How to debug graphics with Renderdoc

Renderdoc is a graphics frame debugger which supports Android applications.

Debugging graphics can be challenging and Renderdoc is a great tool to provide insight into Vulkan and OpenGL command execution. The following describes how you can use Renderdoc with Anbox Cloud.

Install Renderdoc

Renderdoc provides binary builds here. These come with all prerequisites to be able to capture on Android.

For capturing Android applications you need to install the Android SDK as Renderdoc requires a few tools like ADB or AAPT2. As easiest option, download and install Android Studio which you can then use to install the SDK.

Configure Renderdoc

Capturing applications running in Android with Renderdoc is not much different than what is described in the official documentation. The most important part is to configure the path to the Android SDK in the Renderdoc settings. See Android options for more information.

Configure Anbox

In order to run Renderdoc with Anbox Cloud, create an instance with its ADB port exposed:

amc launch -s adb ...

Afterwards connect to Android by running

adb connect <host IP>:9001

The device will show up in the output of

adb devices

See How to access an instance for more information.

Renderdoc can only inject itself into applications which have debug mode turn on. See How do I use RenderDoc on Android? for more information.

Capture a trace

Capturing a trace on Anbox Cloud is no different after the initial setup than on any other Android devices and you can follow the instructions in the official documentation.