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BenchFleet FAQ
In short: BenchFleet is a desktop app for Windows, macOS (Apple silicon) and Linux that runs your own Android phones from one screen. People see and control every phone; on Pro and Team, AI clients such as Claude Code and Codex use the phones you choose over MCP, with approvals and a hash-chained audit log. The Free plan covers 3 phones with no account.
Short, direct answers about running Android phones with BenchFleet and giving AI agents access to them. Checked on 20 October 2026. For step-by-step help see the guide to letting Claude Code or Codex control a phone, and for how it compares with other tools, Android MCP servers compared.
Free for up to 3 phones, with no account. Pro adds workflows, schedules and AI for up to 25 phones from £12 a month + VAT.
Questions
What is BenchFleet?
A desktop app that runs your own Android phones from your computer, for app teams, developers and AI agents. Every phone shows live on one screen and any of them is yours to take over in one click. Workflows and AI agents do the routine work with approvals and an audit log.
How do I let Claude Code or Codex control a real Android phone?
Connect the phone by USB or wireless debugging, open BenchFleet, then go to Settings, AI clients, Connect an AI client. Choose the phones and the access level, then run the line BenchFleet prints for Claude Code or add its block to Codex's config file. AI clients are part of Pro and Team. Step-by-step guide
Which AI clients work with it?
Claude Code, Codex and other MCP clients, such as Claude Desktop or any client that reads an .mcp.json file. Clients that connect by URL use an address on your computer with a token that BenchFleet shows once. Android MCP server
What can an AI agent do on the phone?
It gets up to 25 tools in four groups. It can see (list phones, read the screen and its interface, find elements, take screenshots), act (tap, type, swipe, press keys, launch and stop apps), hand over work (run workflows, queue tasks) and ask a person for the phone. It finds elements by text, ID or description, not coordinates.
What is an AI agent never allowed to do?
Shell commands, file transfer, installing or removing apps, the clipboard and rebooting are never offered to AI clients. A new client starts as look-only on every phone, with a limit of 120 calls a minute and a 90-day expiry, and you can change all three.
What stops an agent from doing something risky?
Typing a saved password and any request that reaches more than ten phones wait for a person by default, and you can add approval rules. Payments and account-security changes always need a person, and only people can approve. At CAPTCHAs and sign-in checks BenchFleet blocks the action until a person deals with it.
Is every action recorded?
Yes. Every call is logged under the client's name with the phone, the tool, the result and any approval. Typed text is stored only as its length and a saved password only by its name. The log is hash-chained, so a change to an old entry can be detected.
Can I use my own model key or a local model?
Yes. BenchFleet's own AI tasks and per-phone agents use your key for any AI service with an API, or a model on your computer through tools such as Ollama. AI usage is never included in a plan, and budgets per model cap what BenchFleet may spend. Claude Code and Codex bring their own model. AI with your own model
Is BenchFleet a device farm?
It is a test bench of your own Android phones, run from your own computer, for app teams, developers and AI agents. Every phone shows live on one screen, any of them is yours to take over in one click, and workflows and AI agents do the routine work with approvals and an audit log. Features
Is it self-hosted?
Yes. The app runs on your own computer with your own phones. It starts in Local mode, where nothing leaves your computer and network unless you turn on API mode, and it sends no telemetry. Secrets are encrypted with a key in your operating system's keychain. Privacy and security
Which computers and phones does it work with?
Windows, macOS on Apple silicon and Linux, with Android phones that have developer options on, connected by USB or wireless debugging. Android 8 or newer works best. What you need
Can I see and control many phones at once?
Every connected phone is a live tile with its screen, connection, mode, battery and temperature, with problems in red. Click a tile to take control with mouse and keyboard, move files, install apps, read logcat or use a restricted terminal. Groups, pins, filters and saved views keep a large fleet organised. Control many phones
Can I automate the same task on every phone without writing code?
