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.
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
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.”
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.
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
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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
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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
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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
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.
npx @swmansion/argent init
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.