scrcpy 4.0

scrcpy is a free and open source application developed by Genymobile for mirroring and controlling Android devices from a desktop computer.

The tool works over USB or wireless connections and supports Windows, Linux, and macOS. Unlike traditional emulators, scrcpy displays and controls the actual Android device in real time without requiring root access.

scrcpy has become one of the most respected Android utilities among developers, testers, and advanced users thanks to its fast performance, low latency, and completely free open source approach. Unlike many commercial mirroring tools, it avoids ads, subscriptions, and unnecessary background services while delivering exceptional responsiveness.

Key Features of scrcpy

  • Low Latency Screen Mirroring
    scrcpy is widely praised for its extremely low latency performance. Input feels responsive enough for typing, navigation, testing, and even light gaming.

  • Keyboard and Mouse Control
    Users can control Android devices directly from the computer using standard keyboard and mouse input.

  • No Root Required
    The application works without rooting the Android device, making setup safer and easier for most users.

  • USB and Wireless Support
    scrcpy supports both wired USB connections and wireless TCP/IP mode for flexible usage.

  • High Resolution Recording
    The tool can record Android screens directly to video files with minimal performance impact.

  • Lightweight and Ad Free
    Unlike many Android mirroring tools, scrcpy is fully open source with no ads, subscriptions, or bundled software.

  • Advanced Command Line Controls
    Power users can customize resolution, bitrate, cropping, audio forwarding, frame rates, recording settings, and more through command line options.

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Linux | 20.12 MB

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macOS (Silicon) | 12.04 MB

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macOS (Intel) | 12.7 MB

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Windows 32bit | 13.94 MB

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Windows 64bit | 15.02 MB

scrcpy 4.0 Release Notes:

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scrcpy v4.0
Changes since v3.3.4:
  • Migrate from SDL2 to SDL3 (#6216)
  • Add flex display support (#6772)
  • Add camera torch and zoom support (#6243)
  • Enforce window aspect ratio (#6761, #6774, #2317, #2387, #3460)
  • Add --keep-active (#6792, #6787)
  • Add --background-color (#6807, #5855)
  • Set default background color to dark gray (#6807)
  • Display disconnected icon before closing (#6662, #6651)
  • Add F11 as fullscreen shortcut (#6777)
  • Add Mod+q shortcut to quit (#6780, #6612)
  • Fix Meta Quest flickering (#5913)
  • Fix physical vs logical size confusion (#6772)
  • Fix copy-paste on rooted device (#6224)
  • Fix colorspace conversion issue (#1868)
  • Fix high CPU usage with audio silence decoded from OPUS (#6715)
  • Add session metadata for the video stream (#6159)
  • Respect video capabilities constraints (#6766)
  • Set Windows console code page to UTF-8 (#6663)
  • Fix support for device serial containing spaces (#6663, #6664, #3537)
  • Detect TCP devices provided by mDNS (#6665, #6248)
  • Keep Windows terminal open on error (#6667)
  • Set MediaCodec KEY_PRIORITY and KEY_LATENCY to minimum values (#6670)
  • Open the scrcpy window earlier (#6694, #6546)
  • Fix device rotation shortcut (5fedc795)
  • Use optimal size alignment (#6746, #4949, #6236)
  • Add --min-size-alignment (#6746)
  • Fix screensaver disabled unexpectedly without video playback (#6754)
  • Add --no-window-aspect-ratio-lock (#6761)
  • Fix rotation of square displays (#6770)
  • Align the virtual display size (#6771)
  • Add --render-fit (#6772)
  • Set default audio-output-buffer to 10ms (#6775, #3793)
  • Fix turning virtual display on via right-click (#6788)
  • Fix OpenGL runner shutdown deadlock (#6794)
  • Share SDL hints between normal and OTG modes (#6809, #6808)
  • Upgrade platform-tools (adb) to 37.0.0
  • Upgrade FFmpeg to 8.1.1 (#6715)
  • Upgrade SDL to 3.4.8
  • Upgrade dav1d to 1.5.3
  • Various technical fixes




Highlights


SDL3


This release migrates from SDL2 to SDL3 to benefit from active maintenance, bug fixes, and continued upstream support. SDL3 also enables new features, such as aspect-ratio locking when resizing the window.
Thanks to the SDL maintainers for their work and for their support and fixes%20sort%3Acreated-desc)!
See #6216 for details.

Flex display


A virtual display can now be made _flex_ using --flex-display (or -x), meaning it can be resized dynamically along with the client window.
Here is a demo:
bash
scrcpy --new-display=/192 -x --start-app=org.mozilla.firefox --keep-active --no-vd-system-decorations

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0822bcf7-58c1-4106-87f6-c8089c08a777
Here are more examples:
bash

Start Android Settings in a window


scrcpy --new-display=1024x768/160 --start-app=com.android.settings --flex-display

-x is equivalent to --flex-display


scrcpy --new-display=1024x768/160 --start-app=com.android.settings -x

By default, the display size/dpi is 1280x960/160


scrcpy --new-display --start-app=com.android.settings --flex-display

Use --keep-active to prevent the screen from turning off (see below):
bash
scrcpy --new-display -x --keep-active

Increase the bit rate and/or change the codec to maintain good quality even with large windows:
bash
scrcpy --new-display -x --video-codec=h265 -b16M

See #6772 for more details.

