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ZennoDroid MCP: Setup Guide for AI Assistants

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Prerequisites: ProjectMaker ZennoDroid must be running before you connect any AI assistant. The MCP servers start automatically with it and listen on:

  • ProjectMCP (project control) → http://localhost:6117
  • AndroidMCP (Android device inspection) → http://localhost:6118
ZennoDroid ports differ from ZennoPoster by +10

This is intentional: ZennoPoster and ZennoDroid are often installed on the same machine and may be running at the same time. That is why every port of the ZennoDroid AI stack is shifted by +10 from its ZennoPoster counterpart — there is no conflict, and you can keep both products open and connect them to different sets of MCP servers.

If you copied the configuration from the ZennoPoster MCP guide and specified 6107 / 6108, your assistant will connect to ZennoPoster, not to ZennoDroid.

1. How ZennoDroid MCP differs from ZennoPoster MCP

There are two differences, and the second one matters more than the first.

ZennoPosterZennoDroid
Project MCPhttp://localhost:6107http://localhost:6117
Second serverBrowserMCP 6108 — controls the browserAndroidMCP 6118 — reads the state of the Android device
Recording modeused — browser actions are written into cubesnot used — no ZennoDroid action requires recording
UI control from MCPyes: clicks, text input, navigationno: reading device state only

The key difference. BrowserMCP in ZennoPoster can act — click, type, navigate. AndroidMCP in ZennoDroid can only look: get the XML tree of the screen, a screenshot, the screen resolution, the list of apps, the device state.

Every action on the device in ZennoDroid is a project cube. The assistant adds cubes through ProjectMCP, and they run when the project is executed (F5). So "tap the button in the app" in ZennoDroid means "add a cube to the project that will tap this button", not "tap it right now".

A practical consequence: an element that is not on the screen right now is not an obstacle. The cube is built from the element's name/text/attribute and fires while the project runs.

The exact list of tools each server provides, and their parameters, is something the assistant receives from the MCP servers itself, on connection. Just ask it — it will list what is available in your build.

2. GitHub Copilot

Steps​

  1. Make sure ProjectMaker ZennoDroid is running.
  2. Open your user profile folder: press Win + R, type %USERPROFILE%, press Enter.
  3. Create a file named .mcp.json in that folder (e.g. C:\Users\YourName\.mcp.json)
  4. Paste the following content:
{
  "servers": {
    "AndroidMCP": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:6118"
    },
    "ProjectMCP": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:6117"
    }
  }
}
  1. Restart Visual Studio (or reload the Copilot extension).
  2. Copilot now has access to both MCP servers in all workspaces.
If you work with both ZennoPoster and ZennoDroid

You can keep all four servers in a single .mcp.json — the names must differ, the ports already do:

{
  "servers": {
    "ProjectMCP_ZD": { "type": "http", "url": "http://localhost:6117" },
    "AndroidMCP":    { "type": "http", "url": "http://localhost:6118" },
    "ProjectMCP_ZP": { "type": "http", "url": "http://localhost:6107" },
    "BrowserMCP":    { "type": "http", "url": "http://localhost:6108" }
  }
}

Keep in mind: the assistant will see the tools of both products at once and may reach for the wrong server. If that gets in the way, state which product you mean in your request, or keep only the set you need connected.

3. Claude Code (CLI)

Steps​

  1. Make sure ProjectMaker ZennoDroid is running.
  2. Open a terminal.
  3. Run the following commands:
claude mcp add AndroidMCP --transport http http://localhost:6118
claude mcp add ProjectMCP --transport http http://localhost:6117
  1. Verify the servers are registered:
claude mcp list
  1. The MCP servers are now available globally in all Claude Code sessions.

To remove them later:

claude mcp remove AndroidMCP

claude mcp remove ProjectMCP

4. OpenAI Codex CLI

Steps​

  1. Make sure ProjectMaker ZennoDroid is running.
  2. Open a terminal.
  3. Run the following commands:
codex mcp add AndroidMCP --url http://localhost:6118
codex mcp add ProjectMCP --url http://localhost:6117
  1. Verify:
codex mcp list

Troubleshooting

The assistant connected, but it sees the ZennoPoster project instead of ZennoDroid​

The most common mistake when coming from the ZennoPoster guide: the configuration specifies ports 6107 / 6108. Those are the ZennoPoster ports. ZennoDroid needs 6117 and 6118.

