Set up an Android Studio project

Page Summary

outlined_flag

• The Places SDK for Android now requires AndroidX and uses the Android Gradle plugin version 8.2, with compatibility information available for other versions.

• You need to configure your project with the Places SDK dependency, an API key stored securely via the Secrets Gradle Plugin, and initialize the Places API client.

• Ensure your development environment is set up with Android Studio Hedgehog and deploy your application to a compatible Android device or emulator running Android 5.0 or higher with Google APIs.

• Securely manage API keys in production using recommended mechanisms, and refer to provided sample apps for practical implementation guidance.

To configure your app to use the Places SDK for Android, follow these steps. They are required for all apps using the Places SDK for Android.

Step 1: Set up Android Studio

This document describes a development environment using Android Studio Hedgehog and the Android Gradle plugin version 8.2.

Step 2. Set up the SDK

The Places SDK for Android library is available through Google's Maven repository. To add the SDK to your app, do the following:

1. In your top-level settings.gradle.kts file, include the Gradle plugin portal, Google Maven repository, and Maven central repository under the pluginManagement block. The pluginManagement block must appear before any other statements in the script.

   pluginManagement {
       repositories {
           gradlePluginPortal()
           google()
           mavenCentral()
       }
   } 

2. In your top-level settings.gradle.kts file, include the Google's Maven repository and Maven central repository under the dependencyResolutionManagement block:

   dependencyResolutionManagement {
       repositoriesMode.set(RepositoriesMode.FAIL_ON_PROJECT_REPOS)
       repositories {
           google()
           mavenCentral()
       }
   } 

3. In the dependencies section of your module-level build.gradle.kts file, add a dependency to the Places SDK for Android:

   Groovy

   dependencies {
       implementation(platform("org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-bom:$kotlin_version"))
       implementation("com.google.android.libraries.places:places:3.5.0")
   }

   Kotlin

             dependencies {
   
       // Places and Maps SDKs
       implementation("com.google.android.libraries.places:places:5.0.0")
   }

4. In your module-level build.gradle.kts file, set compileSdk and minSdk to the following values:

   Groovy

   android {
       compileSdk 34
   
       defaultConfig {
           minSdk 23
           // ...
       }
   }

   Kotlin

   android {
       compileSdk = 34
   
       defaultConfig {
           minSdk = 23
           // ...
       }
   }

5. In the buildFeatures section of your module-level build.gradle file, add the BuildConfig class, which you use to access metadata values defined later in this procedure:

   Groovy

   android {
     // ...
     buildFeatures {
       buildConfig true
       // ...
     }
   }

   Kotlin

   android {
     // ...
     buildFeatures {
       buildConfig = true
       // ...
     }
   }

Step 3: Add your API key to the project

This section describes how to store your API key so that it can be securely referenced by your app. You should not check your API key into your version control system, so we recommend storing it in the secrets.properties file, which is located in the root directory of your project. For more information about the secrets.properties file, see Gradle properties files.

To streamline this task, we recommend that you use the Secrets Gradle Plugin for Android.

To install the Secrets Gradle Plugin for Android and store your API key:

1. In Android Studio, open your root-level build.gradle file and add the following code to the dependencies element under buildscript.

   Groovy

   buildscript {
       dependencies {
           // ...
           classpath "com.google.android.libraries.mapsplatform.secrets-gradle-plugin:secrets-gradle-plugin:2.0.1"
       }
   }

   Kotlin

   buildscript {
       dependencies {
           // ...
           classpath("com.google.android.libraries.mapsplatform.secrets-gradle-plugin:secrets-gradle-plugin:2.0.1")
       }
   }

2. Open your app-level build.gradle file and add the following code to the plugins element.

   Groovy

   plugins {
       id 'com.android.application'
       // ...
       id 'com.google.android.libraries.mapsplatform.secrets-gradle-plugin'
   }

   Kotlin

   plugins {
       id("com.android.application")
       // ...
       id("com.google.android.libraries.mapsplatform.secrets-gradle-plugin")
   }

3. If you use Android Studio, sync your project with Gradle.
4. Open the local.properties in your project level directory, and then add the following code. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your API key.

   PLACES_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY

Step 4. Initialize the Places API client

To initialize the Places SDK for Android within an activity or fragment, pass the API key when calling Places.initializeWithNewPlacesApiEnabled():

    // Define a variable to hold the Places API key.
    val apiKey = BuildConfig.PLACES_API_KEY

    // Log an error if apiKey is not set.
    if (apiKey.isEmpty() || apiKey == "DEFAULT_API_KEY") {
        Log.e("Places test", "No api key")
        finish()
        return
    }

    // Initialize the SDK
    Places.initializeWithNewPlacesApiEnabled(applicationContext, apiKey)

    // Create a new PlacesClient instance
    val placesClient = Places.createClient(this)
    

    // Define a variable to hold the Places API key.
    String apiKey = BuildConfig.PLACES_API_KEY;

    // Log an error if apiKey is not set.
    if (TextUtils.isEmpty(apiKey) || apiKey.equals("DEFAULT_API_KEY")) {
      Log.e("Places test", "No api key");
      finish();
      return;
    }

    // Initialize the SDK
    Places.initializeWithNewPlacesApiEnabled(getApplicationContext(), apiKey);

    // Create a new PlacesClient instance
    PlacesClient placesClient = Places.createClient(this);
    

You are now ready to begin using the Places SDK for Android!

Step 5: Set up an Android device

To run an app that uses the Places SDK for Android, you must deploy it to an Android device or Android emulator that is based on Android 5.0 or higher and includes the Google APIs.

• To use an Android device, follow the instructions at Run apps on a hardware device.
• To use an Android emulator, you can create a virtual device and install the emulator by using the Android Virtual Device (AVD) Manager that comes with Android Studio.

Next steps