Build, deploy, and debug Android apps from the command line

Provides command instructions for the android CLI tool: project creation (android create empty-activity --name="My App" --output=./my-app), SDK management (android sdk install <package>[@<version>], update, remove, list --all), and CLI self-update (android update). For device interaction it covers UI-layout inspection (android layout, returning a flat JSON list of on-screen elements with text, resourceId, contentDesc, interactions, state, bounds, center, and off-screen, plus layout --diff to see only what changed), screenshots (android screen capture -o <file>), and annotated screenshots (screen capture --annotate, with screen resolve --screen <path> --string "#N" converting a numbered label back into tap coordinates for adb shell input tap/swipe). It also manages Android Virtual Devices through android emulator create/start/stop/list/remove, runs installed APKs with android run, prints environment diagnostics with android info, manages installable skills with android skills add/remove/list/find, and searches Google's Android developer documentation with android docs search/fetch for migration guides, API examples, and best practices.

On top of the CLI it defines a "journey" format: an XML test script of sequential <action> elements, each either a UI interaction to perform (evaluated by attempting it and checking the app doesn't crash) or a "check"/"verify" expectation about current on-screen state (evaluated without interacting). A journey fails as soon as one action fails, or if the app exits, crashes, or freezes; results are reported as JSON per action with a PASSED/FAILED/SKIPPED status, the exact ADB commands executed, and a comment.

Use it to create, configure, or analyze Android projects from the command line; to interact with, deploy to, or screenshot running Android devices; to manage Android SDK components, versions, or virtual devices; to inspect UI layouts; or to run XML-specified journey tests. Its own limitations note that the android CLI must be installed and on PATH first, that device/emulator/SDK/documentation commands depend on local SDK state, network access, and attached hardware, and that generated commands are environment-sensitive - inspect paths, package names, device serials, and install/update targets before running them.

Its own plugin metadata marks the Codex and Claude plugin targets as blocked with a manual setup type, specifically because "installer guidance executes remote Android CLI setup scripts" - it is meant to stay out of plugin-safe bundles, and the installer script should never be piped directly into a shell without inspecting it first.

When the android tool is missing from PATH, installation downloads the platform installer to a private temp directory, lets you inspect it, and only runs it after explicit confirmation:

tmpdir="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/android-cli.XXXXXX")" || exit 1
curl -fsSL https://dl.google.com/android/cli/latest/linux_x86_64/install.sh -o "$tmpdir/install.sh"
sed -n '1,160p' "$tmpdir/install.sh"
# After review and explicit user confirmation:
bash "$tmpdir/install.sh"

(the matching darwin_arm64/install.sh or windows_x86_64/install.cmd URL is used for macOS or Windows). Day-to-day commands take structured flags and return plain text, a PNG file, or JSON - a layout UI-element list, or a journey's per-action JSON report (status, the ADB commands run, and a comment) as shown above.

Wraps Google's own android command-line tool and its subcommands (create, describe, docs, emulator, info, init, layout, run, screen, sdk, skills, update), layers adb shell input tap/swipe on top for driving the UI once layout or screen resolve has located an element's coordinates, and its docs subcommand searches Google's Android developer documentation knowledge base directly. Listed as usable from Claude, Cursor, Gemini, and Antigravity.

Developers and coding agents automating Android project setup, SDK and emulator management, device UI inspection, and scripted UI journey testing from the command line. Self-authored by Owais, added 2026-06-15.