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page.title=Configuring ART
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<div id="qv-wrapper">
<div id="qv">
  <h2 id="Contents">In this document</h2>
  <ol id="auto-toc">
  </ol>
</div>
</div>

<h2 id=introduction>Introduction</h2>

<p>This document is intended to discuss how to configure ART and its compilation
options. Topics addressed here include configuration of pre-compilation of the
system image, dex2oat compilation options at first boot (and post-OTA), and how
to trade off system partition space, data partition space, and performance.</p>

<p>See <a href="http://source.android.com/devices/tech/dalvik/index.html">ART
and Dalvik</a>, the <a
href="http://source.android.com/devices/tech/dalvik/dex-format.html">Dalvik
Executable format</a>, and the remaining pages on source.android.com to work
with ART. See <a
href="http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/verifying-apps-art.html">Verifying
App Behavior on the Android Runtime (ART)</a> to ensure your apps work
properly.</p>

<h2 id=how_art_works>How ART works</h2>

<p>ART is the new Android runtime for the Android 5.0 (Lollipop or L) release and
beyond. Dalvik is no longer available. </p>

<p>Please note, this section merely summarizes ART’s configuration. For an
in-depth description, see the <a
href="https://www.google.com/events/io/io14videos/b750c8da-aebe-e311-b297-00155d5066d7">Android
runtime</a> presentation conducted at Google I/O 2014. </p>

<p>ART uses ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation. This means that, at installation, dex
code is compiled to native code in OAT files, which replace Dalvik’s odex
files. This has several implications:</p>

<ul>
  <li> Performance is improved over Dalvik. There is also a commensurate improvement
in power consumption measured in the lab.
  <li> There is no runtime code cache. The OAT files are mapped to memory (and are
thus page-able). The RAM memory footprint for OAT files might seem larger in
terms of Proportional Set Size (PSS, or the memory shared across processes
divided evenly between the processes). But because they are pageable we have
found the system impact is improved in terms of real memory pressure effects as
the Dalvik JIT cache was not pageable.
  <li> Similar to preloaded classes in the zygote, ART attempts to pre-initialize a
set of classes at compile time. This creates a ‘boot.art’ file that comprises
an image of the compacted heap of pre-initialized classes and related objects.
This file is mapped into memory upon zygote startup. While this consumes
additional storage (typically 10MB), it speeds zygote startup and creates
opportunities for the system to swap out some preloaded classes under memory
pressure. This also contributes to improved <a
href="http://source.android.com/devices/low-ram.html">low-RAM</a> performance
for ART, since in Dalvik much of this class information would have
been stored in dirty pages in the linear alloc space.
  <li> Dex file compilation uses a tool called dex2oat and takes more time than
dexopt. The increase in time varies, but 2-3x increases in compile time are not
unusual. For example, apps that typically take a second to install using dexopt
might take 2-3 seconds.
  <li> OAT files are larger than odex files if full compilation is enabled. We discuss
options to mitigate this cost later in this document.
</ul>

<h2 id=compilation_options>Compilation options</h2>

<p>Dex file compilation takes more time than dexopt, which can be noticeable when
all of a user’s apps must be compiled during first boot (after factory reset or
after receiving an OTA). To reduce the amount of compilation needed, ART
supports the option of pre-optimizing libraries and applications in the system
partition. Including the pre-optimized dex files takes space in the system
image, so these options trade first boot time for system image size. Note that
OTAs are relatively infrequent and subsequent boot times should be the same
with or without pre-optimization.</p>

<h3 id=undefined>WITH_DEXPREOPT</h3>

<p>Pre-optimization is controlled by the build option
<code>WITH_DEXPREOPT</code>. Before the L release, this was enabled by default
in “user” builds. Starting in L, this option is opt-in and needs to be enabled
in the product configuration such as a device’s BoardConfig.mk file.</p>

<p>Enabling <code>WITH_DEXPREOPT</code> causes everything in the system image to be
pre-optimized. If this makes the system image too large, additional options can
be specified to reduce the amount of pre-optimization. Note that all the
following build options with “PREOPT” in the name must have <code>WITH_DEXPREOPT</code>
enabled to work.</p>

<p>Example usage (in product’s BoardConfig.mk):</p>

<pre><code>WITH_DEXPREOPT := true</code></pre>

<h3 id=dont_dexpreopt_prebuilts>DONT_DEXPREOPT_PREBUILTS</h3>

<p>Enabling <code>DONT_DEXPREOPT_PREBUILTS</code> prevents the prebuilts from being
pre-optimized. These are apps that have <code>include $(BUILD_PREBUILT)</code> specified
in their Android.mk, such as Gmail. Skipping pre-optimization of prebuilt apps
that are likely to be updated via Google Play saves /system space but does add
to first boot time.</p>

