Android ALPHA¶

Bootible provisions Android gaming handhelds via Wireless ADB from a host machine (Linux, macOS, or WSL). Unlike Steam Deck and ROG Ally which run scripts on the device itself, Android provisioning runs from your computer and connects to the Android device over the network.

Supported Devices¶

Quick Start¶

1. Enable Wireless Debugging on Android¶

1. Go to Settings → About phone and tap Build number 7 times to enable Developer Options
2. Go to Settings → Developer options
3. Enable USB debugging
4. Enable Wireless debugging
5. Tap Wireless debugging to see the IP address and port

2. Run Bootible from Your Computer¶

curl -fsSL https://bootible.dev/android | bash

This runs a dry run first, showing what would be installed. The script will guide you through:

1. Pairing with your Android device (first time only)
2. Connecting via ADB
3. Showing what would be provisioned

3. Apply Configuration¶

bootible-android

What Gets Installed¶

Emulator Frontends¶

Emulators¶

Streaming Apps¶

Utilities¶

Configuration¶

Android configuration uses YAML files, similar to other platforms:

config/android/
├── config.yml           # Default configuration (100+ apps)
├── Run.sh               # Provisioning engine
└── lib/
    ├── adb-helpers.sh   # ADB wrapper functions
    ├── apk-install.sh   # APK installation logic
    ├── settings.sh      # Settings configuration
    └── files.sh         # File push logic

Per-Device Configuration¶

Create device-specific configs in your private repo:

private/device/android/
├── retroid-5/
│   └── config.yml       # Overrides for this device
└── odin-2/
    └── config.yml

Example Configuration¶

# Enable specific apps
apks:
  retroarch:
    enabled: true
  moonlight:
    enabled: true
  tailscale:
    enabled: true

# Configure system settings
settings:
  global:
    window_animation_scale: "0.5"
    transition_animation_scale: "0.5"
    animator_duration_scale: "0.5"

# Push files to device
files:
  roms:
    enabled: true
    local_path: "android/roms"
    device_path: "/sdcard/RetroArch/roms"

APK Sources¶

Bootible supports three APK sources:

Architecture¶

┌─────────────────────┐         ┌─────────────────────┐
│   Host Machine      │         │   Android Device    │
│  (Linux/Mac/WSL)    │         │  (Gaming Handheld)  │
│                     │   ADB   │                     │
│  bootible-android ──┼────────►│  Wireless Debugging │
│                     │         │                     │
│  - Install APKs     │         │  - Receives APKs    │
│  - Push files       │         │  - Settings applied │
│  - Configure        │         │  - Files pushed     │
└─────────────────────┘         └─────────────────────┘

Troubleshooting¶

Device not found¶

# Check ADB connectivity
adb devices

# Reconnect
adb connect <device-ip>:5555

Pairing failed¶

Ensure Wireless Debugging is enabled and you're entering the correct pairing code from your device.

APK installation failed¶

Check that "Install unknown apps" is enabled for ADB:

1. Go to Settings → Apps → Special app access → Install unknown apps
2. Enable for Shell or ADB

Requirements¶

The bootstrap script will check for and help install:

• adb - Android Debug Bridge
• curl - HTTP client
• jq - JSON parser
• yq - YAML parser

Coming Soon¶

Features planned for future releases:

• Automatic device discovery on local network
• Backup/restore of app data
• ROM organization and scraping
• Per-game controller profiles