erhe-quest-launch

name

erhe-quest-launch

description

Build, install, and launch the erhe editor APK on a Meta Quest 3 attached over adb. Enforces the headset-prompt protocol (install before asking the user to put the headset on, never launch without acknowledged readiness; batch/soak runs confirm once up front) and walks through the canonical script invocations. Also covers the persistent logcat capture (scripts/quest_logcat.sh -- start it BEFORE every launch), filtering captures to erhe-only lines, readiness signals (never blind-sleep), Android SDK/JDK locations, and the mobile (non-Quest) Android sideload security-check dialog.

erhe Quest launch

Build the editor APK, install it on a connected Meta Quest 3, then launch it into immersive VR. The Quest runtime's RequiresControllersLaunchInterceptor blocks the immersive app behind a "Controllers Required" dialog if the headset is off the user's head when the launch intent fires, so the order of operations matters.

Required order

1. Build the APK -- no headset interaction needed:

   scripts\build_android.bat quest
   

   APK lands at android-project\app\build\outputs\apk\quest\debug\app-quest-debug.apk.

2. Install the APK -- still no headset interaction needed. Force-stop first so the install isn't deferred while a previous instance holds the package:

   $LOCALAPPDATA/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb.exe shell am force-stop org.libsdl.app.quest
   scripts\install_android.bat quest
   

   Verify by reading lastUpdateTime from adb shell dumpsys package org.libsdl.app.quest; it should advance with each install.

3. Prompt the user to put on the headset and pick up the controllers, then wait for explicit acknowledgement. Do not skip this. Pure builds and installs (no am start) do not need the prompt; only the launch step does. A confirmation applies ONLY to that one launch -- every later one-off launch needs a fresh prompt; never assume the user is still wearing the headset.

   Batch / soak runs are the exception: a single headset-readiness confirmation at the START of the batch covers the whole unattended sweep (clean reinstall + launch + watch per iteration) -- do NOT prompt between iterations. If the batch detects the headset went off-head mid-run (repeated INCONCLUSIVE results / no ticks), stop and re-confirm rather than silently burning iterations.

4. Launch only after the user acknowledges -- and ALWAYS start the persistent logcat capture first. The in-memory logcat ring rolls over within seconds once the editor enters a per-frame error loop (e.g. an XR_FRAME_DISCARDED storm), so only a disk capture keeps the full startup trace:

   bash scripts/quest_logcat.sh             # prints the new capture path
   $LOCALAPPDATA/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb.exe shell am start -n org.libsdl.app.quest/org.libsdl.app.ErheActivity
   

   (Optionally adb logcat -c before starting the capture for a clean ring.)

Variants

• One-shot build + install + launch via Gradle's installQuestDebug:

  scripts\run_android.bat quest
  

  Same headset-prompt rule applies before invoking it (run_android.bat ends with am start -W -a android.intent.action.MAIN -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER -c com.oculus.intent.category.VR ... so the Horizon shell enters immersive composition).

• Force a fresh on-device SPIR-V cache (e.g. after a glslang patch) by uninstalling first instead of force-stop + install:

  $LOCALAPPDATA/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb.exe uninstall org.libsdl.app.quest
  scripts\install_android.bat quest
  

  Uninstall wipes /data/data/org.libsdl.app.quest/files/spirv_cache/ so the next launch re-compiles every shader.

• Pass-through gradle properties: build_android.bat forwards extra args verbatim, but its bat-arg parser strips =. Pass bare flags like -Pvulkan_validation_skip rather than -Pvulkan_validation_skip=1. For values with =, invoke gradlew.bat directly with JAVA_HOME and ANDROID_HOME set.

Persistent logcat capture: scripts/quest_logcat.sh

Capture files land in logs/quest_<YYYYMMDD>_<HHMMSS>.log (gitignored) and are appended live by the streamer -- tail -F / grep them while the editor runs. To stop a capture explicitly (e.g. when wrapping up a session with no further launches planned): bash scripts/quest_logcat.sh stop. If you forget, the next launch's start call cleans it up automatically.

The script enforces these invariants -- understand them before changing it:

• One extra process, ever. The single backgrounded adb logcat is the only process owned by this workflow. Re-running quest_logcat.sh kills the previous streamer before starting a new one; stop kills without starting a replacement. The shared adb server daemon is not "ours" -- it persists across sessions regardless.
• No leaks across AI client sessions. The PID is tracked in logs/.logcat.pid (a real file in the repo, gitignored), so even a fresh shell finds and stops the prior capture.
• No PID-recycle hazard. Before killing, the script confirms the recorded PID still points at an adb process via ps -p PID; if the PID was recycled to something unrelated, it leaves the new owner alone and just removes the stale PID file. Git Bash's ps reports the executable path only (no argv), so it matches on adb -- fine because every other adb call in this workflow is short-lived.

Filtering a capture to erhe-only lines

Raw captures interleave hundreds of system tags (MRSS, [CT], wlan, ...); a typical 30 s capture is 30k+ lines -- too much to scan. Filter to the editor's erhe spdlog tag:

bash scripts/quest_logcat.sh filter logs/quest_<YYYYMMDD>_<HHMMSS>.log
# writes logs/quest_<YYYYMMDD>_<HHMMSS>_erhe.log

The filter is a single grep on erhe +: (space, literal tag, optional padding, colon) anchored to logcat's threadtime tag column, so it does not match the substring "erhe" inside other tags or message bodies. Always analyze the filtered file; reach for the unfiltered capture only to correlate against OS-level events (OpenXR, VrApi, MRSS, [CT] tags from the Horizon runtime, or WLAN/battery for thermal-throttle context).

