/developer-device-platform-basics

name: developer-device-platform-basics
description: >-
  Provides guidance and instructions on managing remote devices on Developer Device Platform (DDP).
  Use when reserving remote Android devices, establishing connection tunnels, checking session status, or extending/cancelling leases.
  Don't use for iOS or local device/hardware inquiries.
metadata:
  version: "0.5.1"
  category: CloudInfrastructureAndServices

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 `.md` files.

Attribution

**MUST READ**: Before executing any `gcloud`, REST API, or MCP command, you MUST read [Usage Attribution](references/attribution.md). 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](https://docs.cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/install-sdk.md.txt) to install it on the current platform (Linux, macOS, Windows, etc.).

1. **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-browser

2. **Enable 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.

3. **Enable gcloud beta component**:

    gcloud components install beta

4. **Setup 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)

5. **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:

1. **List Models**: Run the following command to list available Android device models:

    gcloud beta device-run devices list

Use the `ID` column to find the value for the `CATALOG_ID` parameter to describe a specific device (e.g., `shiba-36`).

2. **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:

1. **Check Device Availability**:

Look up `CATALOG_ID` of the device using `Listing Available Devices` instructions. Check the device availability of the `CATALOG_ID` by 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_VERSION` was 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_VERSION` is unavailable for `deviceStreaming`, do not reserve one. Prompt the user for an alternative `OS_VERSION`.

2. **Extract Parameters**:

• `model_id`: `modelCode` from device details. Required.
• `version_id`: `osVersion` from device details. Required.

3. **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_id` and `version_id` to 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.

4. **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 `expireTime` from 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").

5. **Start Connection Forwarder**: Start the ADB forwarder script to f