<p>Example usage (in product’s BoardConfig.mk):</p>

<pre><code>WITH_DEXPREOPT := true
DONT_DEXPREOPT_PREBUILTS := true</code></pre>

<h3 id=with_dexpreopt_boot_img_only>WITH_DEXPREOPT_BOOT_IMG_ONLY</h3>

<p>Enabling <code>WITH_DEXPREOPT_BOOT_IMG_ONLY</code> only pre-optimizes the
boot image, which consists of boot.art with the image classes and boot.oat with
code for the boot classpath. Enabling this saves significant /system space but
means all apps will be optimized at first boot. Typically it is better to
selectively disable app pre-optimization via
<code>DONT_DEXPREOPT_PREBUILTS</code> or add-product-dex-preopt-module-config.</p>

<p>Example usage (in product’s BoardConfig.mk):</p>

<pre><code>WITH_DEXPREOPT := true
WITH_DEXPREOPT_BOOT_IMG_ONLY := true</code></pre>

<h3 id=local_dex_preopt>LOCAL_DEX_PREOPT</h3>

<p>Pre-optimization can also be enabled or disabled on an individual app basis by
specifying the <code>LOCAL_DEX_PREOPT</code> option in the module definition.
This can be useful for disabling pre-optimization of apps that may immediately
receive Google Play updates since the updates would render the pre-optimized
code in the system image obsolete. This is also useful to save space on major
version upgrade OTAs since users may already have newer versions of apps in the
data partition.</p>

<p><code>LOCAL_DEX_PREOPT</code> supports the values ‘true’ or ‘false’ to
enable or disable pre-optimization respectively. In addition, ‘nostripping’ can
be specified if pre-optimization should not strip the classes.dex file from the
apk or jar file. Normally this file is stripped since it’s no longer needed
after pre-optimization, but this last option is necessary to allow third-party
APK signatures to remain valid.</p>

<p>Example usage (in app’s Android.mk):</p>

<pre><code>LOCAL_DEX_PREOPT := false</code></pre>

<h3 id=product_dex_preopt_*>PRODUCT_DEX_PREOPT_*</h3>

<p>Beginning post-L release in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), a number of
flags have been added that give further control to how pre-optimization is
done. <code>PRODUCT_DEX_PREOPT_BOOT_FLAGS</code> passes options to dex2oat to control how
the boot image is compiled. It can be used to specify customized image classes
lists, compiled classes lists, and compiler filters, all of which are described
in later sections. Similarly, <code>PRODUCT_DEX_PREOPT_DEFAULT_FLAGS</code>
controls default flags to pass to dex2oat for compilation of everything besides
the boot image, namely jar and apk files.</p>

<p><code>PRODUCT_DEX_PREOPT_MODULE_CONFIGS</code> provides the ability to pass
dex2oat options for a particular module and product configuration. It is set in
a product’s device.mk file by <code>$(call
add-product-dex-preopt-module-config,&lt;modules&gt;,&lt;option&gt;)</code>
where &lt;modules&gt; is a list of <code>LOCAL_MODULE</code> and
<code>LOCAL_PACKAGE</code> names for jar and apk files respectively. Through
this flag, it is possible to have fine-grained control of pre-optimization for
each dex file and a specific device. Such tuning allows /system space to be
maximally used to improve first boot time.</p>

<p>Example usage (in product’s device.mk):</p>

<pre><code>PRODUCT_DEX_PREOPT_DEFAULT_FLAGS := --compiler-filter=interpret-only
$(call add-product-dex-preopt-module-config,services,--compiler-filter=space)</code></pre>

<h2 id=preloaded_classes_list>Preloaded Classes List</h2>

<p>The preloaded classes list is a list of classes the zygote will initialize on
startup. This saves each app from having to run these class initializers
separately, allowing them to start up faster and share pages in memory. The
preloaded classes list file is located at frameworks/base/preloaded-classes by
default, and it contains a list that is tuned for typical phone use. This may
be different for other devices, such as wearables, and should be tuned
accordingly. Be careful when tuning this since adding too many classes wastes
memory loading unused classes; meanwhile, adding too few forces each app to
have to have its own copy, again wasting memory.</p>

<p>Example usage (in product’s device.mk):</p>

<pre><code>PRODUCT_COPY_FILES += &lt;filename&gt;:system/etc/preloaded-classes</code></pre>

