Android Emulator Logs on Mac: Where to Find Them and How to Send Them to Support

When an Android emulator does not start, shows an error or a button does nothing, support asks for your logs. They are text files where the engine and the launcher write down what they do, line by line. Here is where to find them in MACOS EMULATOR, how to send them without them getting cut off, and why the moment you copy them matters.

What an emulator’s logs tell you

While the Android device runs, the emulation engine writes down what it does. When it refuses a configuration, it writes an error line before stopping, and the cause is often spelled out right there. The launcher keeps its own log too. Three files in all:

• emulator.log: the engine’s log. It is the one the Logs window opens by default, so it is the one you send if you change nothing.
• launcher.log: one dated line for every update check and every click on “Update”. That is where a button that “does nothing” can be read.
• branding.log, needed less often: the engine’s setup after it is installed.

Logs or performance report: two different things

The performance report measures six seconds of play: the frames displayed, memory, the Mac’s thermal state. It is copied in encrypted form: you cannot read it, support is the one who opens it. Logs, on the other hand, tell what happened, and they stay in plain text: you can read every line before sending it.

When the game stutters, support asks for both. When the game does not launch, there is no match to measure: the startup left its trace in the engine’s log. The guide to measuring FPS in an emulator explains how to take the report.

Where to find the logs in the launcher

1. 1Open Settings: the gear icon, at the top right of the launcher.
2. 2In the Engine and storage section, on the Logs row, click “View…”.
3. 3The Logs window opens on emulator.log. Click “Copy”: the text goes to your Mac’s clipboard.

The window follows the file live (“Refreshes every 2 s”) and sticks to the last lines. The end is what matters, and Copy takes precisely the end of the file, roughly its last 200 KB: what just happened.

The menu at the top right of the window switches files. If it is the “Update” button that does not respond, pick launcher.log before clicking Copy. “Show in Finder” shows the file on your disk, but Copy is enough.

Send them with “Send a report”

1. 1Sign in to your customer area, with your license key or your email address.
2. 2In the “Write to support” card, click “Send a report”: the conversation opens, with the “Paste your report” window.
3. 3Paste your logs into the Logs field, with Cmd + V. The Performance report field can stay empty: one of the two is enough.
4. 4Click “Send the report”. Each filled field goes out as a .txt file, attached to the conversation.

Already in a conversation? The same button is there as an icon, next to the paperclip, under the messages, and on your ticket’s follow-up page, the one the link in support’s emails opens.

Do not paste your logs into the message box: an ordinary message stops at 4,000 characters, and logs quickly go past that. The Logs field turns them into a file, without cutting anything. If sending fails, whatever is left in the field was not sent.

In your message, add your configuration (Apple menu, then About This Mac) and what you see, in your own words.

The right moment: right after the problem, before relaunching

The engine’s log starts from scratch every time the device starts. Restarting it after the failure therefore erases what the engine had written, error line included. Copy your logs as soon as the problem has happened, and relaunch afterward.

• During a boot, do not open Settings to go and get them: that cuts off the launch in progress. Wait for the error message, or for the wait to end. The guide to an Android emulator not starting says how long is normal.
• If the “Something went wrong” window shows “The engine reported:”, also copy that line exactly as it is into your message: it is the one support is looking for.

Before you uninstall or go back to an older version

The logs live with the rest of the app’s data, in your user folder, in ~/Library/Application Support. Uninstall erases that whole folder, logs included: after a reinstall, there is nothing left to read about the earlier failure. Send them first. The guide to uninstalling an Android emulator details what goes.

Same rule before “Switch to the previous version”: once you have gone back, whatever was wrong can no longer be measured.

What leaves your Mac, and what does not

Logs only leave your Mac if you paste them yourself. The only thing the launcher sends on its own is your license check, and what you paste is exactly what support receives. The guide to Android emulator security on Mac details what else the app asks of your Mac.

Frequently asked questions