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CLI reference & management for device tunneling
A reference for managing the device tunnel orchestrator and for understanding which native commands are supported.
Once your device tunnel is active, use this guide as a quick reference for managing your connections and running native tool commands. It details the primary commands for controlling the tunnel orchestrator and provides a complete list of the supported commands for both Android (ADB) and iOS.
Managing tunnels & sessions
You can manage the orchestrator and active tunnels using the following commands:
| Action | Command |
|---|---|
| Check orchestrator status | browserstack-sdk device-tunnel status |
| List active Appium sessions | browserstack-sdk device-tunnel sessions |
| List active tunnels | browserstack-sdk device-tunnel list-tunnels |
| Disconnect a specific tunnel | browserstack-sdk device-tunnel disconnect --session-id "YOUR_SESSION_ID" |
| Stop the orchestrator and all tunnels | browserstack-sdk device-tunnel stop |
Supported Android (adb) commands
The following adb commands are permitted. Using an unsupported command will result in an error: closed message.
Only a specific set of native commands are supported through the tunnel for security and stability.
| Category | Command | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Connection & Porting |
devices, connect, disconnect
|
Manages the list of connected devices. |
| Â | forward |
Forwards socket connections from the host to the device. |
| Application Management |
install, uninstall
|
Installs or uninstalls an application package (.apk). |
| Â | shell am start -n <bundle_id> |
Starts a specific application activity. |
| Â | shell am force-stop <bundle_id> |
Forces an application to stop running. |
| Â | shell pm clear <bundle_id> |
Deletes all data associated with an application. |
| Â | shell pm list packages |
Lists all installed application packages. |
| Device Info & Logging | shell ps |
Displays a list of current running processes. |
| Â | shell getprop |
Retrieves device properties and configuration. |
| Â | logcat |
Views the device’s system and application logs in real-time. |
Supported iOS (libimobiledevice) commands
The following libimobiledevice commands are permitted for interacting with iOS devices.
| Category | Command | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Device Identification & Info | idevice_id |
Lists the UDIDs of attached devices. |
| Â | ideviceinfo |
Displays detailed information about the connected device. |
| Application Management | ideviceinstaller |
Manages applications (install, uninstall, list, etc.). |
| Logging & Proxying | idevicesyslog |
Relays the device’s system logs. |
| Â | iproxy |
Forwards ports from the local machine to the device. |
Related topics
- Device tunneling overview - Understand the benefits and prerequisites of device tunneling.
- Getting started - Install the tool and run your first tunnel.
- Advanced configuration - Customize tunnel settings for performance and security.
- iOS setup guide - Configure your macOS environment for iOS device tunneling.
- Troubleshooting guide - Find solutions to common issues with device tunneling.
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