| name | android-cli-ui-automation-skill |
| description | Automate UI on a connected Android device or emulator via the Android CLI. Use when asked to launch an app, tap a button, enter text, navigate a URL, or drive any on-screen flow to a goal. |
Drive the device in a tight launch → observe → act → re-observe loop until the goal is reached.
Prefer android layout for structured UI. Use screenshot mode whenever it is faster or more reliable.
If multiple devices are connected, get the serial with adb devices -l. Pass --device=<serial> to android ... and -s <serial> to adb ....
1. Launch
- URL in a browser:
adb -s <serial> shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d '<url>'
- Already-installed app:
adb -s <serial> shell monkey -p <pkg> -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1
- APK file:
android run --apks=<path> --device=<serial> [--activity=<name>]
2. Observe with android layout
android layout --device=<serial> --pretty --output=/tmp/ui.json
Match targets by text, content-desc, or resource-id. Use the node's center as tap coordinates.
Re-observe after each action with the mode you chose. android layout --device=<serial> --diff is useful when you only need to see what changed.
3. Use screenshot mode when visual targeting is easier
Screenshot mode is often the better choice for:
- WebView or browser page content
- Icon-only custom views
- Canvas, map, or game surfaces
- Any screen where is noisy, incomplete, or slower to interpret than the image
