Phonebox

Name: Phonebox
Author: combined-ai

by combined-aiversion 0.1.0i★ –iRuns in the cloud

Registry namedev.phonebox/phonebox

Install

Overview

Description from the maker (original English)

Cloud Android phones for AI agents: create a phone, read the screen, tap, type, install APKs, park.

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.

User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
Our basic checksi1 of 1 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
UsageiNot measured yet★ –

What you can do with it

We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.

Connection: Runs in the cloud
Transport: Streamable HTTP
Category: Other
You need to fill in: Authorization

Install

Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.

Before you install

Basic checks: 1 of 1 passed
Runs on the maker’s server: what you ask it goes through their server.
You fill in yourself: Authorization

Values marked secret are keys to your account. Never share them or paste them into a chat.

You need

Runs in the cloudNothing to install; it connects over the internet

Which app do you use?

ClaudeClaude CodeCursorVS CodeChatGPT

Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.

This address needs a key in a request header, which the add-connector menu cannot set. Use Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code instead.

Run this in your terminal

claude mcp add --transport http phonebox https://phonebox.dev/mcp --header 'Authorization: your-value'

Fill in the empty values before running it.

Open in Cursor

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "phonebox": {
      "url": "https://phonebox.dev/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

Open in VS Code

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .vscode/mcp.json in your project

{
  "servers": {
    "phonebox": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://phonebox.dev/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

This address needs a key in a request header, which the add-connector menu cannot set. Use Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code instead.

Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.

Values you fill in

Authorization secret required HTTP header
Bearer followed by your Phonebox API key (pbx_…)

These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.

What it can do

We have not read this server’s tool list yet; we check endpoints in rotation.

Basic checksi

We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 6, 2026

✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified against the domain phonebox.dev (the registry checks domain ownership)
… Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Endpoint responds
Not checked yet; we check endpoints in rotation
… Not checked yet
Sign-in with OAuth
Not checked yet; we check endpoints in rotation
… Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Not checked yet; we read the tool list when we check the endpoint

Compared with others in Otheri

More stars than 0% of the other 32433 servers in this category
Published to the registry more recently than 57% of the other 32433 servers in this category
Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 32433 servers in this category

Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.

Common questions

Is Phonebox safe?

It passed 1 of 1 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.

What keys or codes does it need?

You need to fill in: Authorization

Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?

It runs in the maker’s cloud. Connect over the internet with nothing to install, but what you send passes through the maker’s servers.

Is it still maintained?

The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (0.1.0) reached the registry 29 days ago.

Which apps can use it?

Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. It connects by URL, so apps that accept remote MCP servers work too, such as ChatGPT in developer mode.

What can I use instead?

In the same category: Spec Driven Development, Remote Desktop Commander, Symantec Cloud DLP AIops

Alternatives

Servers in the same category from other makers, sorted by stars.

Reading a card:★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi

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Runs on your computer★ 440MITUpdated 14 months ago

Install

Remote Desktop Commander

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Remote Desktop Commander: use files, terminal and processes on your own computers from any AI app.

Runs in the cloud★ 211Updated yesterday

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Symantec Cloud DLP AIops

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Governed Symantec Cloud DLP — 14 MCP tools, read-only with audit.

Runs on your computerUpdated today

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README from the maker

Open the README

Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.

Phonebox: cloud phones for AI agents (Android MCP server)

A hosted Android MCP server for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and any MCP client, from Phonebox, the agent-first cloud phone. Your agent gets a real Android phone in the cloud. It can read the screen, tap, type, install your APK, hand off to a human, and park the phone when it's done. You don't need ADB, Android Studio or an emulator.

claude mcp add --transport http phonebox https://phonebox.dev/mcp \

--header "Authorization: Bearer $PHONEBOX_API_KEY"

▶ Watch the 3-minute setup: Give Claude Code an Android Phone: Android MCP Server Setup · transcript ▶ Watch the 56-second demo: Give Claude Code an Android Phone (MCP) · transcript

Endpoint: https://phonebox.dev/mcp (Streamable HTTP, bearer API key)
Price: $0.06 per phone-minute, billed per second, 1-minute minimum. Parked phones are free and keep their apps and sign-ins.
Start free: $2 of credit, no card → phonebox.dev

This repo holds the configs and examples. The server itself is hosted by Phonebox, so there's nothing to run.

Why agent-first

Most cloud phones were built for social-media dashboards or QA test suites and added an API later. Phonebox was built for the agent: your agent signs you up from the terminal, reads the screen as text, gets errors with a next step, and never has a write retried behind its back. Idle phones park themselves for free.

Why hosted instead of an ADB MCP server?

	Local ADB MCP server	Phonebox hosted MCP
Where the phone runs	An emulator or USB phone on your machine	Phonebox's cloud
Setup	Android SDK, ADB, a system image	One URL and an API key
Works from CI, sandboxes and remote dev boxes	Only with nested virtualization or a device	Yes
State between sessions	Whatever your emulator keeps	Apps, files and sign-ins kept while parked
Human handoff	Someone at the machine	A live view link in any browser

Get an API key

The fastest way is to paste this into your coding agent. It signs you up from the terminal, and you never paste a key into the chat:

Read https://phonebox.dev/setup.md and set me up with Phonebox from here: get me signed in and ready, then find out what I want to use phones for and help me with that.

