Monitor and record video from Android devices remotely, pulling, renaming, and optionally previewing the videos when recording stops. Has very basic integration capability with DAW software (Ardour is currently the default setting).
Currently only works over USB (via the ADB interface). Only tested with OpenCamera on Android, controlled from Linux. (Windows could work in principle, but there are various Linux-specific commands which would need to be replaced.) No attempt is made to unlock a locked phone.
When the scrcpy monitor window is closed, any new videos are pulled from the phone into the current directory, renamed, and then deleted from the phone.
Disclaimer: This is beta-level software that works for what I need it to do. It is, however, written fairly generally to be customizable.
Screenshot of the program being used to record a music performance (along with the Ardour DAW and Hydrogen drums):
![[screenshot of recdroidvid in action]](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/abarker/recdroidvid/main/doc/rdv_screenshot_example.png)
The easiest way to install the basic program is to install from PyPI using pip (Python 3.8 or later is required):
pip install recdroidvidThe required and optional dependencies are described below.
The scrcpy program needs to be installed and set up to be runnable via USB. It functions as the computer-screen monitor for what is being recorded on the phone. (All the actual recording is done on the phone, however.) The program is available in many linux repos, or can be compiled from the scrcpy site at https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy.
On Ubuntu the repos are out of date as of 2026. The easiest way to install is to get the pre-compiled version from the scrcpy repo at https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy/blob/master/doc/linux.md Download the tarball, extract it, and run the executable in the main dir:
scrcpy-linux-x86_64-v4.1/scrcpyUse the --scrcpy-cmd option (see below) to give the full path to the
executable if it is not on your PATH.
Installing via snap is also possible but the snap installs can be harder to get working and the packaged version of adb may or may not match your device. This worked at one point, but now may need more connect commands to work:
sudo snap install scrcpy
snap connect scrcpy:camera
sudo snap connect scrcpy:raw-usb # Required to use OTG mode.The adb program (Android Debug Bridge) is used to control the phone and to
pull the videos. It must be on your PATH. It is included in the scrcpy
release tarball, or it can be installed separately:
sudo apt install adbThe OpenCamera app needs to be installed on the phone. It is available from
F-Droid and the Google Play Store. Other camera apps might work, using the
--camera-package-name and --camera-save-dir options, but they have not
been tested.
Setup requires that developer mode be activated on the mobile device to allow ADB commands via USB:
- Go to
Settings > About phoneand tap theBuild numberat the bottom seven times to activate developer mode. - Then go to
Settings > System > Advanced > Developer Optionsand turn on USB debugging. - Connect the mobile device via USB and authorize it on the Android notification.
See the scrcpy Github page for more information. Use scrcpy --help | more
for information about the available options.
The ffmpeg program is used to print out information about the pulled movies, as well as to optionally extract audio from the video files:
sudo apt install ffmpegPreviewing by default assumes the mpv movie player is installed (though there is an option to set any movie player program from the command line or option file):
sudo apt install mpvWhen the --sync-daw-transport-with-video-recording option is selected,
recording in the DAW is started when video recording is detected on the phone,
and the DAW transport is stopped when the video recording stops. With the
--add-daw-mark-on-transport-start option a mark is also added at the start
of each recording. The marks are named to match the start of the saved video
names, such as rdv_03 or, with the --date-and-time-in-video-name option,
rdv_03_2026-10-03. (The date in the video name is the date the video is
pulled from the phone, so the two can differ by a day if a recording runs past
midnight.)
By default the DAW is controlled by sending Open Sound Control (OSC) messages
to Ardour with the oscsend program, which is in the liblo-tools package:
sudo apt install liblo-toolsThe xdotool program is used to raise the Ardour windows when the
--raise-daw-on-* options are selected:
sudo apt install xdotoolOSC is not enabled in Ardour by default. To turn it on:
- Open
Edit > Preferencesand select theControl Surfacespage. - In the lower
Control Surfaceslist, check the box next toOpen Sound Control (OSC). In Ardour 9.7 and later the list is grouped by vendor and sorted alphabetically. The OSC entry is a top-level row with no vendor, so it appears just after theNovationgroup, where it can easily be mistaken for one of the Novation devices. - The enabled entry then appears in the
Active Surfaceslist. ItsSettingsbutton shows the OSC settings, including the UDP port Ardour is listening on (3819 by default).
