Linux Setup

Install Node.js

Titanium requires Node.js 22.19.0 or 24.x.

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.41.0/install.sh | bash

nvm install 24

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

node -v

Install a JDK

Titanium requires JDK 17, 21, or 25. JDK 26 is only compatible with Titanium SDK 14 or newer. Any distribution works. The commands below install Temurin or your distribution's OpenJDK.

sudo apt install openjdk-21-jdk

sudo dnf install java-21-openjdk-devel

javac -version

Set JAVA_HOME

Gradle and the Titanium SDK locate the JDK through JAVA_HOME. Most installers leave it unset.

JAVA_HOME=$(dirname "$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$(command -v javac)")")")
echo "export JAVA_HOME=$JAVA_HOME" >> ~/.bashrc
$JAVA_HOME/bin/javac -version

JAVA_HOME=$(dirname "$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$(command -v javac)")")")
echo "export JAVA_HOME=$JAVA_HOME" >> ~/.zshrc
$JAVA_HOME/bin/javac -version

set -gx JAVA_HOME (dirname (dirname (readlink -f (command -v javac))))
echo "set -gx JAVA_HOME $JAVA_HOME" >> ~/.config/fish/config.fish
$JAVA_HOME/bin/javac -version

The path differs by distribution (/usr/lib/jvm/java-21-openjdk-amd64 on Debian and Ubuntu, /usr/lib/jvm/java-21-openjdk on Fedora), so this reads it off javac rather than naming one.

Install the Titanium CLI

npm install -g titanium

pnpm add -g titanium

Prefix that with sudo if you installed Node with apt or the installer: their global directory is owned by root.

ti -v

The command is also available as titanium:

titanium -v

Install the Titanium SDK

The CLI is the tool you run; the SDK is what builds your app. You can have several SDKs installed at once.

ti sdk install

With no version, that installs the latest stable release and makes it the default. It is a few hundred megabytes.

ti sdk list
ti sdk list --releases

Install the Android SDK

Titanium needs four pieces of it:

Android Studio is the straightforward way to get them. The command-line tools are smaller and are what you want on a build server.

sdkmanager "platforms;android-36" "build-tools;35.0.0" "platform-tools" "emulator"

Set the Android SDK path

ti setup android

ti setup android finds the SDK and writes the path to the CLI's config, so no environment variable has to be right.

If you would rather set one, Titanium checks ANDROID_SDK_ROOT and ANDROID_SDK, then looks for adb on your PATH, then scans the usual install directories.

Versions newer than Titanium supports

Google ships API levels and build tools faster than the SDK adds support, so a current Android Studio usually produces warnings:

!  Android API Android 17 (android-37) is too new and may or may not work with
   Titanium SDK 13.4.0.
   The maximum supported Android API level by Titanium SDK 13.4.0 is API level 36.

Titanium builds anyway. Leave them until a build fails, then pin a version it knows:

ti config android.buildTools.selectedVersion 35.0.0

Keep the SDK somewhere your user owns. ~/Android/Sdk is the conventional location and the one Android Studio uses. Under /opt or /usr/local, every sdkmanager run needs sudo and the files it writes end up owned by root.

Set up an emulator

The emulator needs KVM. Without it, it either refuses to start or runs too slowly to use.

egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo

0 means virtualisation is not enabled in the BIOS. Anything higher is fine.

sudo apt install qemu-kvm
sudo usermod -aG kvm $USER

Log out and back in for the group change to take effect.

Create a virtual device with Android Studio's Device Manager, or with avdmanager from the command-line tools.

A physical device over USB is faster than any emulator. It needs USB debugging turned on in Developer options, and a udev rule so your user can reach it.

Verify Titanium is Ready

ti info

ti info lists everything it detected and any issues it found. A working setup reports none.

Warnings are common and usually harmless: a component newer than the SDK supports produces one, and so does a missing NDK. When something is wrong, ti info names it and says what to do.

Troubleshooting

ti info cannot find the Android SDK

Run ti setup android and give it the path. If you set ANDROID_HOME and expected it to work, use ANDROID_SDK_ROOT instead.

sdkmanager fails with a Java error

Check javac -version reports 17, 21 or 25, then check the tools are at <sdk>/cmdline-tools/latest/bin/sdkmanager. Unzipping straight into the SDK root leaves them at <sdk>/cmdline-tools/bin, and the error does not mention the layout.

The emulator starts and then exits

KVM. Check /dev/kvm exists and your user can read it:

ls -l /dev/kvm

If the group is kvm and you are not in it, the usermod above has not taken effect yet.

Permission errors under the SDK directory

The SDK was installed as root:

sudo chown -R $USER: ~/Android/Sdk

Next

Your first app creates a project and builds it.