Or create a key in the console and export PHONEBOX_API_KEY=pbx_….

Connect your client

Claude Code — run the command at the top, or commit this repo's .mcp.json. It reads the key from each person's environment:

"mcpServers": { "phonebox": { "type": "http", "url": "https://phonebox.dev/mcp", "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${PHONEBOX_API_KEY}" } } } }

Cursor: add examples/cursor-mcp.json to ~/.cursor/mcp.json or .cursor/mcp.json. Guide: give Cursor an Android phone.

Codex: add examples/codex-config.toml to ~/.codex/config.toml and export PHONEBOX_API_KEY=$(phonebox token). Guide: give Codex an Android phone.

Gemini CLI:

gemini mcp add --transport http --scope user \

--header "Authorization: Bearer $PHONEBOX_API_KEY" \ phonebox https://phonebox.dev/mcp

Windsurf, Cline and VS Code (GitHub Copilot): setup pages for Windsurf, Cline and GitHub Copilot.

Any other client: point it at https://phonebox.dev/mcp with an Authorization: Bearer pbx_… header. The server is stateless Streamable HTTP and doesn't use OAuth.

Tools

Tool	What it does
`create_phone`	Creates a cloud Android phone and waits until it's ready
`observe`	Reads the screen as a numbered text list, plus a 720px screenshot
`act`	Runs up to 20 actions in order: tap, type, swipe, scroll, open an app, wait for an element
`install_app`	Installs from the app library or from your own uploaded APK
`create_app_upload` / `complete_app_upload`	Uploads your APK with one `curl` command
`live_view_url`	A link for a person to watch and control the phone
`start_phone` / `park_phone`	Resumes a parked phone, or parks it to stop billing
`list_phones` / `get_phone` / `list_apps` / `reboot_phone`	Find phones, wait for them, list apps, restart a stuck phone

What the agent reads from observe:

app com.android.launcher3

screen 1080x2400 [1] EditText "Search apps" #search clickable editable (540,250) [2] TextView "Chrome" #icon clickable (200,1900) [3] TextView "Settings" #icon clickable (500,1900)

Examples

Test the APK you just built: build, install, explore, and report bugs with the exact screen text.
TypeScript SDK agent: create a phone, read the screen, tap, park.
A phone per customer: find or create each customer's phone by your own ID.

What people use it for

Testing the Android app the agent just built. Build the APK, install it, walk the changed screens, report bugs with the exact screen text. Guide · copy-paste test prompts · reproduce a bug report with a screen recording
Using apps that have no API. The agent reads the screen and taps through the app like a person, on its own phone, and hands you a live view link for payments and one-time codes. Guide
A phone for each customer of an AI product. One persistent phone per end user, tagged with your customer ID, parked between tasks so idle customers cost nothing. Guide · example

FAQ

How can I give Claude Code an Android phone? Run the claude mcp add command at the top with a Phonebox API key. Claude Code gets a cloud Android phone it can read and control, with nothing to install. If you'd rather run everything locally, an emulator plus adb or a local server such as mobile-mcp also works; every option, compared.

Is there a hosted Android MCP server I can use with Claude Code or Cursor? Yes, this one: https://phonebox.dev/mcp, Streamable HTTP with a bearer API key. The phones run in Phonebox's cloud, so it works from CI runners and cloud sandboxes where no emulator can run.

How is it different from mobile-mcp or Appium MCP? Those run on your machine and drive an emulator or USB device you provide, and they also cover iOS. Phonebox brings the phone, keeps it signed in between sessions, and is Android only. Comparison.

How can an AI agent use Android apps that have no API? By using the app's screen: the agent reads each screen as a numbered list of elements, taps and types by label, and reads again after every action. Phonebox gives it a phone to do that on, and a live view link when a person must step in.

What does it cost? $0.06 per phone-minute while a phone runs, billed per second with a 1-minute minimum. Parked phones are free. A 10-minute test pass is $0.60. New accounts get $2 of credit, no card.

What it isn't

Android only (no iOS), and there are no phone numbers, SMS or calls. Phonebox gives your agent the device, not telephony.

Learn more

Phonebox (phonebox.dev) is a cloud phone platform for AI agents. It is not a mobile carrier, phone plan or eSIM provider.

Phonebox

Overview

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

What you can do with it

Install

Before you install

Values you fill in

What it can do

Basic checksi

Maker matches the repo

Still maintained

Has a licence

Endpoint responds

Sign-in with OAuth

No hidden instructions in tool descriptions

Compared with others in Otheri

Common questions

Alternatives

Spec Driven Development

Remote Desktop Commander

Symantec Cloud DLP AIops

README from the maker

Phonebox: cloud phones for AI agents (Android MCP server)

Why agent-first

Why hosted instead of an ADB MCP server?

Get an API key

Connect your client

Tools

Examples

What people use it for

FAQ

What it isn't

Learn more