Ardour normally remembers this setting, but if OSC stops working check that it is still enabled.
Tip
Testing the connection is usually unnecessary, but if you need to, run these commands with a session open and a track armed for recording:
oscsend localhost 3819 /add_marker s test_mark
oscsend localhost 3819 /access_action s Transport/record-roll
oscsend localhost 3819 /transport_stopSee the Ardour manual's OSC section for more information: https://manual.ardour.org/using-control-surfaces/controlling-ardour-with-osc/
To use a different OSC port, set the commands described in the next section with the new port number.
Only the default commands are specific to Ardour. Another DAW can be used by setting these options, usually in the config file, to system commands that control it:
--start-daw-recording-cmd- Start recording.
--stop-daw-transport-cmd- Stop the transport.
--add-daw-mark-cmd- Add a mark at the playhead (only needed with
--add-daw-mark-on-transport-start). The stringRDV_MARK_NAMEin the command is replaced by the shell-quoted mark name. It can be left out if the DAW cannot name marks this way. --is-daw-running-cmd- Exit with status zero if the DAW is running, and nonzero if not. The other DAW commands are skipped when it is not running.
--raise-daw-to-top-cmd- Raise the DAW's windows (only needed with the
--raise-daw-on-*options).
Any command-line program can be used, such as oscsend for a DAW that
accepts OSC messages. Run recdroidvid --help to see the Ardour defaults.
To see the command-line options, run recdroidvid --help | more. The output
of that command is shown below.
Any options can also be set in the config file ~/.recdroidvid_rc.py. The
file will be imported and the strings on the list rdv_options will be used
as the default command-line options. Options given on the command line
override them. For example:
rdv_options = [
"--date-and-time-in-video-name",
"--sync-daw-transport-with-video-recording",
"--add-daw-mark-on-transport-start",
"--preview-video",
]A fuller example is in examples/recdroidvid_rc.py.
This is the help command output:
usage: recdroidvid [-h] [--scrcpy-cmd CMD-STRING] [--numbering-start INTEGER]
[--loop] [--wait-loop] [--autorecord] [--preview-video]
[--preview-video-cmd CMD-STRING]
[--preview-video-cmd-jack CMD-STRING]
[--date-and-time-in-video-name]
[--sync-daw-transport-with-video-recording]
[--start-daw-recording-cmd CMD-STRING]
[--stop-daw-transport-cmd CMD-STRING]
[--add-daw-mark-on-transport-start]
[--add-daw-mark-cmd CMD-STRING]
[--raise-daw-on-camera-app-open]
[--raise-daw-on-transport-toggle]
[--raise-daw-to-top-cmd CMD-STRING]
[--is-daw-running-cmd CMD-STRING] [--audio-extract]
[--camera-save-dir DIRPATH]
[--camera-package-name PACKAGENAME]
[--config-conditional STRING] [--no-color]
[PREFIXSTRING]
Record a video on mobile via ADB and pull result. All config options can be
set in a file `.recdroidvid_rc.py`. The file is evaluated and the list
`rdv_options` in the file is used as the options list. See the example config
file `examples/recdroidvid_rc.py` in the project repository.
positional arguments:
PREFIXSTRING The basename or prefix of the pulled video file.
Whether name or prefix depends on the method used to
record.
options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--scrcpy-cmd CMD-STRING, -y CMD-STRING
The command, including arguments, to be used to launch
the scrcpy program. Otherwise a default version is
used with some common arguments. Note that the string
`--window-title=RDV_SCRCPY_TITLE` can be used to
substitute-in a more descriptive title for the window.
--numbering-start INTEGER, -n INTEGER
The number at which to start numbering pulled videos.
The number is currently appended to the user-defined
prefix and defaults to 1. Allows for restarting and
continuing a naming sequence across invocations of the
program.
--loop, -l Loop the recording, querying between invocations of
`scrcpy` as to whether or not to continue. This allows
for shutting down the scrcpy display to save both
local CPU and remote device memory (videos are
downloaded and deleted from the device at the end of
each loop), but then restarting with the same options.
