Android Studio MCP

Let Claude operate Android Studio and the entire Android toolchain — not just talk about it.

A professional Model Context Protocol server that turns Claude (Claude Code / Claude Desktop) into a real Android operator: build, test, lint, run on devices & emulators, analyse APKs, scaffold projects, inspect code headlessly, and drive the live IDE.

Why this exists

Android Studio is an IntelliJ‑based IDE. The reliable way to operate it programmatically is not to pixel‑click the GUI — it's to drive the same tools the IDE drives. This server is built stable‑first: the bulk of the power comes from the rock‑solid command‑line toolchain, with the live‑IDE bridge and UI automation as additional layers that degrade gracefully.

Everything in layers 1–2 works whether or not the IDE is open and needs no plugins.

Related MCP server: Enhanced ADB MCP Server

Highlights

• 🟢 One‑shot "Run" button — as_run_app: build → install → launch → capture logs → detect crashes → screenshot, in a single call.

• 🔨 Full Gradle control — assemble APK/AAB, unit & instrumented tests, lint, dependencies, signing report — with structured findings (lint XML & JUnit XML parsed into file/line/severity).

• 🩺 Self‑healing builds — failing builds return a remediation list mapping the error to the exact next tool to call (license → accept, missing platform → install, no device → start emulator).

• 📱 Devices & emulators — list/create/start/stop AVDs, install/uninstall, streaming logcat you can poll, screenshots, screen recording, input injection.

• 🏗️ Project scaffolding — generate a real, buildable Views or Compose project (bundled Gradle wrapper, correct AGP/Kotlin/SDK levels).

• 🔍 Headless code inspection — run the IDE's offline "Inspect Code" engine and get structured problems back.

• 📦 APK / AAB analysis — package/version/permissions, method counts, sizes, signature verification, APK diff, AAB → installable APK set.

• 🔒 Safety‑first — workspace path allow‑list, confirmation gating for destructive actions, automatic backups, secret redaction, hardened device‑shell.

• 🧪 Tested — 73 tools, real APK built end‑to‑end, 15 parser unit tests, security‑gate regression, adversarial multi‑agent code review.

Requirements

• Windows (the server is Windows‑targeted; paths and process control use Win32).

• Android Studio (tested against build AI‑261, 2026.1.x) — autodiscovered at C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio.

• Android SDK with command‑line tools, platform‑tools, emulator and build‑tools — autodiscovered at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Android\Sdk.

• Python ≥ 3.10 and uv.

All paths are autodiscovered but can be overridden (see Configuration).

Install

git clone https://github.com/MauricePutinas/Android-Studio-MCP-Claude-Code.git
cd Android-Studio-MCP-Claude-Code
uv sync

# sanity checks
uv run python -m android_studio_mcp --selfcheck     # resolved paths + tool count
uv run python -m android_studio_mcp --list-tools    # all 73 tools
uv run python scripts/smoke_test.py                 # 17/17 functional checks
uv run pytest tests -q                              # 15 parser unit tests

Wire into Claude

Claude Desktop — %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "android-studio": {
      "command": "C:\\Users\\<you>\\AppData\\Local\\hermes\\bin\\uv.exe",
      "args": ["--directory", "C:\\path\\to\\Android-Studio-MCP-Claude-Code", "run", "python", "-m", "android_studio_mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code (CLI):

claude mcp add android-studio --scope user -- uv --directory "C:\path\to\Android-Studio-MCP-Claude-Code" run python -m android_studio_mcp

One‑click bundle: build a .mcpb with powershell -File scripts\build_mcpb.ps1 and install it via Claude Desktop → Settings → Extensions → Install extension. See docs/CLAUDE_SETUP.md and docs/PACKAGING.md.

Note: the committed manifest.json / example configs are pre‑filled for the author's machine. Adjust the two absolute paths (project dir, uv.exe) to your setup.

