Windows: Android tools report platform-tools not found despite working adb

[jhonny1994]

Summary

On Windows, Argent cannot detect Android platform-tools/ADB even when adb is installed and working, causing Android tools (list-devices, boot-device, launch-app) to fail.

Environment

• OS: Windows (VS Code workspace)
• Argent version: 0.8.0
• Flutter app project (Android emulator in use)
• Running emulator: emulator-5554 (AVD Medium_Phone)
• Android SDK path: C:\Users\raouf\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk
• adb path: C:\Users\raouf\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\platform-tools\adb.exe

What works

• adb devices -l returns the running emulator.
• flutter devices returns emulator-5554.

What fails

1) Argent device discovery

argent run list-devices

Result:

{ "devices": [], "avds": [] }

2) Argent boot-device (Android)

argent run boot-device --avdName Medium_Phone

Result:

Android SDK Platform Tools not found. Install with `brew install --cask android-platform-tools` or via Android Studio → SDK Manager. If installed, ensure `adb` is on PATH or set `$ANDROID_HOME` to the SDK root (the resolver checks `$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools/adb`). Only required for Android devices and emulators.
Assertion failed: !(handle->flags & UV_HANDLE_CLOSING), file src\win\async.c, line 76

3) Argent launch-app (Android)

Invoked via MCP launch-app with:

• udid: emulator-5554
• bundle id test target (e.g. com.android.settings)

Result: same Android SDK Platform Tools not found error.

Repro steps

1. Start Android emulator (e.g. AVD Medium_Phone) so adb devices shows emulator-5554.
2. Confirm adb exists at %ANDROID_HOME%\platform-tools\adb.exe.
3. Run argent run list-devices.
4. Run argent run boot-device --avdName Medium_Phone.

Expected behavior

• Argent should detect Android devices/AVDs when adb is available and emulator is running.
• list-devices should include Android entries.
• boot-device should attach/boot successfully without platform-tools error.

Actual behavior

• Android is treated as unavailable (devices: [], avds: []).
• Android actions fail with "Platform Tools not found" despite valid SDK + working adb.

Additional notes

• Set env vars and restarted VS Code:
  • ANDROID_HOME=C:\Users\raouf\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk
  • ANDROID_SDK_ROOT=C:\Users\raouf\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk
• Also tested injecting env + PATH inline before Argent command; behavior unchanged.

Potentially this is a Windows-specific environment/path resolution issue in Argent's Android tooling process.

[latekvo]

Hi!

We currently don't support windows setups, sorry.
The primary blocker is not adb, but the binaries we are currently only distributing for MacOS.
We might start working on experimental windows support after #249 is merged, but I cannot make any promises at this point in time.

[cbnsndwch]

I've been running the Android side of Argent on Windows for a week or so now and it works fine once a single resolver bug is fixed, so I figured I'd write up the cause and offer a PR. The fix lives entirely in the cross-platform tool-server JS, it doesn't need a Windows simulator-server binary, so it's separate from the native binary work.

The bug is in packages/tool-server/src/utils/android-binary.ts, in probe():

1. The SDK-root fallback doesn't add .exe. It builds join(root, SUBDIR[name], name), so it looks for ...\platform-tools\adb and checks access(candidate, X_OK). On Windows the file is adb.exe / emulator.exe, so that check always fails, probe() returns null, and list-devices comes back empty even with a valid SDK and ANDROID_HOME set. That's the "platform-tools not found despite working adb" symptom.
2. The PATH probe can't run on Windows. It calls execFile("/bin/sh", ["-c", "command -v <name>"]). There's no /bin/sh, so it throws and falls through. Not fatal on its own since the env-root fallback usually covers it, but a PATH-only install never resolves.

I verified it by making the path resolvable locally (bare-name hardlinks next to the .exe files as a stopgap). With that in place, list-devices, boot, and Android interaction all work. So resolution is the only thing blocking it, the rest of the Android path is already fine on Windows.

Rough fix, Android on Windows only:

// platform-correct executable name in the SDK-root fallback
const exe = process.platform === "win32" ? `${name}.exe` : name
const candidate = join(root, SUBDIR[name], exe)

// use `where` for the PATH probe on win32 instead of /bin/sh
if (process.platform === "win32") {
  try {
    const { stdout } = await execFileAsync("where", [name], { timeout: 2_000 })
    const first = stdout.split(/\r?\n/).find(Boolean)?.trim()
    if (first) return first
  } catch {
    // fall through to SDK-root fallbacks
  }
}

// add the Windows default SDK root in defaultAndroidRoots()
//   join(process.env.LOCALAPPDATA, "Android", "Sdk")

I can put up a PR with this plus a win32 case in test/android-binary.test.ts. Let me know if you'd take it now that #249 is in.