Device window
Watch and drive an Android emulator or device together with AI.
Before you use the device window
The device window attaches one Android device to a session's workspace, shows its screen, and lets people and AI drive it together. You can use emulators (virtual devices) and real devices connected over USB. iOS is not supported yet.
The device window uses the Android tools on this PC (or server).
- adb — USB devices and emulators that are already on only need adb.
- The emulator and virtual devices — open Android Studio once and finish the setup wizard; it puts the emulator in the SDK location. Create virtual devices in Android Studio › Device Manager.
- Hardware acceleration — without acceleration such as WHPX on Windows, Hypervisor.framework on macOS or KVM on Linux, virtual devices do not turn on.
The Android tools card in Settings › Runtime shows whether adb, the emulator and virtual devices were found. If something is missing, the card's buttons type the official install command into a new terminal; you press Enter yourself (on systems without a one-line install they open the official guide). If your SDK is elsewhere, enter it in Android SDK location. Left empty, orke searches ANDROID_HOME, ANDROID_SDK_ROOT and the default location in that order.
Open a device window
A device window belongs to one session's workspace. Open a session first, then use one of these:
- Press the Devices tile in the Dock. If device windows or attached devices exist, their list opens; otherwise the current session's device window opens.
- Choose Open device in the session tab's menu.
- When the session's AI attaches a device with
orke emulator attach --focus, that device window opens on screen.
A workspace has one device window. Sessions in the isolated environment cannot open one.
Choose and turn on a device
A window with no device attached shows the “Which device should open?” list.
- Emulators that are on and USB devices show as “Connected”; press Open to see the screen right away.
- Virtual devices that are off show as “Off”; press Turn on and orke starts it without a window. A virtual device can take 1–2 minutes the first time. You can stop with Cancel turning on, and if it is not on within 3 minutes, orke stops waiting and tells you.
- A USB device shows up once USB debugging is on in its developer options.
Drive the device from its screen
- Click the screen to tap the device; drag to swipe.
- Use the device buttons beside it for Back, Home, Recent apps, Rotate, the power button and volume.
- Send text types into the field chosen on the device. Only letters, numbers and symbols can be sent, and line breaks are not sent. Use the keyboard on the device screen for other scripts such as Korean.
- The screen is live video. If the video is not arriving, orke shows a still picture that updates every 2 seconds and says so on the screen.
The ⋯ menu
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Switch to another device… | Goes back to the list to open another device. The previous Android device stays on. |
| Pause video · Resume video | Stops or reopens only the screen video. The device stays on. |
| Turn off device… | Turns off a virtual device after asking once more. |
| Open Settings › Runtime | Goes to the Android tools card. |
Share the device with AI
The device window shows the session's device, and the session's AI uses the same device. With the orke emulator commands the AI reads the screen (ax · screenshot), presses (tap · gesture · button), types (type), and installs and launches apps (install · launch). Ask, for example, “Open the Settings app on the emulator and check the Wi-Fi screen.”
While the AI presses, a band reads “(AI name) is driving this device · your input goes first if you touch it” above the device window. People's and AI's input share one line per device, and people go first.
On a PC where orke finds the Android tools, it installs device guides for Claude, Codex and Antigravity. The NVIDIA agent uses the same features as a built-in tool.
View on a phone or tablet
When you open orke on a phone or tablet through remote access, the task list's Devices menu has one row for each session with a device attached. Press a row to open the device screen. On a phone the bottom row holds Back, Home, Recent apps, Rotate, Send text and ⋯, with power and volume inside ⋯. A tablet has a column of keys on the right. Taps and swipes with your finger go straight to the device.
Closing and cleanup
Closing the device window leaves the device on, and the session's AI can keep using it. When orke exits, it cleans up only the virtual devices it turned on and its screen streaming tools. Emulators a person started and the adb server are left alone.
If the connection drops
If the emulator stops or adb stops responding, the last picture dims and orke tries to reconnect. If that keeps failing, a notice says the connection to the device was lost, with Reconnect and Another device buttons. Turn the device back on and reconnect, or choose another device. If you see “Android tools are missing”, check Before you use the device window.