How to use Scrcpy to control Android on Linux

 You can connect to your Android device via USB cable or wirelessly and control it with a keyboard and mouse. Here's how to control Android devices on Linux using Scrcpy.

Install Scrcpy in Linux

Before installing Scrcpy, you should install adb (Android Debug Bridge) in your system. For this purpose, execute one of the following commands, depending on your distribution:

# Hệ thống dựa trên Debian sudo apt install adb # Hệ thống dựa trên Fedora sudo yum install adb # Hệ thống dựa trên Arch sudo pacman -S android-tools

After installing adb, install the stable version of Scrcpy:

# Hệ thống dựa trên Debian sudo apt install scrcpy # Hệ thống dựa trên Fedora sudo dnf copr enable zeno/scrcpy && dnf install scrcpy # Hệ thống dựa trên Arch sudo pacman -S scrcpy

It is also possible to install the stable version of Scrcy using snap:

sudo snap install scrcpy

After successful installation, you can verify its version with the scrcpy -v command:

scrcpy -v

Install the latest version of Scrcpy for more features

If you want features like audio forwarding and camera mirroring , you need to install the latest version of Scrcpy (currently version 2.4).

For this purpose, it is necessary to install it through the source code.

First, make sure your system has all the necessary dependencies:

# Hệ thống dựa trên Debian sudo apt install ffmpeg libsdl2-2.0-0 adb wget gcc git pkg-config meson ninja-build libsdl2-dev libavcodec-dev libavdevice-dev libavformat-dev libavutil-dev libswresample-dev libusb-1.0-0 libusb-1.0-0-dev

Then, clone the Scrcpy repository using the git clone command:

git clone https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy

Next, navigate to its directory and run the Scrcpy installation script:

cd scrcpy ./install_release.sh

This way, the latest Scrcpy version will be installed in your Linux system. To verify it, execute the following command:

scrcpy -v

Now you're ready to connect to your Android device via USB or wirelessly.

Connect to Android via USB cable

To connect to an Android device, you need to enable Developer options and USB debugging .

To do this, go to Settings -> System :

Open the About phone option and click Build number multiple times until you get a message that says ' You are a developer ':

Next, go back to System settings and here you will see Developer options . In Developer options , enable the USB debugging option :

After enabling the USB debugging option, you will receive a prompt to confirm your choice. Here, press the OK button :

Now, connect your phone to the Linux system using a USB cable. After doing this, you will see the USB debugging mode notification on Android.

Next, open Terminal in the Linux system and execute the scrcpy command to mirror the device:

scrcpy

You can see Android mirrored on your system.

To disconnect the phone, just press the Ctrl + C keys .

Connect to Android via wireless connection

You can also connect your Android device wirelessly. First, connect your phone to Linux via USB cable and execute the following adb command to have Linux recognize the Android device:

adb devices

Find your Android device's IP address:

adb shell ip route

Keep in mind : Linux and Android must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

You can also check your phone's IP address by going to Settings -> Wireless & network -> Wi-Fi and pressing the Configure button :

Once you know your phone's IP address, you must configure a port for your TCP/IP connection. For example, set it to 5000:

adb tcpip 5000

Note : Any unassigned port can be configured.

Now, disconnect your phone from the USB cable. Then, connect the phone to the Linux system using the phone's IP address and the specified TCP/IP port over the network:

sudo adb connect 192.168.1.121:5000

In case you have multiple devices, you can use your Android's serial number to connect to the device over the network:

scrcpy -S 

Finally, execute the scrcpy command to control and project the Android screen:

scrcpy

As mentioned earlier, you can disconnect this connection by pressing the Ctrl + C keys .

Kareem Winters

Update 05 June 2024