The full upstream README, mirrored here for reference. Install config, tool schemas, adoption signals, and an original overview live on the Phonebox listing page.
A hosted Android MCP server for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and any MCP client, from Phonebox, the agent-first cloud phone. Your agent gets a real Android phone in the cloud. It can read the screen, tap, type, install your APK, hand off to a human, and park the phone when it's done. You don't need ADB, Android Studio or an emulator.
▶ Watch the 3-minute setup: Give Claude Code an Android Phone: Android MCP Server Setup · transcript ▶ Watch the 56-second demo: Give Claude Code an Android Phone (MCP) · transcript
https://phonebox.dev/mcp (Streamable HTTP, bearer API key)This repo holds the configs and examples. The server itself is hosted by Phonebox, so there's nothing to run.
Most cloud phones were built for social-media dashboards or QA test suites and added an API later. Phonebox was built for the agent: your agent signs you up from the terminal, reads the screen as text, gets errors with a next step, and never has a write retried behind its back. Idle phones park themselves for free.
| Local ADB MCP server | Phonebox hosted MCP | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the phone runs | An emulator or USB phone on your machine | Phonebox's cloud |
| Setup | Android SDK, ADB, a system image | One URL and an API key |
| Works from CI, sandboxes and remote dev boxes | Only with nested virtualization or a device | Yes |
| State between sessions | Whatever your emulator keeps | Apps, files and sign-ins kept while parked |
| Human handoff | Someone at the machine | A live view link in any browser |
The fastest way is to paste this into your coding agent. It signs you up from the terminal, and you never paste a key into the chat:
Or create a key in the console and export PHONEBOX_API_KEY=pbx_….
Claude Code — run the command at the top, or commit this repo's .mcp.json. It reads the key from each person's environment:
Cursor: add examples/cursor-mcp.json to ~/.cursor/mcp.json or .cursor/mcp.json. Guide: give Cursor an Android phone.
Codex: add examples/codex-config.toml to ~/.codex/config.toml and export PHONEBOX_API_KEY=$(phonebox token). Guide: give Codex an Android phone.
Any other client: point it at https://phonebox.dev/mcp with an Authorization: Bearer pbx_… header. The server is stateless Streamable HTTP and doesn't use OAuth.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
create_phone | Creates a cloud Android phone and waits until it's ready |
observe | Reads the screen as a numbered text list, plus a 720px screenshot |
act | Runs up to 20 actions in order: tap, type, swipe, scroll, open an app, wait for an element |
install_app | Installs from the app library or from your own uploaded APK |
create_app_upload / complete_app_upload | Uploads your APK with one curl command |
live_view_url | A link for a person to watch and control the phone |
start_phone / park_phone | Resumes a parked phone, or parks it to stop billing |
list_phones / get_phone / list_apps / reboot_phone | Find phones, wait for them, list apps, restart a stuck phone |
What the agent reads from observe:
Android only (no iOS), and there are no phone numbers, SMS or calls. Phonebox gives your agent the device, not telephony.
Phonebox (phonebox.dev) is a cloud phone platform for AI agents. It is not a mobile carrier, phone plan or eSIM provider.