# Argent vs. Android CLI

With Android CLI, your agent installs the SDK, scaffolds a project and pushes a build to the emulator without opening Android Studio. Then the feed stutters on fast scroll, and you're back in Android Studio, opening the profiler by hand.

Argent picks up once the app is running. The agent taps through your Kotlin or Compose screens, records a Perfetto profile and gets back the freezes it found. It works on iOS too.

Based on each tool's public documentation, checked October 20, 2026.

## What Argent does, and what Android CLI does

Android CLI is at its best before and during the build. Argent starts where the CLI points you to Android Studio: the app is on a device and something is off.

| Feature | Argent | Android CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Where it sits in your day | Running, debugging and profiling the app on a device | Setting up, building and running native Android projects |
| SDK and project setup | Not included | Installs SDK components, scaffolds from official templates, describes build outputs |
| Android devices | Emulators and physical devices over adb | Emulators, connected devices and remote physical devices in Google data centers |
| iOS | Simulators and physical iPhones | Not included |
| UI interaction | Taps, swipes, pinches, typing, hardware buttons, permissions and rotation, using the accessibility tree | Taps, swipes, scrolls, text and key events, plus the layout tree and screen capture |
| Logs and debugging | Screenshots and the element tree on demand, plus the native view tree on iOS. Console logs in React Native and Electron apps | No logcat or debug commands. Google points to Android Studio |
| Network requests | JS apps on Android; URLs and status codes on the iOS simulator. Not in Flutter apps yet | Not included |
| Profiling | Perfetto on Android, with the UI freezes it found. Xcode Instruments on iOS adds slow code and suggested fixes | No profiling commands. A Perfetto SQL skill reads existing traces |
| React Native extras | Console logs, JS evaluation, the React component tree and React profiles | Not included |
| Repeatable tests | Recorded YAML flows with optional screenshot checks, replayed by the agent or by `argent e2e run` in CI | Journeys: plain-language tests an agent runs with vision and reasoning, also in CI |
| Agent knowledge | Skills that teach the agent Argent's tools and workflows | Android skills and the Android Knowledge Base, with current Android, Firebase and Kotlin docs |

Sources: developer.android.com/tools/agents, Android Developers Blog, docs.swmansion.com/argent. Checked October 20, 2026.

## What Argent brings to an Android CLI setup

### The janky scroll, traced from the terminal

Android CLI's Perfetto skill reads a trace you already have. Argent records one for you and tells the agent where the screen froze, then records again after the fix to compare.

### A fix the agent checks, then keeps checking

The agent taps through the changed screen on the emulator and checks it with screenshots. Once the path works, the agent can record it as a flow that it and your CI can replay.

### The iOS half of the ticket

Argent also drives iOS simulators and iPhones, so the agent can check the fix on both platforms before you open the PR.

### A clip of the fix for the PR

Argent records the emulator or an Android phone while the agent works, marks each tap and cuts the idle parts. You get a short mp4 for the PR.

## Built for AI agents

> All in on Argent. Make it faster, better, harder, stronger.

— [Louis Lcq](https://x.com/devlcq/status/2057474672699048386)

### Built by Software Mansion

We are Software Mansion: we help our clients build software across mobile, web, and beyond, from native iOS and Android to cross-platform apps, open-source projects, and developer tools.

[Read the blog](/blog/)

## Where Android CLI can be a better fit

Android CLI is Google's own tool, and it handles the parts of Android work that Argent leaves out: SDK setup, project templates and builds.

### Starting a project from zero

Need a new app on current templates? Android CLI installs only the SDK components you need, scaffolds from official templates and describes build outputs, so the agent knows where the APK landed.

### A device you don't own

Android CLI can reserve physical Android devices hosted in Google data centers, billed to a Google Cloud project with device streaming enabled, and connect them to adb.

### Tests written as sentences

If you'd rather describe a test than record one, Journeys fit: plain-language steps the agent follows with vision and reasoning, in the terminal or in CI.

## Android CLI questions, answered

### What is Google's Android CLI?

It's Google's command-line interface for building Android apps with any agent. It sets up the SDK, creates projects and runs apps on emulators and remote devices. It also reads the screen and UI tree. Agents get Android skills and the Android Knowledge Base on top.

### Does Android CLI have a profiler?

Not as a command. A Perfetto SQL skill can read traces you already captured, and Google points to Android Studio for profiling. Argent records Perfetto profiles itself and tells the agent where the UI froze and whether memory went up. It doesn't link each freeze to your code.

### Can Android CLI read logcat or network requests?

Its command reference lists no logcat, network or debugging commands. Argent doesn't read logcat either. On Android it captures network requests only from apps with a JavaScript runtime, such as React Native. On the iOS simulator it lists your app's requests with their status codes.

### Does Android CLI work with iOS?

No, it's Android only. Argent drives iOS simulators and physical iPhones as well as Android emulators and devices. Physical iPhones get a subset of the simulator tools: tapping, typing, screenshots and test replay.

### Does Argent work with a native Kotlin or Compose app?

Yes. Driving the app, screenshots, screen recording and saved flows work on any Android app, on emulators and on phones connected over adb. Perfetto profiling works on emulators and physical phones. A few extras, like console logs and code evaluation, only apply to apps with a JS runtime.

### Does Android CLI support React Native?

Its input, layout and screen commands work on any app installed on a device, but it has no React Native tooling. Argent adds an extra layer for those apps: the component tree, console logs and React profiles, on Android and iOS.

### Android CLI Journeys vs. Argent E2E: what's the difference?

Journeys are written in plain language. The agent reads the steps, navigates with vision and reasoning, and checks assertions against the screen. Argent E2E tests are recorded YAML steps that replay the same path every time. You can add screenshot checks and run them from the agent or from CI.

### Can I use Android CLI and Argent with the same agent?

Yes. Both work with agents such as Claude Code, Codex and Gemini. They barely overlap. Android CLI handles SDK setup, scaffolding and builds, and Argent takes over once the app launches.

## Next time the feed stutters, let your agent profile it

Your agent can test and profile the Android build you already have, and the iOS one too.

- [Get started](/)
- [Read the docs](https://docs.swmansion.com/argent/docs/fundamentals/getting-started)

Features checked October 20, 2026, from developer.android.com, the Android Developers Blog, argent.swmansion.com and docs.swmansion.com/argent. Android and Android Studio are trademarks of Google LLC. React Native, Swift, SwiftUI, Expo, and Flutter are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Use of these names does not imply endorsement.