To initialize get started with Android/CyanogenMod, you'll need to get familiar with Git and Repo. http://source.android.com/download/using-repo To initialize your local repository using the CyanogenMod trees, use a command like this: repo init -u git://github.com/cyanogen/android.git -b donut Then to sync up: repo sync After checking out the repositories, you'll need to create a buildspec.mk file with contents like this: TARGET_PRODUCT:=cyanogen_dream_us TARGET_BUILD_VARIANT:=eng TARGET_BUILD_TYPE:=release For additional instructions on getting the necessary proprietary files into your build, and to get things going from here: http://source.android.com/documentation/building-for-dream