scrcpy
scrcpy is a free and open-source screen mirroring application that allows control of an Android device from a Windows, macOS, or Linux desktop computer.[1] The software is developed by Genymobile,[2] which also developed Genymotion, an Android emulator.[3]
![](../I/Scrcpy_debian_screenshot.jpg.webp)
Communication between the Android device and the computer is primarily performed via a USB connection and Android Debug Bridge (ADB). The software functions by executing a server on the Android device, then communicating with the server via a socket over an ADB tunnel.[4] It does not require rooting[4] or the installation of software on the Android device.[1] The screen content is streamed as H.264 video, which the software then decodes and displays on the computer. The software pushes keyboard and mouse input to the Android device over the server.[4]
Setup involves enabling USB debugging on the Android device, connecting the device to the computer, and running the scrcpy application on the computer.[3] Access to more configuration options, such as changing the bit rate or enabling screen recording, is via a command-line interface.[2] The software also supports a wireless connection over Wi-Fi, but that requires more steps to set up.[5] A few features were added to scrcpy in its version 1.9 release in 2019, including the ability to turn the screen off while mirroring and to copy clipboard content between the two devices.[6]
Chris Hoffman of How-To Geek compared scrcpy to AirMirror and Vysor, two other applications with a similar function. Hoffman also pointed to Miracast as an alternative, while noting that it is no longer widely supported among new Android devices, and that it does not support remotely controlling the device.[3]
History
The first commit to the GitHub repository is on 12 December 2017 by Romain Vimont.[7] scrcpy v1.0 was released 3 months later which included the support for basic screen mirroring and android remote control. The first release packaged a Windows Executable and the server. The community took packaging forward and made scrcpy available for numerous Linux Distributions.[8] The latest stable version is v1.16
Features
The official documentation[2] of scrcpy gives the features and ideology to which it was built
- lightness (native, displays only the device screen)
- performance (30~60fps)
- quality (1920×1080 or above)
- low latency (35~70ms)
- low startup time (~1 second to display the first image)
- non-intrusiveness (nothing is left installed on the device)
Graphical User Interface
The command line interface of scrcpy was ported to a graphical user interface by open source developers.
# | Alias | Initial commit | URL |
---|---|---|---|
1 | QtScrcpy[9][10] | October 9, 2018 | https://github.com/barry-ran/QtScrcpy |
2 | guiscrcpy[11][12][13] | June 13, 2019 | https://github.com/srevinsaju/guiscrcpy |
3 | scrcpy-gui | August 26, 2019 | https://github.com/Tomotoes/scrcpy-gui/ |
References
- Duino, Justin (9 March 2018). "How to control your Android phone from your computer with Scrcpy". 9to5Google. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- "Genymobile/scrcpy". Github. 4 March 2020. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- Hoffman, Chris. "How to Mirror and Control Your Android Phone on Any Windows PC". How-To Geek. Archived from the original on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- Fedewa, Joe (12 March 2018). "Control your Android Smartphone from your PC for free with scrcpy". xda-developers. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- "Open Source Project - Scrcpy now works wirelessly". Genymotion – Android Emulator for app testing. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- Torres, JC (13 June 2019). "scrcpy can now mirror Android screens on desktops with the display off". SlashGear. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- "Initial commit · Genymobile/scrcpy@54d9148". GitHub. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- "Search Results for scrcpy". pkgs.org. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- "QtScrcpy-Control Android phone with computer, multi-touch support, Peace Elite game, Chinese interface[Win/macOS/Linux] » FUCHSIANDROID". FUCHSIANDROID. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- Barry (4 May 2020), barry-ran/QtScrcpy, retrieved 4 May 2020
- Logix. "Helper GUI For scrcpy, The Android Desktop Display And Remote Control Tool". Linux Uprising Blog. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- Saju, Srevin (4 May 2020), srevinsaju/guiscrcpy, retrieved 4 May 2020
- comment, 25 Sep 2019 Seth KenlonFeed 71up 1. "Mirror your Android screen on your computer with Guiscrcpy". Opensource.com. Retrieved 4 May 2020.