Video numbering (as included in the filename) is
automatically incremented over all the videos, across
loops.
--wait-loop, -w The '--loop' option always starts the scrcpy video
monitor immediately on the first loop. This option
delays the action until the user responds to a query.
This avoids the CPU cost of scrcpy if you are not
planning to start video recording right away. This
option implies the '--loop' option.
--autorecord, -a Automatically start recording when the scrcpy monitor
starts up.
--preview-video, -p Preview each video that is downloaded. Currently uses
the mpv program.
--preview-video-cmd CMD-STRING
The command used to invoke a movie player to view the
preview. The default uses the mpv movie viewer. The
string 'RDV_PREVIEW_FILENAME', if present in the
command, will be replaced with the title of the video
being previewed.
--preview-video-cmd-jack CMD-STRING
The command used to invoke a movie player to view the
preview when the jack audio system is detected to be
running. The default uses the mpv movie viewer. The
string 'RDV_PREVIEW_FILENAME', if present in the
command, will be replaced with the title of the video
being previewed.
--date-and-time-in-video-name, -t
Include the date and time in the video names in a
readable format.
--sync-daw-transport-with-video-recording, -s
Start the DAW transport when video recording is
detected on the mobile device. May increase CPU loads
on the computer and the mobile device.
--start-daw-recording-cmd CMD-STRING
A system command to start DAW recording. Used when the
`--sync-daw-transport-with-video-recording` option is
chosen. The default uses oscsend to send an OSC
message to Ardour to run its `Transport/record-roll`
action.
--stop-daw-transport-cmd CMD-STRING
A system command to stop the DAW transport. Used when
the `--sync-daw-transport-with-video-recording` option
is chosen. The default uses oscsend to send a
transport-stop OSC message to Ardour.
--add-daw-mark-on-transport-start, -m
Whether to add a mark in the DAW when the transport
starts, to help in syncing with the video.
--add-daw-mark-cmd CMD-STRING
A system command to add a mark to the DAW at the
playhead. The default uses oscsend to send an add-
marker OSC message to Ardour. The string
'RDV_MARK_NAME', if present in the command, is
replaced with a shell-quoted name for the mark, such
as `rdv_03_2026-10-03`, which matches the start of the
name the corresponding video will be saved as.
--raise-daw-on-camera-app-open, -q
Raise the DAW to the top of the window stack when the
camera app is opened on the mobile device. Works well
when scrcpy is also passed the `--always-on-top`
option.
--raise-daw-on-transport-toggle, -r
Raise the DAW to the top of the window stack whenever
the DAW transport is started or stopped by the
`--sync-daw-transport-with-video-recording` option.
Works well when scrcpy is also passed the `--always-
on-top` option.
--raise-daw-to-top-cmd CMD-STRING
A system command to raise the DAW windows to the top
of the window stack. Used when either of the `--raise-
daw-on-camera-app-open` or `--raise-daw-on-transport-
toggle` options are selected. The default uses xdotool
to activate any Ardour windows.
--is-daw-running-cmd CMD-STRING
A system command to test if the DAW is actually
running. A zero return code means it is, and a nonzero
return code means it isn't. The default uses pgrep to
look for an Ardour process.
--audio-extract, -e Extract a separate audio file (currently always a WAV
file) from each video.
--camera-save-dir DIRPATH, -d DIRPATH
The directory on the remote device where the camera
app saves videos. Record a video and look at the
information about the video to find the path. Defaults
to the OpenCamera default save directory.
--camera-package-name PACKAGENAME, -c PACKAGENAME
The Android package name of the camera app. Defaults
to "net.sourceforge.opencamera", the OpenCamera
package name. Look in the URL of the app's PlayStore
web site to find this string.
--config-conditional STRING
The `.recdroidvid_rc.py` config file contains
interpreted Python code, so conditionals can be set
for different use-cases. This option allows one to set
a string value from the command line which can then be
used to choose a case in the config file. To set such
a variable, pass the value to this option. The default
value is the string "default". To access this
variable, use `from recdroidvid import
config_conditional` at the top of the config file.
--no-color Do not use color highlighting on the terminal output.