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System Server: Core System Services

Android Internals Team
2025-10-04
5 min read

System Server: Core System Services

Part 2 of 6 in the Android System Server Deep Dive series

Previous: Part 1: Architecture and Design
Next: Part 3: Binder IPC Framework
Series Index: View all articles

Learning Objectives

By the end of this article, you will understand:

  • The role and responsibilities of each core system service
  • How ActivityManagerService and ActivityTaskManagerService coordinate
  • WindowManagerService's window and surface management
  • PackageManagerService's package lifecycle management
  • PowerManagerService's power and thermal management

Part II: Core System Services

2.1 ActivityManagerService (AMS) and ActivityTaskManagerService (ATMS)

Modern Architecture Split (Android 10+):

The traditional ActivityManagerService was split into two services to improve modularity and maintainability:

  • ActivityTaskManagerService (ATMS): Handles UI-related concerns including Activity lifecycle, task management, task stack navigation, intent resolution for Activities, and window management coordination.
  • ActivityManagerService (AMS): Manages application processes, background services lifecycle, system broadcasts, content providers, and process scheduling.

Why the Split?

  • Separation of Concerns: UI logic separated from process management
  • Maintainability: Smaller, focused codebases
  • Testing: Easier to test UI logic independently
  • Performance: Reduced coupling allows for better optimization

Key Responsibilities:

ActivityManagerService (AMS):

  • Process Lifecycle Management: Creates, manages, and destroys application processes
  • Process Scheduling: Determines which processes to keep alive based on importance
  • Background Service Management: Manages started services, bound services, and foreground services
  • Broadcast Management: Handles system broadcasts and ordered broadcast delivery
  • Content Provider Management: Manages content provider lifecycle and access
  • ANR Detection: Monitors application responsiveness and triggers ANR dialogs

ActivityTaskManagerService (ATMS):

  • Activity Lifecycle: Orchestrates Activity state transitions (onCreate, onStart, onResume, etc.)
  • Task Management: Manages task stacks, recent tasks, and task navigation
  • Intent Resolution: Resolves implicit intents to specific Activity components
  • Activity Stack: Maintains back stack and handles task switching
  • Multi-Window Support: Coordinates split-screen, freeform, and picture-in-picture modes

Service Interaction Diagram:

Process Lifecycle Flow:

ANR Detection Mechanism:

2.2 WindowManagerService (WMS)

Core Functions:

Window Management:

  • Z-Ordering: Maintains window layering (wallpaper, application windows, system windows, overlay windows)
  • Window Lifecycle: Manages window creation, resizing, visibility, and destruction
  • Window Types: Handles different window types (application, system, overlay, toast, etc.)
  • Window Attributes: Manages window flags, layout parameters, and display configuration

Surface Management:

  • SurfaceFlinger Integration: Creates and manages Surface objects that SurfaceFlinger composites
  • Surface Allocation: Allocates and deallocates graphic buffers for windows
  • Composition: Coordinates with SurfaceFlinger for screen composition
  • Buffer Management: Manages buffer queues and swap chains

Input Event Dispatching:

  • Input Channel Management: Creates input channels for windows to receive touch/key events
  • Event Routing: Routes input events to the correct window based on touch coordinates
  • Focus Management: Tracks which window has input focus
  • Input Method Coordination: Coordinates with InputMethodService for soft keyboard

Screen Transitions and Animations:

  • Window Animations: Manages window transition animations (open, close, minimize)
  • Activity Transitions: Coordinates Activity transition animations with ATMS
  • Screen Rotation: Handles display rotation and window reconfiguration
  • Multi-Display Support: Manages windows across multiple displays

Window Hierarchy:

Window Addition Flow:

2.3 PackageManagerService (PMS)

Responsibilities:

Package Lifecycle Management:

  • Installation: Handles APK installation, including verification, parsing, and component registration
  • Uninstallation: Removes packages and cleans up associated data
  • Updates: Manages package updates, including version checks and data migration
  • Package Scanning: Scans installed packages on boot and during runtime

Component Registration:

  • AndroidManifest.xml Parsing: Parses manifest files to extract components (Activities, Services, Receivers, Providers)
  • Component Database: Maintains a database of all registered components
  • Intent Filter Matching: Supports Intent resolution by matching intent filters
  • Component State: Tracks enabled/disabled state of components

Permission Management:

  • Permission Definition: Parses and stores permission definitions from manifests
  • Permission Grants: Manages runtime permission grants (Android 6.0+)
  • Permission Checks: Validates permission requirements for component access
  • Signature Permissions: Handles signature-based permission validation

Package Data Management:

  • Application Data: Manages application data directories (/data/data/<package>)
  • Code Paths: Tracks APK and library paths for each package
  • Shared Libraries: Manages shared library dependencies
  • Package Signatures: Validates and stores package signatures

Package Installation Flow:

Component Resolution:

2.4 PowerManagerService

Key Features:

Power State Management:

  • Device Power States: Manages device sleep, wake, and doze states
  • Screen States: Controls screen on/off, dimming, and brightness levels
  • CPU Power States: Coordinates CPU frequency scaling and core management
  • Power State Transitions: Handles state transitions with proper sequencing

Wake Lock Management:

  • Wake Lock Types: Manages different wake lock types (PARTIAL_WAKE_LOCK, SCREEN_BRIGHT, etc.)
  • Wake Lock Lifecycle: Tracks wake lock acquisition and release
  • Timeout Handling: Enforces wake lock timeouts to prevent battery drain
  • Wake Lock Statistics: Maintains statistics for debugging power issues

Screen and Brightness Control:

  • Brightness Levels: Manages screen brightness from 0-255
  • Auto-Brightness: Coordinates with light sensor for adaptive brightness
  • Screen Timeout: Handles screen timeout based on user activity
  • Display Power State: Controls display power modes (on, doze, off)

Thermal Management:

  • Thermal Zones: Monitors device temperature from thermal sensors
  • Throttling: Implements CPU/GPU throttling when temperature exceeds thresholds
  • Thermal States: Manages thermal states (normal, warning, critical, emergency)
  • Cooling Actions: Triggers cooling actions (reducing performance, disabling features)

Power Saving Modes:

  • Battery Saver Mode: Implements battery saver restrictions (background restrictions, reduced performance)
  • Doze Mode: Manages doze mode for deep sleep optimization
  • App Standby: Manages app standby buckets for background optimization
  • Adaptive Battery: Coordinates with machine learning for predictive power management

Power Management Flow:

Wake Lock Hierarchy:

Summary

In this article, we've explored the core system services:

  1. ActivityManagerService & ActivityTaskManagerService: Process and Activity lifecycle management
  2. WindowManagerService: Window, surface, and input event management
  3. PackageManagerService: Package installation, component registration, and permission management
  4. PowerManagerService: Power states, wake locks, thermal management, and power optimization

Each service plays a critical role in Android's operation, and understanding their interactions is key to mastering system_server.

Next Steps

Continue to Part 3: Binder IPC Framework to learn how these services communicate with application processes and each other through the Binder IPC mechanism.

Related Articles

This article is part of the Android System Server Deep Dive series. For the complete learning path, start with the Series Index.