How to Build Your First HarmonyOS App: A Step‑by‑Step Guide

1. Prerequisites

HarmonyOS 2.0 has been officially open‑sourced. The author followed the steps to set up the development environment, which feels very similar to Android Studio for Android developers.

1.1 Official website

https://www.harmonyos.com

1.2 IDE download

https://device.harmonyos.com/cn/ide

1.3 Development tool download

https://developer.harmonyos.com/cn/develop/deveco-studio#download

1.4 OpenHarmony source code

https://openharmony.gitee.com

1.5 Source code location

https://device.harmonyos.com/cn/docs/start/get-code/oem_sourcecode_guide-0000001050769927

2. Developing the Application

2.1 SDK setup

When the installer prompts to download the SDK, click Cancel, then search for the SDK manually and set a custom SDK path.

2.2 Creating a project

Click "Create Project" – three project types are available: TV device app, Wearable app, and Lite Wearable app.

2.2.1 TV device app

2.2.2 Wearable app

2.2.3 Lite Wearable app

2.3 Creating a TV project (Java)

Select a list template and start the creation process.

During project creation Gradle 5.4.1 is downloaded, which may be slow.

2.4 Downloading the emulator

Confirm the download dialog; the download can be slow and may need to be retried.

2.5 Logging in with a Huawei account

Use the Windows built‑in browser for login; Chrome may cause authorization failures.

Complete real‑name verification (bank card verification is fast).

2.6 Authorization

After successful authorization, agree to the agreement.

2.7 Available simulators

Start the TV simulator, run the app, and you will see the "Hello World" output.

2.8 Result

The application runs successfully on the emulator.

3. Summary

The initial experience with HarmonyOS shows that the development tools and workflow are quite close to Android Studio, with only minor API differences. Feel free to try it out.