Camera torch and zoom


The camera can be controlled dynamically:
  • MOD+t: turn on the camera torch
  • MOD+Shift+t: turn off the camera torch
  • MOD+ _(up)_: zoom in
  • MOD+ _(down)_: zoom out

The camera torch can also be turned on at startup by --camera-torch:
bash
scrcpy --video-source=camera --camera-torch

The camera zoom level can be set with --camera-zoom:
bash
scrcpy --video-source=camera --camera-zoom=1.5

The supported zoom range for each camera is given by --list-cameras (any value outside the supported range will be clamped).

Aspect ratio


Previously, the window could be freely resized, and black borders were added to maintain the content aspect ratio.
Thanks to a new API in SDL3, the window aspect ratio is now preserved while resizing, avoiding black borders.
The old behavior can be restored using --no-window-aspect-ratio-lock.

Keep active


To prevent the device from turning off due to inactivity, --keep-active periodically signals user activity to the system:

scrcpy --keep-active

Contrary to --stay-awake and --screen-off-timeout, this does not change any global settings, and it works whether the device is plugged in or not.

Background color


The default background was pure black; it is now dark gray.
It can be changed with --background-color, which accepts hexadecimal color codes (in 3-digit or 6-digit format):
bash
scrcpy --background-color=#234567
scrcpy --background-color=234567 # leading '#' is optional
scrcpy --background-color=#567 -- # equivalent to #556677

Disconnected icon


When the connection to the device is lost while mirroring, the window previously closed immediately, which could incorrectly suggest that scrcpy had crashed.
To make disconnections clearer, a disconnected icon is now displayed for 2 seconds before closing the window.
The icon replaces the screen content immediately:
scrcpy_disconnected_2_small
More details in #6662.

Meta Quest


Since a Meta Quest firmware upgrade, flickering occurred when mirroring the screen with scrcpy.
A workaround was implemented, so mirroring a Meta Quest now works again.
See the technical details in https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy/issues/5913#issuecomment-3677889916.

High CPU usage with silence


A funny bug: playing silence used much more CPU than playing non-silence, during resampling of audio samples decoded from an OPUS audio stream (resampling was about 40× slower).
It turns out it was caused by denormals: the OPUS decoder did not produce exact _zeros_, but tiny denormal numbers, which can cause performance issues.
This was fixed directly in FFmpeg: https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy/issues/6715#issuecomment-4061462344

More shortcuts


F11 now toggles fullscreen (like MOD+f), and MOD+q now quits scrcpy.


User Experience

scrcpy is designed more for functionality than visual polish. The application itself has a minimal interface because most control happens through command line arguments or simple launchers.

For technical users, the workflow is extremely efficient. Developers especially appreciate the speed and reliability during debugging, testing, presentations, and remote device management.

Beginners may initially find the setup process slightly intimidating because it requires enabling USB debugging through Android developer settings.

Performance and Compatibility

Performance is where scrcpy truly stands out.

The application uses Android’s adb system and hardware accelerated encoding, allowing smooth high frame rate mirroring with remarkably low system overhead. Many users report better responsiveness than commercial alternatives.

scrcpy supports Android 5.0 and newer devices, though newer Android versions generally provide better compatibility and features.

Recent versions also introduced audio forwarding support on supported Android devices, which was one of the most requested features for years.

Privacy and Security

Because scrcpy works locally through adb connections and does not rely on cloud services, privacy is significantly stronger than many commercial phone mirroring platforms.

The tool does not require account creation, online synchronization, or third party servers.

However, users should still understand that enabling USB debugging grants elevated device control privileges while connected to trusted computers.

Pros

  • Completely free and open source

  • Extremely low latency performance

  • No ads or subscriptions

  • Works without root access

  • USB and wireless support

  • Lightweight and efficient

  • Excellent for developers and testing

Cons

  • Initial setup may confuse beginners

  • Minimal graphical interface

  • Some advanced features require command line usage

  • Wireless mode setup is less seamless than commercial apps

scrcpy is ideal for developers, Android testers, streamers, educators, and advanced users who want fast and reliable Android mirroring without commercial limitations.

It is also excellent for users who prioritize open source software, privacy, and low resource usage.

scrcpy remains one of the best Android utilities available today. Its combination of speed, low latency, open source transparency, and powerful functionality makes it the gold standard for Android screen mirroring and remote control on desktop systems.

scrcpy 4.0
Free
Software Informations:
Developer:

Operating System:
Windows / macOS / Linux
Date Added:
2026-05-14T13:49:19.217Z
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