To check who is listening on which port:

netstat -ano | findstr ":6107 :6108 :6117 :6118"

To map a PID to a process:

Get-Process -Id <PID>

Device-reading tools return an error or an empty result​

  • The device is not running. Reading the screen, a screenshot, the list of apps and the resolution all require the device to be up. Ask the assistant to bring the device up first — that tool is idempotent and will not do anything extra.
  • No device is selected. For a real phone it must be connected and visible to ZennoDroid (see connecting a device).

The claude or codex command is not recognized​

If the terminal shows an error like:

'claude' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

or (in PowerShell):

claude : The term 'claude' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet,
function, script file, or operable program.

(the same applies to codex), it means the folder containing the CLI executable is not in the PATH environment variable, or the CLI is not installed, or the terminal was not restarted after installing.

⚠️ Important: the Claude Code website installer (native installer, irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex) does not add itself to PATH automatically. So "installed from the website but the command is not recognized" is the most common case. Step 2 below fixes it.

Step 1. Find where the CLI is installed​

The location of the executable depends on the install method.

Claude Code:

Install methodFolder containing claude
Website (native): irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex%USERPROFILE%\.local\bin (e.g. C:\Users\YourName\.local\bin)
npm: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-codethe npm folder, usually %APPDATA%\npm

OpenAI Codex CLI:

Install methodFolder containing codex
Website: irm https://chatgpt.com/codex/install.ps1 | iexthe folder reported by the installer
npm: npm install -g @openai/codexthe npm folder, usually %APPDATA%\npm
Binary from GitHub Releasesthe folder where you extracted codex.exe

You can find the exact npm folder with:

npm config get prefix

To check whether the system sees the command at all (empty output means it is not in PATH):

where.exe claude
where.exe codex

To check that the file exists (for the Claude website install):

Test-Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin\claude.exe"

If the file is in none of those folders, the CLI is not installed. Install it using one of the methods from the tables above (npm requires Node.js).

Step 2. Add the folder you found to PATH​

Substitute the path from Step 1 (for example %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin for the Claude website install, or %APPDATA%\npm for an npm install).

Option A: through the Windows GUI

  1. Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, press Enter.
  2. "Advanced" tab → "Environment Variables" button.
  3. Under "User variables" select the Path variable → "Edit".
  4. Click "New" and paste the required path, for example: C:\Users\YourName\.local\bin
  5. Click OK in all windows.

Option B: through PowerShell (adds to the user PATH permanently)

# example for the Claude Code website install:
$p = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', 'User')
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', "$p;$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin", 'User')

⚠️ Replace the path with the one that applies to your case. Do not run the command several times in a row, or you will duplicate entries in PATH.

Step 3. Restart the terminal and check​

PATH changes only take effect in new terminal windows. Close and reopen PowerShell / CMD (or Visual Studio), then check:

claude --version
codex --version

For Claude Code you can also run the built-in diagnostics (it checks PATH, conflicting installs, and so on):

claude doctor

If the versions are displayed, the commands are recognized correctly and you can go back to the MCP setup steps above.

Common causes if that did not help​

  • The terminal was not restarted. PATH changes only apply in newly opened windows.
  • Several installs at once (npm + native) conflict. Keep one and remove the rest.
  • Only the VS Code extension is installed. It does not add the claude command to the terminal. Install the standalone CLI from the website or via npm.

Example requests

Device inspection​

Bring the device up and show information about it.
Tell me the device's screen resolution.
Get the element structure of the current screen
and find the input field in it.
Show the list of installed applications
and find the exact package name for Chrome.

Building the project​

Show the structure of the current project,
list all actions with their IDs and types.
Tell me whether my project targets the emulator or a real phone,
and which action categories are available.
Build a chain: select a random device,
start it and open https://example.com.
Add a check: if the text "Success" appeared on screen —
go down the success branch, otherwise down the error branch.
Show the current project execution logs
and tell me whether there are any errors.

Combining device reads with project building​

Read the screen structure, find the phone input field,
and add a cube to the project that types {-Variable.phone-} into it.
Determine the package name of WhatsApp from the installed list,
then add a check to the project for whether it is installed.
Read the real screen resolution
and add a bottom-to-top swipe through the centre of the screen.
The built-in chat needs no setup

Everything above is only needed for external assistants. The AI chat built into ProjectMaker ZennoDroid works with the same MCP servers out of the box — all it needs from you is a model API key. Details are in the AI assistant in ZennoDroid article.