On Pro and Team, yes. Record a workflow by doing the task once on a phone, build it in the visual editor or write it in YAML, then run it on one phone, a group or the whole fleet, now or on a schedule. Workflows support retries, guards, approvals and dry runs.
How do I roll out a change to a group of test phones safely?
Workflows have staged roll-outs. Publish a new version to a few phones first, and roll back if it fails. Group actions install, launch, reboot or screenshot many phones at once.
Can I replay a run step by step to debug a failure?
Yes, on Pro and Team. Each run on a phone has a timeline with screenshots and can be replayed step by step.
Can my CI pipeline start runs?
On Pro and Team, a signed webhook can start workflows, for example from your CI pipeline. The Python and TypeScript SDKs and a CI command with JUnit reports are not published yet. Android app testing
Can phones on several computers be in one fleet?
On Team, gateways add phones from other computers to the same fleet, with roles and scoped permissions for people.
What are cloud phones?
Android phones rented by the minute from prepaid minutes, with a spending limit, that you use in the browser or the app. Each is a fresh Android 14 phone in its own virtual machine, private while it runs and deleted when it stops. They join the same fleet as your own phones. Cloud Android phones
How much do cloud phones cost?
£0.02 a minute, paid from prepaid minutes: £10 for 500 minutes, £25 for 1,250 minutes and £100 for 5,000 minutes, each usable for 12 months. Prices exclude VAT. Pro and Team include 300 minutes a month, Team for each seat, and these are used first. A new account starts with no minutes.
Can my AI agent use a cloud phone?
Yes. In the app a cloud phone is part of your fleet, so Claude Code, Codex and other MCP clients use it under the same rules as your own phones, with only the phones and tools you allowed, approvals for sensitive steps, CAPTCHAs handed to a person and every call in the audit log. AI clients are part of Pro and Team. Give an AI agent a cloud phone
Can I stop a cloud phone from running up a bill?
Yes. You set a spending limit and phones stop when the month's spending reaches it, with emails at 50, 80 and 100 per cent of the limit. You also choose the longest time a phone may run when you start it.
What happens to my data when a cloud phone stops?
The phone is deleted with everything on it, and nothing is kept for the next rental. BenchFleet keeps records of each rental and of the phone's internet connections, showing where to and how much but not what, and keeps no copy of the screen or what you type. Privacy notice
Do cloud phones have Google Play?
No. Cloud phones run Android without Google Play and use datacentre internet addresses, so apps that need Google Play or Play Integrity, such as many banking apps, are best tested on your own phones.
Can I get a refund for cloud minutes I did not use?
Within 14 days of buying a pack you can ask support to refund the minutes you have not used. Used minutes are never refunded. Support
How much does it cost?
The Free plan covers 3 phones with no account. Pro costs £12 a month + VAT for up to 25 phones, with workflows, schedules, AI tasks, AI clients, alerts, dashboards, API tokens and remote access. Team costs £20 per seat a month + VAT with no phone limit, roles, scoped permissions and gateways. Pricing
Is AI usage included in a plan?
No. You use your own key or a model on your computer and pay your provider directly. Budgets per model in the app cap what BenchFleet may spend.
Can I use it on a computer without internet?
Yes. The Free plan needs none. For a paid plan, download a licence file for the computer from your account page and choose it in the app; it lasts up to 35 days. Computers without internet
How do I cancel?
On your account page, at any time. Cancelling stops future charges, and you keep the plan until the end of the period you paid for. Payments for a plan are not refunded, except where the law requires a refund. Billing questions
Why BenchFleet
- Your phones, under your rules. Scope, access levels, approvals and an audit log for every person, workflow and agent.
- People and AI together. Live view and one-click takeover for people; MCP and AI tasks for agents.
- Local by default, with no telemetry, and a flat plan price: Free for 3 phones and Pro at £12 a month + VAT.
Start with the Free plan
Free for up to 3 phones, with no account. Pro adds workflows, schedules and AI for up to 25 phones from £12 a month + VAT.
- A Free plan with no time limit and no account
- Starts in Local mode, with no telemetry or analytics