How do I install Phonebox?

Copy the http config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code on this page. It uses the publisher's install, not a PlugMCP proxy.

Does Phonebox need an API key?

No required environment variable is listed on this record.

When was Phonebox last checked?

Last checked 2026-11-08. Cloud Android phones for AI agents: create a phone, read the screen, tap, type, install APKs, park.

Phonebox MCP server

Power your agent

Add this server

The publisher's own URL. Not a PlugMCP endpoint.

Add to Cursor Add in Claude Add to VS Code Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server URL

https://phonebox.dev/mcp

The Claude button above opens Claude with the name and URL filled in. You still confirm it there.

shClaude Code

1claude mcp add --transport http dev.phonebox-phonebox https://phonebox.dev/mcp

Run in a terminal.

jsonClaude Desktop

1{2  "mcpServers": {3    "dev.phonebox-phonebox": {4      "command": "npx",5      "args": [6        "-y",7        "mcp-remote",8        "https://phonebox.dev/mcp"9      ]10    }11  }12}

claude_desktop_config.json

Remote · HTTPPublisher installStep-by-step: add this in Claude

Remote URL or a command on your machine? How the two installs differ

Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

A new server you create. It is not this listing's official endpoint. Use the publisher install when you want their URL and their credentials.

Launch

Server facts

Remote

Transport: http
Version: 0.1.0
Last checked

Tools

No tool list yet. Remote servers get one after the first health check.

FAQ

Questions

Phonebox: cloud phones for AI agents (Android MCP server)

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"

▶ 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

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.

Why agent-first

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.

Why hosted instead of an ADB MCP server?

	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

Get an API key

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_….

Connect your client

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. 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.

Gemini CLI:

gemini mcp add --transport http --scope user \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $PHONEBOX_API_KEY" \
  phonebox https://phonebox.dev/mcp

Windsurf, Cline and VS Code (GitHub Copilot): setup pages for Windsurf, Cline and GitHub Copilot.

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.

Tools

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:

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)

Examples

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.
A phone per customer: find or create each customer's phone by your own ID.

What people use it for

Testing the Android app the agent just built. Build the APK, install it, walk the changed screens, report bugs with the exact screen text. Guide · copy-paste test prompts · reproduce a bug report with a screen recording
Using apps that have no API. The agent reads the screen and taps through the app like a person, on its own phone, and hands you a live view link for payments and one-time codes. Guide
A phone for each customer of an AI product. One persistent phone per end user, tagged with your customer ID, parked between tasks so idle customers cost nothing. Guide · example

FAQ

How can I give Claude Code an Android phone? Run the claude mcp add command at the top with a Phonebox API key. Claude Code gets a cloud Android phone it can read and control, with nothing to install. If you'd rather run everything locally, an emulator plus adb or a local server such as mobile-mcp also works; every option, compared.

Is there a hosted Android MCP server I can use with Claude Code or Cursor? Yes, this one: https://phonebox.dev/mcp, Streamable HTTP with a bearer API key. The phones run in Phonebox's cloud, so it works from CI runners and cloud sandboxes where no emulator can run.

How is it different from mobile-mcp or Appium MCP? Those run on your machine and drive an emulator or USB device you provide, and they also cover iOS. Phonebox brings the phone, keeps it signed in between sessions, and is Android only. Comparison.

How can an AI agent use Android apps that have no API? By using the app's screen: the agent reads each screen as a numbered list of elements, taps and types by label, and reads again after every action. Phonebox gives it a phone to do that on, and a live view link when a person must step in.

What does it cost? $0.06 per phone-minute while a phone runs, billed per second with a 1-minute minimum. Parked phones are free. A 10-minute test pass is $0.60. New accounts get $2 of credit, no card.

What it isn't

Android only (no iOS), and there are no phone numbers, SMS or calls. Phonebox gives your agent the device, not telephony.

Learn more

Phonebox (phonebox.dev) is a cloud phone platform for AI agents. It is not a mobile carrier, phone plan or eSIM provider.

Phonebox

Add this server

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server facts

Tools

Questions

How do I install Phonebox?

Does Phonebox need an API key?

What transport does Phonebox use?

When was Phonebox last checked?

Documentation

Phonebox: cloud phones for AI agents (Android MCP server)

Why agent-first

Why hosted instead of an ADB MCP server?

Get an API key

Connect your client

Tools

Examples

What people use it for

FAQ

What it isn't

Learn more