Readiness signals (NEVER blind-sleep before capturing)

The editor takes ~15-20 s to initialize on Quest and the exact time varies per run. sleep N before looking once wastes runs: too short misses the window, too long and the user may have removed the headset or exited. ALWAYS poll/stream for a definite readiness signal and act the instant it appears. Pick the signal that matches the state you need:

• XR session up / projection depth submitted: poll the live disk capture (from scripts/quest_logcat.sh) for a stable session line, e.g. OpenXR submitted projection depth or OpenXR multiview depth swapchain. Use the disk file, not the in-memory ring, so the line is not evicted before you grep it.
• Editor actively rendering AND a specific compositor layer present (e.g. the HUD quad is open): enable the compositor layer dump and stream it through a watcher that exits the instant the editor's own block contains the layer you need. This is the robust trigger for any compositor-layer / depth-submission diagnostic, and the captured block itself carries the data (per-layer Depth SwapChain valid vs BAD, and Depth Info min/max/near/far):

ADB="$LOCALAPPDATA/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb.exe"
"$ADB" shell setprop debug.oculus.logLayers 1   # enable per-frame layer dump (CompositorClient tag)
# Stream the dump; exit the moment OUR app's block contains a QUAD (HUD open).
# Replace "Type QUAD" with the condition you need; raise timeout for slow init.
timeout 150 "$ADB" logcat -s CompositorClient | awk '
  /LogLayers: Client/ {
    if (cap && hit) { printf "%s", buf; found=1; exit }
    cap = (index($0, "org.libsdl.app.quest") > 0); buf=""; hit=0
  }
  cap { buf = buf $0 "\n"; if (index($0,"Type QUAD")>0) hit=1 }
  END { if (!found) print "[watcher] target block not seen (editor not rendering / HUD not open / headset off-head)" }
'
"$ADB" shell setprop debug.oculus.logLayers 0   # ALWAYS turn the flood back off when done

Two gotchas, both learned the hard way:

• logLayers floods logcat at compositor framerate, so the editor's erhe-tagged startup lines are evicted from the in-memory ring within seconds. While logLayers is on, do NOT use adb logcat -d -s erhe to detect readiness -- use the streaming watcher above (event-driven) or the persistent disk capture.
• An off-head headset pauses the OpenXR session: the app stops submitting and only com.oculus.vrshell (FocusPlaceholderActivity) appears in the dump / as the resumed activity. So "only vrshell in the dump" means "headset off-head or app backgrounded," NOT "editor broken." The editor being topResumedActivity is necessary but not sufficient -- it must also be submitting frames (its block present in the dump).

Mobile (non-Quest) Android: sideload security-check dialog

When running the mobile flavor on a regular Android phone (e.g. soaking with scripts/soak_quest.py --flavor mobile, or any sideloaded APK), Play Protect / Samsung Auto Blocker pops a "Send app for a security check?" dialog on each adb install. It blocks the install until dismissed, which stalls and can crash an unattended clean-reinstall soak. Always disable it before a mobile Android run, and restore it afterward (these are global settings):

ADB="$LOCALAPPDATA/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb.exe"
# disable for the soak:
"$ADB" -s <serial> shell settings put global verifier_verify_adb_installs 0
"$ADB" -s <serial> shell settings put global upload_apk_enable 0
"$ADB" -s <serial> shell settings put global package_verifier_user_consent -1
# restore afterward:
"$ADB" -s <serial> shell settings put global verifier_verify_adb_installs 1
"$ADB" -s <serial> shell settings put global upload_apk_enable 1
"$ADB" -s <serial> shell settings put global package_verifier_user_consent 1

If the dialog still appears, it is Samsung Auto Blocker rather than Play Protect: toggle it off in Settings > Security and privacy > Auto Blocker. (The Quest never shows this dialog, but the mobile editor cannot run on the Quest anyway -- the Quest sleeps flat 2D activities and the editor then SIGSEGVs at Vulkan surface creation; soak the mobile editor on a phone instead. Alternatively, scripts/soak_quest.py batch --no-reinstall relaunches the already-installed app each iteration, dodging the install dialog entirely.)

Locating the Android tools

The wrapper scripts probe in this order:

• ANDROID_HOME env var, falling back to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Android\Sdk. Adb is <ANDROID_HOME>\platform-tools\adb.exe.
• JAVA_HOME env var (only needed for direct gradle calls), falling back to C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio\jbr (Android Studio's bundled JDK 21; Gradle 8.12 + AGP do not support JDK 25).

In bash on Windows, the canonical adb path is "$LOCALAPPDATA/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb.exe".

Prefer the wrapper scripts (build_android.bat, install_android.bat, run_android.bat) when possible -- they handle both probes plus device-state checks. Drop to direct adb/gradle/java invocations only when a script does not cover the case (e.g. a -P gradle property the bat-arg parser mangles; see Variants above).

Pulling logs after launch

The editor logs under tag erhe. To pull what just happened:

$LOCALAPPDATA/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb.exe logcat -d -v time | grep -E "erhe|FATAL|Abort message|Creating shader module|VALIDATION ERROR|Headset_view: multiview"

When chasing a hang, watch for Headset_view: multiview render path enabled (init reached the headset path) and the absence/presence of frame-period am start-following logs to decide whether the editor is actually rendering.