diff --git a/core/java/com/android/internal/statusbar/IStatusBar.aidl b/core/java/com/android/internal/statusbar/IStatusBar.aidl
index f19a123408731..5ba192814b31e 100644
--- a/core/java/com/android/internal/statusbar/IStatusBar.aidl
+++ b/core/java/com/android/internal/statusbar/IStatusBar.aidl
@@ -271,4 +271,9 @@ oneway interface IStatusBar
      * @param enable {@code true} if enable, otherwise set to {@code false}.
      */
     void setNavigationBarLumaSamplingEnabled(int displayId, boolean enable);
+
+    /**
+     * Triggers a GC in the system and status bar.
+     */
+    void runGcForTest();
 }
diff --git a/core/java/com/android/internal/util/GcUtils.java b/core/java/com/android/internal/util/GcUtils.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..e37ba3c7e2ff1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/java/com/android/internal/util/GcUtils.java
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2021 The Android Open Source Project
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package com.android.internal.util;
+
+import android.util.Slog;
+
+import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+
+/**
+ * A helper class to handle gc'ing a process, mainly used for testing.
+ *
+ * @hide
+ */
+public final class GcUtils {
+    private static final String TAG = GcUtils.class.getSimpleName();
+
+    /**
+     * Runs a GC and attempts to wait for finalization.
+     */
+    public static void runGcAndFinalizersSync() {
+        Runtime.getRuntime().gc();
+        Runtime.getRuntime().runFinalization();
+
+        final CountDownLatch fence = new CountDownLatch(1);
+        createFinalizationObserver(fence);
+        try {
+            do {
+                Runtime.getRuntime().gc();
+                Runtime.getRuntime().runFinalization();
+            } while (!fence.await(100, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+        } catch (InterruptedException ex) {
+            throw new RuntimeException(ex);
+        }
+        Slog.v(TAG, "Running gc and finalizers");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Create the observer in the scope of a method to minimize the chance that
+     * it remains live in a DEX/machine register at the point of the fence guard.
+     * This must be kept to avoid R8 inlining it.
+     */
+    private static void createFinalizationObserver(CountDownLatch fence) {
+        new Object() {
+            @Override
+            protected void finalize() throws Throwable {
+                try {
+                    fence.countDown();
+                } finally {
+                    super.finalize();
+                }
+            }
+        };
+    }
+
+    // Uninstantiable
+    private GcUtils() {}
+}
diff --git a/packages/SystemUI/src/com/android/systemui/statusbar/CommandQueue.java b/packages/SystemUI/src/com/android/systemui/statusbar/CommandQueue.java
index 1ff30a32c4ef9..6baacb931a689 100644
--- a/packages/SystemUI/src/com/android/systemui/statusbar/CommandQueue.java
+++ b/packages/SystemUI/src/com/android/systemui/statusbar/CommandQueue.java
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ import androidx.annotation.NonNull;
 import com.android.internal.os.SomeArgs;
 import com.android.internal.statusbar.IStatusBar;
 import com.android.internal.statusbar.StatusBarIcon;
+import com.android.internal.util.GcUtils;
 import com.android.internal.view.AppearanceRegion;
 import com.android.systemui.statusbar.CommandQueue.Callbacks;
 import com.android.systemui.statusbar.commandline.CommandRegistry;
@@ -1086,6 +1087,12 @@ public class CommandQueue extends IStatusBar.Stub implements CallbackController<
         thr.start();
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public void runGcForTest() {
+        // Gc sysui
+        GcUtils.runGcAndFinalizersSync();
+    }
+
     private final class H extends Handler {
         private H(Looper l) {
             super(l);
diff --git a/services/core/java/com/android/server/statusbar/StatusBarManagerService.java b/services/core/java/com/android/server/statusbar/StatusBarManagerService.java
index e37edebb09ba0..d6e75746c004a 100644
--- a/services/core/java/com/android/server/statusbar/StatusBarManagerService.java
+++ b/services/core/java/com/android/server/statusbar/StatusBarManagerService.java
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ import com.android.internal.statusbar.NotificationVisibility;
 import com.android.internal.statusbar.RegisterStatusBarResult;
 import com.android.internal.statusbar.StatusBarIcon;
 import com.android.internal.util.DumpUtils;
+import com.android.internal.util.GcUtils;
 import com.android.internal.view.AppearanceRegion;
 import com.android.server.LocalServices;
 import com.android.server.UiThread;
@@ -649,6 +650,7 @@ public class StatusBarManagerService extends IStatusBarService.Stub implements D
     // ================================================================================
     // From IStatusBarService
     // ================================================================================
+
     @Override
     public void expandNotificationsPanel() {
         enforceExpandStatusBar();
@@ -971,6 +973,22 @@ public class StatusBarManagerService extends IStatusBarService.Stub implements D
         return new int[] {disable1, disable2};
     }
 
+    void runGcForTest() {
+        if (!Build.IS_DEBUGGABLE) {
+            throw new SecurityException("runGcForTest requires a debuggable build");
+        }
+
+        // Gc the system along the way
+        GcUtils.runGcAndFinalizersSync();
+
+        if (mBar != null) {
+            try {
+                mBar.runGcForTest();
+            } catch (RemoteException ex) {
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     @Override
     public void setIcon(String slot, String iconPackage, int iconId, int iconLevel,
             String contentDescription) {
diff --git a/services/core/java/com/android/server/statusbar/StatusBarShellCommand.java b/services/core/java/com/android/server/statusbar/StatusBarShellCommand.java
index 617182290d39f..11a4976d945f4 100644
--- a/services/core/java/com/android/server/statusbar/StatusBarShellCommand.java
+++ b/services/core/java/com/android/server/statusbar/StatusBarShellCommand.java
@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ public class StatusBarShellCommand extends ShellCommand {
                     return runSendDisableFlag();
                 case "tracing":
                     return runTracing();
+                case "run-gc":
+                    return runGc();
                 // Handle everything that would be handled in `handleDefaultCommand()` explicitly,
                 // so the default can be to pass all args to StatusBar
                 case "-h":
@@ -213,6 +215,11 @@ public class StatusBarShellCommand extends ShellCommand {
         return 0;
     }
 
+    private int runGc() {
+        mInterface.runGcForTest();
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public void onHelp() {
         final PrintWriter pw = getOutPrintWriter();