Mobile apps and emulators

Why it pays

• Hardware acceleration inside Nested /dev/kvm lets emulators run with KVM, not slow software emulation.
• Watch or let an agent tap Stream the desktop to see the emulator, or drive it with computer use.
• Snapshot a booted device Save a template with the emulator image ready, and start new devices from it.

Step by step

1. Start a large sandbox and check KVM

   Nested virtualization is on for every sandbox.

   CLI

   harebox new --name android --size large
   harebox exec current -- ls -l /dev/kvm

   Python

   box = hb.create(name="android", size={"preset": "large"})
   print(box.run("ls -l /dev/kvm")["stdout"])

   TypeScript

   const box = await hb.create({ name: "android", size: { preset: "large" } });
   console.log((await box.run("ls -l /dev/kvm")).stdout);

2. Boot the emulator

   Install the SDK's command-line tools, then start a device headless or on the desktop.

   CLI

   harebox exec current -- ./setup-android-sdk.sh
   harebox exec current --detach -- emulator -avd pixel -no-snapshot -gpu swiftshader_indirect

3. See it and drive it

   Open the desktop, or let an agent tap through the app.

   CLI

   harebox desktop current
   harebox prompt current "Open the app, sign up with a test account, and report any crash" --harness claude --budget 2

Tips

• Save a template after the first boot, so each new device skips the slow setup.
• Memory snapshots and sleep are off while a nested guest runs. Stop and resume instead.
• Firecracker microVMs work the same way, for tests of your own VM tooling.