Tooled Out

How to Control Your Android Phone from a Computer with Scrcpy

laptop showing Android Phone screen mirrored with Scrcpy and Android phone on desk

Written by

jcorcione

in

Scrcpy lets you mirror and control your Android phone from a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer over USB or Wi-Fi. It’s free, open-source, and doesn’t require root. Here’s how to set it up and what you can do with it.

What You Need

  • An Android phone running Android 5.0 or later
  • A USB cable (USB-C to USB-A or USB-C to USB-C)
  • A computer running Windows, macOS, or Linux

Step 1: Enable USB Debugging

On your phone, go to Settings > About Phone and tap Build Number seven times. You’ll see a toast message saying “You are now a developer.”

Go back to Settings > System > Developer Options and toggle on USB Debugging.

Step 2: Install Scrcpy

Windows: Install via Scoop (scoop install scrcpy) or download the zip from the official GitHub releases page. Extract and run from the folder.

macOS: Install via Homebrew: brew install scrcpy

Linux: Most distros have it in the package manager. On Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install scrcpy

Step 3: Connect and Run

Plug your phone into the computer via USB. If prompted on the phone, tap Allow on the USB debugging authorization popup. Check “Always allow from this computer” if it’s your machine.

Open a terminal or command prompt and type:

scrcpy

Your phone screen appears in a window on your computer. Mouse clicks map to taps, keyboard input maps to the phone’s keyboard, and you can drag to scroll.

Useful Flags

Scrcpy has command-line options that change how it runs:

  • scrcpy --max-size 1920 — cap the mirror resolution (reduces lag on slower machines)
  • scrcpy --turn-screen-off — mirrors the phone but keeps its screen off (saves battery)
  • scrcpy --no-audio — skip audio forwarding if you don’t need it
  • scrcpy --otg — use mouse and keyboard on the phone without mirroring the screen
  • scrcpy --new-display=1920x1080 — create a virtual display at a custom resolution

Wireless Connection (No Cable)

Connect via USB first, then run:

adb tcpip 5555
adb connect YOUR_PHONE_IP:5555

Unplug the cable, then run scrcpy as normal. Latency is higher over Wi-Fi, but it works fine for app testing, message replies, and file management.

Security Note

Only download scrcpy from the official GitHub repo. Third-party download sites sometimes bundle malware with it. Turn off USB Debugging when you’re done — leaving it on gives any computer you plug into potential access to your phone’s data.

Contact us to collaborate or guest writing

Check out our other platforms here dot.cards/gigawerx

More Android tips: See the full Android Tips & Tricks hub for widget shortcuts, screenshot methods, the DND fix, Advanced Protection, and Scrcpy in one place.

More posts