Developer Device Platform Basics
GoogleOfficialPublished by Google
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- Workflow
- Cloud and DevOps
- Apache-2.0
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- Has scripts
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
This skill provides a structured workflow for interacting with the Google Developer Device Platform (DDP). It guides users through the process of listing, reserving, and connecting to remote Android devices for testing purposes. The skill covers the full lifecycle of a device session, including authentication, availability checks, establishing connection tunnels via ADB, monitoring session status, and performing cleanup tasks like cancelling sessions or extending lease durations.
What it does
- Authenticates and initializes the Google Cloud environment for DDP access.
- Lists and describes available remote Android device models and OS versions.
- Reserves remote Android devices with explicit user billing confirmation.
- Monitors session provisioning and status until the device is active.
- Establishes and manages ADB connection tunnels to remote devices.
- Handles session termination and cleanup of cloud resources.
When to use it
- When you need to reserve a remote Android device for testing or debugging.
- When you need to check the availability or status of specific device models.
- When you need to extend the duration of an active remote device session.
- When you need to release or cancel a device session to stop billing.
Advantages
- Provides a standardized, step-by-step procedure for complex cloud device operations.
- Ensures proper usage attribution for all CLI and API interactions.
- Includes mandatory safety checks for billing-related actions.
- Automates the setup of ADB connection tunnels for seamless remote interaction.
Usage examples
- “Reserve a Pixel 8 device for me.”
- The agent will identify the correct catalog ID for the Pixel 8, check availability, warn you about billing costs, and upon your approval, reserve the device and set up an ADB tunnel.
- “List all available Android devices.”
- The agent will execute the necessary gcloud command to display a list of available device models and their IDs.
- “Extend my current device session by one hour.”
- The agent will calculate the new TTL, warn you of additional billing, and update the session expiration via the API before restarting the connection forwarder.
- “Stop my current device session.”
- The agent will identify the active session, cancel it via the API, terminate the local ADB forwarder process, and confirm that resources have been released.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/google/developer-device-platform-basics/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip developer-device-platform-basics.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by Google
Developer Device Platform
Developer Device Platform (DDP) is a Google fully managed, global infrastructure providing access to a wide variety of physical and virtual devices.
[!WARNING] Developer Device Platform (DDP) is currently at Preview.
[!IMPORTANT] For all devicerun and devicestreaming API operations (reserving, status checking, stopping/canceling, updating, or listing a session), always verify and use the exact instructions and curl commands provided in the linked reference
.mdfiles.
Attribution
MUST READ: Before executing any gcloud, REST API, or MCP command, you
MUST read Usage Attribution. For commands executed
directly in the terminal (never in generated scripts, Terraform, or user code),
prefix gcloud with
CLOUDSDK_METRICS_REQUEST_ATTRIBUTION="agent-skills/1.0 (skill:developer-device-platform-basics)"
and append agent-skills/1.0 (skill:developer-device-platform-basics) to User-Agent headers.
Authentication & Setup
CRITICAL: Before running any requests, you MUST ensure the environment is correctly initialized by following these steps:
Before running any requests, verify if the gcloud executable is present. If
missing, refer to the official
Google Cloud CLI Installation Guide
to install it on the current platform (Linux, macOS, Windows, etc.).
Google Cloud Authentication: Authenticate with your Google Cloud credentials and configure active Application Default Credentials (ADC) for the Developer Device Platform:
gcloud auth login --no-browser gcloud auth application-default login --no-browserEnable APIs (if not already enabled):
gcloud services enable devicerun.googleapis.com devicestreaming.googleapis.com testing.googleapis.com --quiet
[!NOTE] Cloud Testing API is needed for Device Streaming API during Preview.
Enable gcloud beta component:
gcloud components install betaSetup Environment Variables: Set up the required project variable and access token:
export PROJECT_ID=$(gcloud config get project) export ACCESS_TOKEN=$(gcloud auth application-default print-access-token 2>/dev/null)Python Environment: For instructions on setting up the python virtual environment, see start_adb_forwarder.md.
Listing Available Devices
To find the correct modelCode and osVersion to use when starting a session,
you can list the available devices:
List Models: Run the following command to list available Android device models:
gcloud beta device-run devices listUse the
IDcolumn to find the value for theCATALOG_IDparameter to describe a specific device (e.g.,shiba-36).Describe a Model: Run the API request to get more details about a specific model (e.g., supportedProducts, resolution). Always rely on the exact curl command and instructions provided in describe_device.md.
Starting a Device Session
When the user asks to reserve or connect to a device:
Check Device Availability:
Look up
CATALOG_IDof the device usingListing Available Devicesinstructions. Check the device availability of theCATALOG_IDby using the exact curl command and instructions provided in describe_device.md. The device MUST contain "deviceStreaming" in "supportedProducts" to be reserved.If no specific device is specified, use
CATALOG_ID=shiba-34(Pixel 8 on SDK 34).If
OS_VERSIONwas not specified by the user, ask the user to select a version from the device list (preferring the version with the highest availability {"available": "AVAILABILITY_HIGH" }).If
OS_VERSIONis unavailable fordeviceStreaming, do not reserve one. Prompt the user for an alternativeOS_VERSION.Extract Parameters:
model_id:modelCodefrom device details. Required.version_id:osVersionfrom device details. Required.
