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Developer Device Platform Basics

Reserve and manage remote Android test devices on Google's Developer Device Platform from your agent.

Source Download skill
Repository
google/skills
Stars
21,782
Licence
Apache-2.0
Files
12 files

What it does

This skill teaches an AI agent how to rent remote Android devices (physical or virtual) from Google's Developer Device Platform. Once installed, the agent can list available device models, check that one is available for streaming, reserve it for a session, wait until it is ready, set up an ADB connection so you can control it from your computer, check the session status, and extend or cancel it. Because reservations are billed to your Google Cloud project, the agent is instructed to warn you about costs and wait for your explicit approval before creating a session.

Great for

  • Android developers who need a remote device for app testing without owning the hardware
  • QA engineers who want an agent to quickly provision and release test devices on Google Cloud
  • Teams automating device-based test setup on Google Cloud projects they already control

Skip it if

  • iOS testing, since the skill explicitly excludes iOS devices
  • Local hardware or physical devices plugged into your own machine, which this skill does not cover; it can incur unexpected Google Cloud charges if used by mistake
  • Anyone without a Google Cloud project and billing set up, since reservations cannot proceed without it

Try asking

  • “Reserve a Pixel 8 running Android 14 for an hour so I can test my app”
  • “Check whether shiba-36 is available for device streaming and tell me its supported products”
  • “Show me the status of my current device session and when it expires”
  • “Extend my device session by another 30 minutes, then cancel it when I am done”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Developer Device Platform BasicsInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 12 original files, the Apache-2.0 licence and an attribution note.

    developer-device-platform-basics.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip developer-device-platform-basics.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip developer-device-platform-basics.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Before approving, check the billing warning: the agent should name your active project and tell you the cost, so confirm the project ID is the one you intend to bill.
  • Ask the agent to cancel the session when you finish, since sessions keep billing until they expire or are cancelled.
  • Review scripts/demo_adb_forwarder.py and the reference files before first use, since the agent runs the forwarder script and uses your gcloud credentials and access token.

What's inside

  • references/attribution.md
  • references/cancel_session.md
  • references/describe_device.md
  • references/list_sessions.md
  • references/reserve_device.md
  • references/session_status.md
  • references/start_adb_forwarder.md
  • references/update_session_expiration.md
  • references/view_device.md
  • scripts/demo_adb_forwarder.py
  • scripts/requirements.txt
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from google/skills under the Apache-2.0 licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.