<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> This line must be placed before
inheriting any product configuration makefiles that get the default one from
build/target/product/base.mk.</p>

<h2 id=image_classes_list>Image Classes List</h2>

<p>The image classes list is a list of classes that dex2oat initializes ahead of
time and stores in the boot.art file. This allows the zygote to load these
results out of the boot.art file on startup instead of running the initializers
for these classes itself during preloading. A key feature of this is that the
pages loaded from the image and shared between processes can be clean, allowing
them to be swapped out easily in low-memory situations. In L, by default the
image classes list uses the same list as the preloaded classes list. Beginning
post-L in AOSP, a custom image classes list can be specified using
<code>PRODUCT_DEX_PREOPT_BOOT_FLAGS</code>.</p>

<p>Example usage (in product’s device.mk):</p>

<pre><code>PRODUCT_DEX_PREOPT_BOOT_FLAGS += --image-classes=&lt;filename&gt;</code></pre>

<h2 id=compiled_classes_list>Compiled Classes List</h2>

<p>In post-L AOSP, a subset of classes from the boot classpath can be specified to
be compiled during pre-optimization using the compiled classes list. This can
be a useful option for devices that are very tight on space and can’t fit the
entire pre-optimized boot image. However, note classes not specified by this
list will not be compiled - not even on the device - and must be interpreted,
potentially affecting runtime performance. By default, dex2oat will look for a
compiled classes list in $OUT/system/etc/compiled-classes, so a custom one can
be copied to that location by the device.mk. A particular file location can
also be specified using <code>PRODUCT_DEX_PREOPT_BOOT_FLAGS</code>.</p>

<p>Example usage (in product’s device.mk):</p>

<pre><code>PRODUCT_COPY_FILES += &lt;filename&gt;:system/etc/compiled-classes</code></pre>

<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> This line must be placed before
inheriting any product configuration makefiles that get the default one from
build/target/product/base.mk.</p>

<h2 id=compiler_filters>Compiler Filters</h2>

<p>In L, dex2oat takes a variety of --compiler-filter options to control how it
compiles. Passing in a compiler filter flag for a particular app specifies how
it’s pre-optimized. Here’s a description of each available option:</p>

<ul>
  <li><em>everything</em> - compiles almost everything, excluding class initializers and some rare
methods that are too large to be represented by the compiler’s internal
representation.
  <li><em>speed</em> - compiles most methods and maximizes runtime performance, which is the
default option.
  <li><em>balanced</em> - attempts to get the best performance return on compilation investment.
  <li><em>space</em> - compiles a limited number of methods, prioritizing storage space.
  <li><em>interpret-only</em> - skips all compilation and relies on the interpreter to run code.
  <li><em>verify-none</em> - special option that skips verification and compilation, should be used only
for trusted system code.
</ul>

<h2 id=with_dexpreopt_pic>WITH_DEXPREOPT_PIC</h2>

<p>In post-L AOSP, <code>WITH_DEXPREOPT_PIC</code> can be specified to enable
position-independent code (PIC). With this, compiled code from the image
doesn’t have to be relocated from /system into /data/dalvik-cache, saving space
in the data partition. However, there is a slight runtime impact because it
disables an optimization that takes advantage of position-dependent code.
Typically, devices wanting to save space in /data should enable PIC
compilation.</p>

<p>Example usage (in product’s device.mk):</p>

<pre><code>WITH_DEXPREOPT := true
WITH_DEXPREOPT_PIC := true</code></pre>

<h2 id=with_art_small_mode>WITH_ART_SMALL_MODE</h2>

<p>For devices with very limited space, <code>WITH_ART_SMALL_MODE</code> can be
enabled. This option compiles the boot classpath and nothing else, greatly
reducing first boot time since most compilation is skipped. It also saves on
storage because there is no compiled code for apps. However, this impacts
runtime performance since app code has to be interpreted. The impact is limited
since most performance sensitive code in the framework is still compiled, but
regressions may appear in benchmarking.</p>

<p>Example usage (in product’s device.mk):</p>

<pre><code>WITH_ART_SMALL_MODE := true</code></pre>

<p>In future releases, this build option will be removed since it can be done with
this (in product’s device.mk):</p>

<pre><code>PRODUCT_PROPERTY_OVERRIDES += \
     dalvik.vm.dex2oat-filter=interpret-only \
     dalvik.vm.image-dex2oat-filter=speed</code></pre>

<h2 id=dalvik_vm_properties>dalvik.vm Properties</h2>

<p>Most dalvik.vm properties in ART are similar to Dalvik, but there are a few
additional ones as described below. Note that these options affect dex2oat
during on-device compilation as well as during pre-optimization, whereas most
of the options discussed above affect only pre-optimization.</p>

