Android Emulator flickers when tiled

[Marty-W]

Describe the bug
The android emulator keeps flickering when tiled. It floats by default but I've used this:

[[on-window-detected]]
if.window-title-regex-substring='Android Emulator'
if.during-aerospace-startup = false  
check-further-callbacks = true
run = 'layout tiling'  

which comes from this issue : #209.

NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 windowId: 14640
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 workspace: 1
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 treeNodeParent: AppBundle.TilingContainer
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 recognizedAsDialog: true
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXTitle: Optional(Android Emulator - Samsung_S23_API_35:5554)
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXRole: Optional(AXWindow)
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXSubrole: Optional(AXDialog)
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXFocused: Optional(1)
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXFullScreen: Optional(0)
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXFrame: Optional(<AXValue 0x600000ca3300> {value = x:3.000000 y:41.000000 w:856.000000 h:1072.000000 type = kAXValueCGRectType})
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXPosition: Optional(<AXValue 0x60000174edf0> {value = x:3.000000 y:41.000000 type = kAXValueCGPointType})
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXGrowArea: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXMinimizeButton: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXDocument: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXSections: [
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 ]
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXCloseButton: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXMain: Optional(0)
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXActivationPoint: Optional(<AXValue 0x600001742af0> {value = x:-1.000000 y:1118.000000 type = kAXValueCGPointType})
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXFullScreenButton: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXProxy: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXDefaultButton: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXMinimized: Optional(0)
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXParent: Optional(<AXUIElement Application 0x6000017470f0> {pid=28581})
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXTitleUIElement: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXCancelButton: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXModal: Optional(0)
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXZoomButton: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXSize: Optional(<AXValue 0x6000017a9ef0> {value = w:856.000000 h:1072.000000 type = kAXValueCGSizeType})
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 AXToolbarButton: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID.window.14640 Ignored: AXChildrenInNavigationOrder, AXChildren, AXRoleDescription
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXRole: Optional(AXApplication)
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXTitle: Optional(qemu-system-aarch64)
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXFunctionRowTopLevelElements: [
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              ]
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXFrame: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXFocusedUIElement: AXUIElement(windowId=14640, title="Android Emulator - Samsung_S23_API_35:5554", role="AXWindow", subrole="AXDialog")
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXFrontmost: Optional(1)
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXExtrasMenuBar: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXMainWindow: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXFocusedWindow: AXUIElement(windowId=14640, title="Android Emulator - Samsung_S23_API_35:5554", role="AXWindow", subrole="AXDialog")
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXMenuBar: Optional(<AXUIElement 0x600001747bd0> {pid=28581})
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXWindows: [
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID                  AXUIElement(windowId=14641, title="", role="AXWindow", subrole="AXDialog"),
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID                  AXUIElement(windowId=14640, title="Android Emulator - Samsung_S23_API_35:5554", role="AXWindow", subrole="AXDialog")
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              ]
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXSize: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              AXPosition: nil
NULL-APP-BUNDLE-ID              Ignored: AXChildren, AXChildrenInNavigationOrder, AXEnhancedUserInterface, AXPreferredLanguage, AXRoleDescription, AXHidden

CleanShot.2025-01-03.at.20.59.40.mp4

[nikitabobko]

What emulator do you use? By default emulator is just an "embedded" tool window of Android Studio

And even if you pull this tool window off the Android Studio, it's normal resizable window which looks nothing like the one you recorded

---

I use the latest available Android Studio Ladybug | 2024.2.1 Patch 3. Build #AI-242.23339.11.2421.12700392, built on November 22, 2024

[Marty-W]

Sorry, to clarify I am using the Android Virtual Device standalone, not within the Android Studio editor.

Android Studio Ladybug | 2024.2.1 Patch 3
Build #AI-242.23339.11.2421.12700392, built on November 22, 2024

[nikitabobko]

Reproduced by running ~/Library/Android/sdk/emulator/emulator -avd Pixel_9_API_35

[nikitabobko]

Related: #267

[jozan]

Related: #267

looks very similar behavior but for me the android emulator (standalone) also flickers on my built-in display.

[jcbdev]

This seems to be due to applications which control their own size (such a movie player window trying to maintain the same size as the video resolution etc). Brave does it too if you make the window too vertically thin because it has a "minimum width". On yabai it just overflows and refuses to go any smaller but I am assuming aerospace is constantly polling and trying to resize it and it resizes itself back, whereas yabai tries to resize it once and then leaves it until the next time it want to change something on the layout.

The android emulator is a good example because it's basically inside a hidden/transparent window of which it is constantly trying to set the right size for (to house the floating controls etc). You can see it if you switch janky borders on. This hidden window is replaced by the android studio panel window when you run the emulator hosted inside android studio so it then belongs to the android studio window instead.

It's aerospace and the app battling for who has control over the size ⚔

EDIT: infact you can see it on the original video as janky borders is on. The floating controls jump to the middle of the screen because aerospace has sent the resize command but then the android studio resets the size straight back to the size of the emulator so the floating controls sit flush with the emulator