Reserve Device:
Rule: Explicit User Confirmation Required. Reserving a device incurs billing charges and creates cloud resources. The agent MUST ALWAYS warn the user explicitly about the billing costs that will be incurred on the active Google Cloud project (e.g.,
${PROJECT_ID}). You MUST STOP and ask for explicit approval before proceeding with any session creation commands.Then, run the API request with
model_idandversion_idto reserve the device. Always rely on the exact curl command and instructions provided in reserve_device.md.Parse the response to get
session_name(the session name, e.g.,projects/${PROJECT_ID}/deviceSessions/session-xxxxxx). If reservation fails, report the error.Wait for Session to be Active:
While waiting for the device session to be provisioned, poll the session status until
"state"is"ACTIVE". See session_status.md for the exact curl command.Repeat this check every 5 seconds to prevent hitting API rate limit. If it does not become active within 2 minutes (typically under 1 minute), report failure and cancel the session. Once active, extract
expireTimefrom the session JSON response and convert it to the user's local time in a human-readable format (e.g., "June 9, 2026 at 2:44 PM PDT").Start Connection Forwarder: Start the ADB forwarder script to forward connection to the remote device. Always rely on the exact command and instructions provided in start_adb_forwarder.md. Ensure you record the Command ID.
Wait for Online and Parse Port: Wait for the forwarder to be online and extract the listening port. Always rely on the exact logic and instructions provided in start_adb_forwarder.md.
Provide Instructions to User:
Once online, run
adb -s localhost:{port} shell getprop ro.product.modelto retrieve the device model name. Then, print a message directly to the user in the chat (do NOT create any artifact file) with the following instructions:Device is ready!
Device Model: {device_model} OS Version: {version_id} ADB Address: localhost:{port} Session Expiration: {expire_time_human_readable_local}Save Session State: Save the
{session_name}and{command_id}in your conversation memory/context so you can clean it up later.
Viewing the Device Screen of a Reserved Device
The coding agent can directly interact with the remote device using adb. Users
may use a utility to display the screen and manually control the reserved device
in DDP. See view_device.md for an example utility.
Stopping a Device Session
When the user asks to stop, cleanup, or release the device:
Identify Session: Retrieve the active
{session_name}and{command_id}from your context. If you don't have them, list active sessions first (see helper command below) to find the session name.Cancel Session via API: Cancel the session via the API. Always rely on the exact curl command and instructions provided in cancel_session.md.
Terminate Connection Forwarder: Terminate the background process matching
{command_id}using your environment's process management capability.Confirm: Confirm to the user that the session has been cancelled and resources released.
Change Device Session Expiration Time
When the user asks to change the expiration time of an active device session:
Rule: Explicit User Confirmation Required. Extending a device session
incurs additional billing charges and creates cloud resources. The agent MUST
ALWAYS warn the user explicitly about the extra billing costs that will be
incurred on the active Google Cloud project (e.g., ${PROJECT_ID}). You MUST
STOP and ask for explicit approval before proceeding with any session extension
commands.
Extract Parameters:
session_name: The active session name.ttl: The new remaining duration (e.g.,3600s). Derive thettlif it's provided in another format.
Change Session via API: Change the session via the API using
updateMask=ttl. Always rely on the exact curl commands and instructions provided in update_session_expiration.md.Restart Connection Forwarder:
Run
adb disconnect localhost:{port}to ensure the old forwarder connection is closed.Stop the old connection forwarder corresponding to
{command_id}.Start a new connection forwarder by following Step 5 in "Starting a Device Session" (calculating the new
--ttlduration in seconds and storing the newly returned Command ID).
Confirm: Confirm to the user that the session duration has been updated and the connection forwarder has been restarted with the new TTL.
Helper: List Active Sessions
To find active sessions if you lost context, always rely on the curl command and instructions provided in list_sessions.md.
References
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer882 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer11.1 KiB
- SKILL.md10.3 KiB
- references/attribution.md1.9 KiB
- references/cancel_session.md314 B
- references/describe_device.md388 B
- references/list_sessions.md454 B
- references/reserve_device.md663 B
- references/session_status.md217 B
- references/start_adb_forwarder.md2.2 KiB
- references/update_session_expiration.md439 B
- references/view_device.md377 B
- scripts/demo_adb_forwarder.pyScript12.1 KiB
- scripts/requirements.txt71 B
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Requirements and compatibility
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Needs: Needs a command-line tool, Needs Python
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What our scanner noticed· Low risk
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Attribution and licence
- Published by
- Publisher
- Google (Official)
- Source
- google/skills · skills/cloud/developer-device-platform-basics · commit 2194d3b
- Licence
- Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
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