Connect over USB
USB is the default and the recovery path. No network setup is needed. Wireless ADB is there if you want it, off by default.
Windows 11 · USB · scrcpy + ADB
Your phone.
One window.
Plug your Android phone in and it appears on your PC with its own screen off. The mirror, the phone controls and every setting live in a single window. No floating toolbars, no second app.
Automaticopens when the phone connects
Headlessphone screen stays off
One windowmirror, controls and settings
Tested onGalaxy S21 Ultra · SM-G998B
Simple by design
Plug in. Allow once. Use your phone from Windows.
The app takes care of ADB and scrcpy so the everyday path is boring, in the best possible way.
Allow this PC
Accept Android's standard “Allow USB debugging” prompt and tick “Always allow from this computer”. That is the only authorisation there is.
The mirror opens
The app waits in the tray, notices the phone, wakes it, dismisses the keyguard where Android allows it and opens the mirror. If scrcpy crashes it restarts.
Built for daily use
Everything in one place.
Each one in detail, with the settings that shape it, on the features page.
One window. True fullscreen.
Controls, Apps, Phone, Settings and Info stay in the side panel. Press F11 to fill your display. A small translucent bar of controls fades away; drag it wherever you want it and move the pointer back there to bring it out again.
More about thisZoom that actually works
Alt + wheel or Alt + pinch scales the real video surface, so clicks land where you see them. A small navigator shows where you are; drag it to pan.
More about thisPhone controls
Home, back, recents, power, sleep and wake, volume, notifications, quick settings, rotation, clipboard both ways and screenshots.
More about thisDrop files onto the phone
Drop, choose or paste files and folders; install APKs after asking; cancel, retry and resolve name clashes without leaving the window.
More about thisPhone settings
Brightness, timeout, forced rotation, dark mode, text size, animations, stay awake, Wi‑Fi, mobile data, airplane mode, display size and density.
More about thisRaw Android settings, guarded
Browse and edit the Android settings provider with search and risk labels. Keys that would cut off ADB are protected so you cannot lock yourself out.
More about thisA keyboard is enough
The mirror shows up on the phone as a plugged‑in keyboard, so numbers, symbols and AltGr type as they should. Press Ctrl+Alt+K and the arrow keys, Enter, L and M browse a feed without touching the mouse.
More about thisCopies, side by side
Hold the phone upright and add live copies of it next to each other, as many as fit the window at full height. Every copy takes touch and typing, and zooming one zooms them all.
More about thisBlack lock screen? Still usable
Some phones mirror their lock screen as black. For pattern locks the app draws a nine‑dot guide from Android's own layout, with keyboard calibration as a fallback.
More about thisAn app on a second screen
Run one app on a display of its own beside the phone, or instead of it, at the window's size or a fixed one, while the phone shows something else.
More about thisTwo phones side by side
A work phone and a personal one in one window, each in a session of its own. The side panel, the keys and the buttons follow the phone you click.
More about thisMade yours
Every setting in one place with a way back, any action on any key, and a Controls tab with only the buttons you use, in your order.
More about thisPrecision touchpad
Pinch like the phone. Hold Alt for the PC.
Two fingers on the touchpad become two real fingers on the phone. Hold Alt and the same gesture moves the PC view instead. There is no ambiguity and nothing to toggle.
No modifier
Pinch, spread, rotate, pan
Both contacts are injected as touches, so TikTok, Maps and Photos see exactly what they would on the glass. Pinch and pan while pinched, just like on the phone.
Hold Alt
Zoom and pan the PC view
The phone receives nothing. Alt + pinch zooms the mirror, Alt + two‑finger slide pans it, and the zoom stays after you let go. With a mouse use Alt + wheel and Alt + drag.
F11EscFill the display, and leave it
Ctrl+Alt+1Ctrl+Alt+5The side panel's tabs, Controls to Info
Ctrl+Alt+HCtrl+Alt+SHome, and save a screenshot
Ctrl+Alt+VSend files copied in File Explorer to the phone
Ctrl+Alt+KBrowse mode on or off: plain keys drive the phone
Alt + wheelAlt + pinchAlt + dragZoom and pan the PC view
Two fingersPinch, rotate and pan on the phone
Five minutes
Install
One installer, no accounts, no administrator prompt. The app walks you through the phone side on its first run.
- Download and run the installer. AndroidHeadlessMirror‑Setup.exe installs for your user only and updates an existing installation in place. It is not code‑signed yet, so Windows may show a blue SmartScreen screen: click More info, then Run anyway.
- Pick your options. Start with Windows (recommended, the app waits in the tray for your phone) and a desktop shortcut. The mirroring engine, scrcpy, is included.
- Turn on USB debugging on the phone. The app shows the exact taps: Settings → About phone → tap Build number seven times, then Developer options → USB debugging.
- Plug the phone in and tap Allow. Tick “Always allow from this computer”. The mirror opens by itself, and from then on every time you plug in.
Closing the window keeps the app in the tray; Quit is in the tray menu. Uninstall from Windows Settings → Apps like any other program; your settings stay in %LocalAppData%\REX until you delete them.
Building from source instead
With the .NET 10 SDK installed, clone the repository and run REX.bat. It builds the app into tools\rex on first use and opens it; REX.bat --build rebuilds after a change.
git clone https://github.com/tochi-mba/Android_Headless_Mirror.gitScripts and agents
Everything the window does, from the command line.
The installer puts rex.exe on your PATH. Add --json or start with agent and you get exactly one JSON document and no prompts.
rex status app, mirror and phone state
rex action sleep turn the phone screen off
rex zoom in | out | reset PC-side zoom of the open mirror
rex screenshot save a PNG of the phone screen
rex phone set brightness 180 friendly phone settings
rex android list global --filter animation
rex config set Mirror.MaxFps 90 one-step undo: rex config restore
rex agent capabilities the machine-readable contractDoes it work with phones other than the Galaxy S21 Ultra?
REX is designed for Android devices supported by ADB and scrcpy. Current hardware testing is primarily on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, so other phones and OEM builds may expose different encoder, settings or lock-screen behaviour.
Why is the lock screen black on the mirror?
Some manufacturers mark the secure lock screen as protected content, which Android will not stream. After a reboot you may need to unlock on the phone once. For pattern locks the app draws a guide so you can unlock blind afterwards. The pattern itself is never stored or replayed.
Can I still touch the phone while it is mirrored?
Yes. The screen is off, not locked. Tap the power button or press Wake in the app to turn it back on.
Is anything sent anywhere?
REX has no account or telemetry and does not upload your mirrored screen, control data, lock information or phone content. Setup and updates may connect to GitHub to download REX and the official scrcpy distribution. If you turn on the optional update check, it asks GitHub once a day which version is newest; it is off unless you turn it on.
What does “Stop mirror” do?
It closes the mirror and stays in the tray. The app will not reopen until the phone reconnects or you press Start. Quit in the tray menu exits completely.
The phone is plugged in but the app says no phone is connected.
Windows sometimes attaches a generic driver to the phone's USB debugging interface without telling ADB about it, typically after the phone changes USB mode or port. The app notices and shows Repair USB driver; it registers the interface for ADB and asks for administrator approval once. The same repair is rex usb repair.
Does it need administrator rights or root?
No. Everything runs as your user with standard ADB permissions. The app never roots, flashes or modifies the phone.