Scrcpy

scrcpy
Original author(s)Romain Vimont
Initial releaseMarch 8, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-03-08)
Stable release
3.0.2[1] / 4 December 2024; 28 days ago (4 December 2024)
Repositorygithub.com/Genymobile/scrcpy
Written inC, Java
Operating systemWindows, macOS, Linux
PlatformCross-platform
TypeRemote administration
LicenseApache License 2.0

scrcpy (short for "screen copy") is a free and open-source screen mirroring application that allows control of an Android device from a desktop computer.[2] The software is developed by Genymobile SAS, a company which develops Android emulator Genymotion.[3]

The application primarily uses the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) via a USB connection to communicate. The software functions by executing a server natively on the Android device, then communicating with the server via a socket over an ADB tunnel.[4] 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] Additional configuration options, such as changing the stream bit rate or enabling screen recording, may be accessed via command line arguments.[5] The software also supports a wireless connection over Wi-Fi, but that requires more steps to set up.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9] The community took packaging forward and made scrcpy available for numerous Linux distributions.[10][better source needed]

Version v2.0, released on 12 March 2023, also added audio support, enabling real-time audio forwarding on Android 11 and above.[11]

On v2.1, unveiled on June 22, 2023, significant enhancements have been made to the audio capabilities. Users can now select their device's microphone as the audio input, adjust the audio output buffer size, and benefit from a range of other updates. These updates include support for OpenGL 3.0+ on macOS, dynamic device folding, and the option to terminate adb upon closing.[12]

Features

The official documentation[5] 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)
  • user benefits no account, no ads, no internet required
  • freedom free and open source software

Graphical user interface

The command line interface of scrcpy was ported to a graphical user interface by open source developers.

GUI based on scrcpy
# Alias Initial commit URL
1 QtScrcpy[13][14] October 9, 2018 https://github.com/barry-ran/QtScrcpy
2 guiscrcpy[15][16][17] June 13, 2019 https://github.com/srevinsaju/guiscrcpy
3 scrcpy-gui August 26, 2019 https://github.com/Tomotoes/scrcpy-gui/

Further reading

  • "Unaussprechlich praktisch". c't (in German). Vol. 2020, no. 1. 20 December 2019. p. 90. ISSN 0724-8679. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  • Langner, Christoph. "Remote Control » Linux Magazine". Linux Magazine. Retrieved 7 December 2023.

References

  1. ^ "Release scrcpy v3.0.2 · Genymobile/scrcpy". Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c Hoffman, Chris (19 July 2019). "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.
  4. ^ a b 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.
  5. ^ a b "Genymobile/scrcpy". Github. 4 March 2020. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Open Source Project - Scrcpy now works wirelessly". Genymotion – Android Emulator for app testing. 14 March 2018. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Initial commit · Genymobile/scrcpy@54d9148". GitHub. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Release scrcpy v1.0 · Genymobile/scrcpy". GitHub. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Search Results for scrcpy". pkgs.org. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  11. ^ Rudra, Sourav (13 March 2023). "Open-Source Android Mirroring App Scrcpy 2.0 Adds Audio Support". It's FOSS. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  12. ^ Vonau, Manuel (22 June 2023). "Scrcpy 2.1 has arrived with audio-only mirroring and more".
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ Barry (4 May 2020), barry-ran/QtScrcpy, retrieved 4 May 2020
  15. ^ Logix. "Helper GUI For scrcpy, The Android Desktop Display And Remote Control Tool". Linux Uprising Blog. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  16. ^ Saju, Srevin (4 May 2020), srevinsaju/guiscrcpy, retrieved 4 May 2020
  17. ^ comment, 25 Sep 2019 Seth KenlonFeed 71up 1. "Mirror your Android screen on your computer with Guiscrcpy". Opensource.com. Retrieved 4 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)