Developer Menu

Developer Menu

Mac.apk has a hidden set of settings for testing and bug reports. Most people never need it. Nothing in it makes apps run better, and a couple of the switches make them run a lot worse, so change things here only when you know why.

Unlocking it

1. Open Mac.apk.
2. Click the Mac.apk title at the top of the window five times, quickly (within about two seconds).
3. Open Settings (the gear). It now has extra sections and is taller.

The menu stays unlocked until you quit Mac.apk, and it's hidden again the next time you open it. Force ARM32 and Verbose trace only apply while it's unlocked, so quitting Mac.apk is also the quickest way to switch them off.

What's in it

App files

Shows where Mac.apk keeps app files, with a button to open that folder in Finder. Change… moves it. Leave this alone unless you have a reason; installed apps keep their saves inside their own app bundle either way (see Managing Apps).

Advanced

Setting	What it does
Screen size	The window size an app starts at. Only for apps you open from the Mac.apk window, and not remembered. Any app window can be resized afterwards.
Orientation	Auto, Portrait or Landscape, for apps you open from the Mac.apk window. Not remembered. View → Rotate (⌘R) turns any app window at any time.
Show live log panel	Shows the running app's log at the bottom of the Mac.apk window.
Write log to folder	Also saves the Mac.apk window's own log to a file.
Force ARM32	Runs an app's 32-bit native code even when it has 64-bit code. For comparing the two while tracking down a bug; apps are slower and less stable this way. Same as MACAPK_FORCE_ABI=armeabi-v7a.
Show app versions in Applications	Names new app bundles with their version, such as "F-Droid 1.23.2.app". Each version gets its own bundle either way; this only changes the name.
Verbose trace (very slow)	Detailed tracing for bug reports. Big games drop to about one frame a second. Same as MACAPK_DEV_TRACE=1.
Verbose logging	Keeps every log line instead of skipping the chattiest ones. Turn it on before reproducing a bug you're going to report.
Uninstall all apps…	Removes every installed app and all of their saved data. It asks first, but there's no undo. To remove one app, right-click it and choose Uninstall instead.

The build number at the bottom identifies your exact Mac.apk build. Include it if we ask.

Default environment

A place to set Flags for every app you open from the Mac.apk window. One NAME=value per line. An app's own setting in Get Info wins over this.

Default environment keeps working after you quit and the menu is hidden again, so remember to clear it when you're done.

Accounts → Diagnostics

With the menu unlocked, Accounts (the person icon) has a Diagnostics section that shows the status of the signed-in Google account. Useful if an app can't see your account.

Get Info, for everyone

These are in every app's Get Info… sheet (right-click an app in Mac.apk), no unlocking needed:

• Environment overrides: Flags for that app only.
• Update from APK…: installs a newer APK of the same app over this one.
• Reset app…: deletes the app's saved data and starts it fresh.
• Copy debug launch command: copies the Terminal command for running the app with its flags. Paste it into a bug report if we ask for it.