on the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G5 IRX with Ubuntu 22.04.

Key goals:

• Compile AOSP 15 from source
• Run Cuttlefish emulator (x86_64 phone)
• Enable ADB access and app installation
• Automate system maintenance tasks

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⚙️ 2. Preparing Ubuntu 22.04

Install the essentials and developer tools:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y \

  openjdk-17-jdk python3 git-core gnupg flex bison gperf build-essential \

  zip curl zlib1g-dev libc6-dev libncurses5-dev libncurses5 \

  x11proto-core-dev libx11-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libxml2-utils xsltproc unzip \

  fontconfig repo ccache

Optional (but useful) developer tools:

sudo apt install -y htop nvtop iotop baobab gnome-disk-utility gparted \

  vim nano gnome-tweaks filezilla qbittorrent chrome-gnome-shell

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🧰 3. Set Up the AOSP Source Tree

mkdir ~/aosp15

cd ~/aosp15

repo init -u https://android.googlesource.com/platform/manifest -b aosp-main

To sync specific components only (faster iteration):

repo sync -j1 --fail-fast external/ComputeLibrary external/apache-harmony \

external/aws-sdk-java-v2 prebuilts/remoteexecution-client prebuilts/tools

Expected output:

repo sync has finished successfully.

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🧱 4. Build Configuration

cd ~/aosp15

source build/envsetup.sh

Choose the target build:

lunch aosp_cf_x86_64_phone-trunk_staging-userdebug

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🖥️ 5. Installing Cuttlefish Emulator Packages

Download the following from the official AOSP Cuttlefish build server:

cvd-host_package.tar.gz

aosp_cf_x86_64_only_phone-img-14253210.zip

Extract them:

mkdir ~/cuttlefish

tar -xzf ~/Downloads/cvd-host_package.tar.gz -C ~/cuttlefish

unzip ~/Downloads/aosp_cf_x86_64_only_phone-img-14253210.zip -d ~/cuttlefish

Verify images exist:

ls ~/cuttlefish | grep img

You should see:

boot.img

init_boot.img

super.img

userdata.img

vendor_boot.img

...

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🧪 6. Launching the Emulator

cd ~/cuttlefish/bin

./launch_cvd

Once launched, check ADB connectivity:

adb devices

Expected:

List of devices attached

0.0.0.0:6520	device

Open an interactive shell:

adb shell

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📦 7. Installing Apps via ADB

To install an APK:

adb install MyApp.apk

For .xapk packages:

1. Unzip the .xapk.
2. Find the contained .apk file.
3. Install it:

adb install app.apk

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🧼 8. System Maintenance Automation

Create /usr/local/bin/sysrefresh to automate updates and cleanup:

#!/bin/bash

echo "============================================="

echo "🕒 System refresh started at: $(date)"

echo "============================================="



echo "🔄 Checking for package updates..."

UPDATES=$(apt list --upgradable 2>/dev/null | grep -v Listing | wc -l)

if [ "$UPDATES" -eq 0 ]; then

  echo "☑️  No updates were needed. System is already up to date."

else

  echo "🛠️  Installing updates..."

  sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

fi



echo "🧹 Performing cleanup..."

sudo apt autoremove -y

sudo apt autoclean -y



echo "🧠 Disk space usage summary:"

df -h | grep -E '^/dev/nvme|Filesystem'

echo "---------------------------------------------"

echo "✅ Last refresh completed: $(date)"

echo "---------------------------------------------"

echo "🟢 sysrefresh complete."

Make it executable:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/sysrefresh

Run it any time:

sysrefresh

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🖥️ 9. Display Configuration

Switching to Xorg restored full dual-monitor support.

Current setup:

• Internal display: eDP-1 (3200×2000)
• External monitor: HDMI-1-0 (3840×2160)

Dual display:

xrandr --output eDP-1 --primary --mode 3200x2000 --pos 0x0

xrandr --output HDMI-1-0 --mode 3840x2160 --right-of eDP-1 --scale 0.5x0.5

External only:

xrandr --output eDP-1 --off --output HDMI-1-0 --auto

Internal only:

xrandr --output HDMI-1-0 --off --output eDP-1 --auto

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🧩 10. Summary of Achievements

• ✅ AOSP 15 environment successfully built
• ✅ Cuttlefish emulator running smoothly
• ✅ ADB functional for app install and testing
• ✅ Automated maintenance script (sysrefresh)
• ✅ Dual-display working under Xorg
• ✅ Optimized Ubuntu 22.04 for development

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💡 Final Thoughts

This setup transforms the ThinkBook 16p G5 IRX into a powerful Android development workstation. While the process takes patience, once configured, the environment is stable and production-ready.

“Building Android from source isn’t just about compiling code — it’s about understanding the entire ecosystem.”

Guidance provided with the help of ChatGPT (OpenAI) 

Till then!