Installing ATAK-CIV SDK on Windows

Prerequisites

1. Android Studio installed.
   I am using Panda 3 (2025.3.3), and recommend installing it in
   C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio.
2. ATAK-CIV SDK archive downloaded from tak.gov.
   I am using version 5.7.0.0 for this tutorial.

Install SDK

1. Unpack the SDK archive to your preferred location.
   Note that the archive contains a top directory, eg ATAK-CIV-5.7.0.0-SDK.
   I recommend unpacking it to C:Program Files\Android.
2. The unpacked SDK contains a development guid which should be used as the primary source of information on ATAK plugin development.

Run helloworld on emulated device

1. Start Android Studio.
2. From the Projects menu, select Open. Navigate to the samples\helloworld directory and click Select Folder.
   On my installation, the full path is C:\Program Files\Android\ATAK-CIV-5.7.0.0-SDK\samples\helloworld.
3. Android Stuido prompts you to either
   • Trust the project, or
   • Preview the project in safe mode, or
   • Trust all sample projects.
4. I opted to trust the project, so safe mode preview is not part of this tutorial.
5. Once the project is open, wait while the project syncs.
   With the versions listed above, the studio will pop a project update recommendation for the Android Gradle plugin. Ignore it, the automated Upgrade Assistant will fail (but the changes it makes can be reverted).
6. If necessary, create a suitable emulated device for your testing (out of scope for this tutorial).
7. Click the play button to run 'app'.
8. Once the emulator is up an running, install the app by drag-and-drop from the Windows explorer.
   Note that the file location specified on slide 15 of the devloper guide is incorrect for this platform (CIV SDK 5.7, Studio Panda 3, Windows 11). Instead the helloworld apk will be located at
   C:\Program Files\Android\ATAK-CIV-5.7.0.0-SDK\samples\helloworld\app\build\intermediates\apk\civ\debug
   (Assuming you have installed the SDK as recommended.)
9. On the first run, ATAK will require some setup mostly consisting of allowing the app all permissions.

The plugin will now be installed, but not loaded. See below.

Disable OpenGL if ATAK crashes

Once past the config stage, the app may crash on startup due to hardware accelaration issues. I had this problem, and the development guide addresses this.

Note that the settings on slide 22 have changed from when the guide was written, but the solution on slide 21 worked for me.

Load helloworld on emulated device

Once ATAK starts properly, the plugin must be loaded which it isn't by default.

1. In ATAK, click the hamburger menu and select Plugins.
2. Select "Hello World Tool".
3. Note that you can install other plugins from this menu. They are not needed for this tutorial.
4. Back out of the Plugins menu and select the hamburger menu again.
5. The "Hello World Tool" with its icon of a waving stick figure should now be available in the menu.