scrcpy/doc/device.md

Device

Some command line arguments perform actions on the device itself while scrcpy is running.

Stay awake

To prevent the device from sleeping after a delay when the device is plugged in:

scrcpy --stay-awake
scrcpy -w

The initial state is restored when scrcpy is closed.

If the device is not plugged in (i.e. only connected over TCP/IP), --stay-awake has no effect (this is the Android behavior).

Turn screen off

It is possible to turn the device screen off while mirroring on start with a command-line option:

scrcpy --turn-screen-off
scrcpy -S   # short version

Or by pressing MOD+o at any time (see shortcuts).

To turn it back on, press MOD+Shift+o.

On Android, the POWER button always turns the screen on. For convenience, if POWER is sent via scrcpy (via right-click or MOD+p), it will force to turn the screen off after a small delay (on a best effort basis). The physical POWER button will still cause the screen to be turned on.

It can also be useful to prevent the device from sleeping:

scrcpy --turn-screen-off --stay-awake
scrcpy -Sw   # short version

Show touches

For presentations, it may be useful to show physical touches (on the physical device). Android exposes this feature in Developers options.

Scrcpy provides an option to enable this feature on start and restore the initial value on exit:

scrcpy --show-touches
scrcpy -t   # short version

Note that it only shows physical touches (by a finger on the device).

Power off on close

To turn the device screen off when closing scrcpy:

scrcpy --power-off-on-close

Power on on start

By default, on start, the device is powered on. To prevent this behavior:

scrcpy --no-power-on

Start Android app

To list the Android apps installed on the device:

scrcpy --list-apps

An app, selected by its package name, can be launched on start:

scrcpy --start-app=org.mozilla.firefox

This feature can be used to run an app in a virtual display:

scrcpy --new-display=1920x1080 --start-app=org.videolan.vlc

The app can be optionally forced-stop before being started, by adding a + prefix:

scrcpy --start-app=+org.mozilla.firefox

For convenience, it is also possible to select an app by its name, by adding a ? prefix:

scrcpy --start-app=?firefox

But retrieving app names may take some time (sometimes several seconds), so passing the package name is recommended.

The + and ? prefixes can be combined (in that order):

scrcpy --start-app=+?firefox