Understanding Android App Bundle Build Times and Optimization

Last updated: June 30, 2026

The build time of Android App Bundle (AAB) builds can vary depending on your project size and complexity. Several factors can influence build duration:

Factors Affecting Build Time

  • Project size and complexity: Larger projects with more dependencies naturally take longer to build

  • SDK/NDK installations: If your project requires specific Android SDK or NDK versions not pre-installed on Codemagic, they will be downloaded and installed during the build process

  • App bundle size: Larger AAB files (e.g., 85MB+) require more processing time

Identifying SDK/NDK Installations

To see if additional installations are occurring during your build, expand the logs for the Building Android step. Look for entries like:

Preparing "Install NDK (Side by side) 26.3.11579264 v.26.3.11579264".
Installing NDK (Side by side) 26.3.11579264 in /usr/local/share/android-sdk/ndk/26.3.11579264
"Install NDK (Side by side) 26.3.11579264 v.26.3.11579264" complete.

If you see these messages, the build machine is downloading and installing Android components required by your project.

Optimizing Build Times with Caching

You can reduce build times by caching the installed SDK and NDK components. Add the installation paths from your build logs to your cache configuration:

cache:
  cache_paths:
    - $ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/ndk/27.0.12077973
    - $ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/build-tools/34.0.0
    - ~/.gradle/caches
    - ~/.pub-cache

Once cached after the first successful build, these components won't need to be downloaded again unless the cache is cleared or the version changes.

Cache Storage Limitations

Personal accounts have limited cache storage. Large Gradle caches combined with Android SDK/NDK components can quickly exceed this limit.

If your cache regularly exceeds the available storage, consider upgrading to a Team account, which provides up to 10 GB of cache storage per workflow.

Additional tips

  • Keep your Android SDK, NDK, and Build Tools versions consistent to maximize cache reuse.

  • Avoid clearing caches unless necessary.

  • If your build time suddenly increases, check the logs to see whether new SDK or NDK components are being installed.

For more information about caching optimization, visit the Codemagic caching documentation.