Provides an agent-first cloud Android phone that an agent can control via tools: create and start/park phones, read the screen as a numbered text list with a screenshot, run ordered actions (tap, type, swipe, scroll, open apps, wait for elements), install apps from the app library or upload your own APK, reboot a stuck phone, and generate a live view link for human handoff. Phone state (apps, files, sign-ins) is preserved while parked.
Click on "Deploy Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@Phonebox Android MCP server create a cloud phone, install my APK, launch it, and report any bugs with screen text"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
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.
claude mcp add --transport http phonebox https://phonebox.dev/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $PHONEBOX_API_KEY"Endpoint: https://phonebox.dev/mcp (Streamable HTTP, bearer API key)
Price: $0.06 per phone-minute, billed per second, 1-minute minimum. Parked phones are free and keep their apps and sign-ins.
Start free: $2 of credit, no card → phonebox.dev
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.
Related MCP server: @qirabot/mcp
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:
Read https://phonebox.dev/setup.md and set me up with Phonebox from here: get me signed in and ready, then find out what I want to use phones for and help me with that.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:
{
"mcpServers": {
"phonebox": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://phonebox.dev/mcp",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${PHONEBOX_API_KEY}" }
}
}
}Cursor: add examples/cursor-mcp.json to ~/.cursor/mcp.json or .cursor/mcp.json.
Codex: add examples/codex-config.toml to ~/.codex/config.toml.
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 |
| Creates a cloud Android phone and waits until it's ready |
| Reads the screen as a numbered text list, plus a 720px screenshot |
| Runs up to 20 actions in order: tap, type, swipe, scroll, open an app, wait for an element |
| Installs from the app library or from your own uploaded APK |
| Uploads your APK with one |
| A link for a person to watch and control the phone |
| Resumes a parked phone, or parks it to stop billing |
| Find phones, wait for them, list apps, restart a stuck phone |
What the agent reads from observe:
app com.android.launcher3
screen 1080x2400
[1] EditText "Search apps" #search clickable editable (540,250)
[2] TextView "Chrome" #icon clickable (200,1900)
[3] TextView "Settings" #icon clickable (500,1900)Test the APK you just built: build, install, explore, and report bugs with the exact screen text.
TypeScript SDK agent: create a phone, read the screen, tap, park.
Android only (no iOS), and there are no phone numbers, SMS or calls. Phonebox gives your agent the device, not telephony.
This server cannot be deployed
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