<p>To control dex2oat while it’s compiling the boot image:</p>

<ul>
  <li>dalvik.vm.image-dex2oat-Xms: initial heap size
  <li>dalvik.vm.image-dex2oat-Xmx: maximum heap size
  <li>dalvik.vm.image-dex2oat-filter: compiler filter option
</ul>

<p>To control dex2oat while it’s compiling everything besides the boot image:</p>

<ul>
  <li> dalvik.vm.dex2oat-Xms: initial heap size
  <li> dalvik.vm.dex2oat-Xmx: maximum heap size
  <li> dalvik.vm.dex2oat-filter: compiler filter option
</ul>

<p>The options that control initial and maximum heap size for dex2oat should not
be reduced since they could limit what applications can be compiled.</p>

<h2 id=sample_usage>Sample Usage</h2>

<p>The goal of these compiler options is to utilize available space in the system
and data partition to reduce the amount of dex2oat that must be performed by
the device. </p>

<p>For devices with ample system and data space, enabling dex pre-optimization is
all that is necessary.

<p>BoardConfig.mk:</p>

<pre><code>WITH_DEXPREOPT := true</code></pre>

<p>If this causes the system image to become too large, the next thing to try is
disabling pre-optimization of the prebuilts.

<p>BoardConfig.mk:</p>

<pre><code>WITH_DEXPREOPT := true
DONT_DEXPREOPT_PREBUILTS := true</code></pre>

<p>Again, if the system image is still too large, try pre-optimizing only the boot
image.

<p>BoardConfig.mk:</p>

<pre><code>WITH_DEXPREOPT := true
WITH_DEXPREOPT_BOOT_IMG_ONLY := true</code></pre>

<p>However, limiting to pre-optimizing only the boot-image means all apps will
have to be optimized on first boot. In order to avoid this, it is possible to
combine these high level flags with more fine-grained controls to maximize the
amount of pre-optimized apps.</p>

<p>For instance, if disabling the pre-optimization of the prebuilts almost fits
into the system partition, compiling the boot classpath with the ‘space’ option
may make it fit. Note this compiles fewer methods in the boot classpath,
potentially interpreting more code and impacting runtime performance.

<p>BoardConfig.mk:</p>

<pre><code>WITH_DEXPREOPT := true
DONT_DEXPREOPT_PREBUILTS := true</code></pre>

<p>device.mk:</p>

<pre><code>PRODUCT_DEX_PREOPT_BOOT_FLAGS := --compiler-filter=space</code></pre>

<p>If a device has very limited system partition space, it’s possible to compile a
subset of classes in the boot classpath using the compiled classes list. Boot
classpath methods that aren’t in this list will have to be interpreted, which
could affect runtime performance.

<p>BoardConfig.mk:</p>

<pre><code>WITH_DEXPREOPT := true
WITH_DEXPREOPT_BOOT_IMG_ONLY := true</code></pre>

<p>device.mk:</p>

<pre><code>PRODUCT_COPY_FILES += &lt;filename&gt;:system/etc/compiled-classes</code></pre>

<p>If a device has both limited space in the system and data partitions, compiler
filter flags can be used to disable compilation of certain apps. This will save
space in both system and data, as there won’t be any compiled code, but these
apps will have to be interpreted. This example configuration would pre-optimize
the boot classpath but prevent compilation of other apps that are not
prebuilts. However, to prevent noticeable performance degradation of
system_server, the services.jar is still compiled but optimized for space. Note
that user-installed applications will still use the default compiler filter of
speed.

<p>BoardConfig.mk:</p>

<pre><code>WITH_DEXPREOPT := true
DONT_DEXPREOPT_PREBUILTS := true</code></pre>

<p>device.mk:</p>

<pre><code>PRODUCT_DEX_PREOPT_DEFAULT_FLAGS := --compiler-filter=interpret-only
$(call add-product-dex-preopt-module-config,services,--compiler-filter=space)</code></pre>

<p>For a major version upgrade OTA, it can be useful to blacklist certain apps
from being pre-optimized since they will likely be out of date. This can be
done by specifying <code>LOCAL_DEX_PREOPT</code> (for all products) or with
<code>PRODUCT_DEX_PREOPT_MODULE_CONFIGS</code> (for a particular product).

<p>BoardConfig.mk:</p>

<pre><code>WITH_DEXPREOPT := true</code></pre>

<p>Android.mk (of blacklisted apps):</p>

<pre><code>LOCAL_DEX_PREOPT := false</code></pre>