Tool catalogue (73 tools)

All tools are prefixed as_ and return JSON with a status (ok | error | confirmation_required) and a human summary. Destructive tools require confirm=true.

as_status · as_is_running · as_launch · as_close · as_restart · as_open_project · as_open_file · as_diff

as_run_app (build→install→launch→logs→crash→screenshot) · as_logcat_watch_start / as_logcat_watch_read / as_logcat_watch_stop · as_proc_list / as_proc_stop

as_gradle_tasks · as_gradle_assemble · as_gradle_bundle · as_gradle_test (structured JUnit) · as_gradle_lint (structured findings) · as_gradle_clean · as_gradle_dependencies · as_gradle_signing_report · as_gradle_run_task · as_gradle_stop

as_sdk_list · as_sdk_install · as_sdk_accept_licenses

as_avd_list · as_avd_create · as_avd_delete · as_avd_start · as_avd_stop

as_adb_devices · as_adb_install · as_adb_uninstall · as_adb_logcat · as_adb_logcat_clear · as_adb_shell (guarded) · as_adb_screenshot · as_adb_input · as_adb_start_app · as_adb_stop_app · as_adb_pull · as_adb_push

as_project_create (real Views/Compose scaffold) · as_project_info (incl. version catalog) · as_project_validate · as_project_backup · as_project_list_recent

as_apk_info · as_apk_methods · as_apk_filesize · as_apk_verify_signature · as_apk_compare · as_aab_build_apks · as_aab_install

as_inspect_code (offline "Inspect Code" → structured problems) · as_format_code (reformat in place, backups first)

as_retrace (de‑obfuscate R8/ProGuard stack traces) · as_screenrecord (record device screen → mp4)

as_ide_status · as_ide_list_mcp_tools · as_ide_call_mcp_tool

as_ui_screenshot · as_ui_focus · as_ui_send_keys · as_ui_invoke_action (any IDE action via "Find Action")

as_report_health · as_logs_ide · as_logs_mcp · as_config · as_backup_file · as_restore_backup

Resources: asmcp://config · asmcp://idea-log · asmcp://projects/recent Prompts: run_app · diagnose_build

Safety model

• Path allow‑list — write/delete operations must target a path inside a configured workspace root (default: E:\Projekte + home). Override with ASMCP_WORKSPACE_ROOTS.

• Confirmation gating — destructive tools (as_close --force, as_adb_uninstall, as_avd_delete, as_format_code, as_sdk_install, as_restore_backup, …) return confirmation_required unless called with confirm=true.

• Backups first — files are backed up before being reformatted/overwritten; projects can be zipped with as_project_backup.

• Guarded device shell — as_adb_shell runs recognised read‑only commands freely but requires confirm=true for anything containing shell operators (;, |, &&, $(), …) or destructive markers.

• Secret redaction — keystore/store/key passwords and tokens are masked in all captured output and logs.

• stdio‑safe logging — all logs go to stderr + a rotating file, never stdout.

Configuration

Resolution order for every setting: env var → config.json → autodiscovery → default.

See config.example.json.

Architecture

src/android_studio_mcp/
├── app.py            FastMCP instance
├── config.py         toolchain autodiscovery + settings
├── runner.py         safe subprocess execution (env, .bat, timeouts, redaction)
├── safety.py         path allow‑list, confirmation gating, backups
├── procregistry.py   background process registry (logcat watch, …)
├── parsers.py        Gradle / ADB / AVD / SDK / aapt output parsers
├── report_parsers.py lint XML, JUnit XML, version catalog
├── diagnostics.py    build‑failure → remediation rules
├── scaffold.py       project templates (Views / Compose)
├── ide_http.py       built‑in IDE server (:63342) client
├── mcp_bridge.py     stdioMcpServer bridge
├── winauto.py        native Win32 UI automation
└── tools/            73 @mcp.tool definitions, grouped by domain

Testing

A full capability/risk matrix is in docs/QUALITY.md.

Limitations

• The official live‑IDE MCP (stdioMcpServer) needs the MCP Server plugin (com.intellij.mcpServer). On a stock Android Studio it may not be installed — as_ide_status tells you, and the CLI tools cover everything regardless.

• Headless inspect indexes the project first, so it can take minutes; don't run it while the same project is open in a running IDE (config‑dir contention).

• UI automation (SendKeys) is best‑effort and English‑keymap oriented; always verify via the returned screenshot.

• The server is Windows‑only by design.

License

MIT © Maurice Putinas — see LICENSE.

Built with FastMCP. Not affiliated with Google or JetBrains. "Android" and "Android Studio" are trademarks of Google LLC.