Recommended Android Studio Plugins for Efficient Development

Background – Android developers primarily use Android Studio, which supports a wide range of plugins to improve productivity. The author recommends six plugins that provide a "flying" development experience.

ADB Idea – Provides quick access to common ADB commands. The most useful feature is adb restart app with debugger , which restarts an app in debug mode without manual UI steps. The plugin also offers commands such as ADB Uninstall App , ADB Kill App , ADB Start App , ADB Restart App , ADB Clear App Data , ADB Clear App Data and Restart , ADB Start App With Debugger , Enable/Disable Wi‑Fi , and Enable/Disable Mobile Data . The following table lists these commands and their descriptions: Command Description ADB Uninstall App Uninstall application ADB Kill App Kill process ADB Start App Start application ADB Restart App Kill then restart application ADB Clear App Data Clear application data ADB Clear App Data and Restart Clear data and restart ADB Start App With Debugger Launch in debug mode (or attach if already running) Enable/Disable Wi‑Fi Toggle Wi‑Fi Enable/Disable Mobile Data Toggle mobile data

ECTranslation – A translation plugin that instantly translates selected words or code comments within Android Studio, helping developers understand source code written in English without leaving the IDE. It supports custom shortcuts for faster translation.

Key Promoter X – Shows a tooltip with the corresponding keyboard shortcut whenever a mouse action can be replaced by a shortcut, encouraging developers to adopt keyboard shortcuts. It also tracks mouse usage statistics to help users transition to a more keyboard‑centric workflow.

Alibaba Java Coding Guidelines – A code‑inspection plugin that enforces Alibaba’s Java coding standards. It categorises violations into Blocker , Critical , and Major levels, provides real‑time warnings, and can automatically fix many issues. The plugin integrates with the IDE’s inspection tools, allowing project‑wide scans and quick‑fix actions.

QAPLug (Code Quality Detection Toolkit) – A collection of plugins that combine FindBugs , PMD , and additional rules to detect bugs, performance problems, and code smells. Users can run analysis on individual files or whole projects, view results, and apply automatic fixes where possible.

Save Action – Automates code formatting on file save or shortcut. It can optimise imports, reformat only changed code, add missing @Override annotations, remove unnecessary final modifiers from private methods, and delete stray semicolons. Configuration is done via the plugin’s settings panel.

The author concludes that many useful plugins exist beyond those listed, and invites readers to share their own favorites in the comments.