Aster

Aster - Your AI CoPilot on Mobile

Your AI CoPilot for any Android device using MCP (Model Context Protocol) — or give your AI a dedicated phone and let it call, text, and act on its own. Fully open source and privacy-first — your data never leaves your network.

Website: aster.matterwardlabs.com | GitHub: github.com/satyajiit/aster-mcp

For screenshots of the Android app and web dashboard, visit aster.matterwardlabs.com.

Setup

1. Install and start the server:

npm install -g aster-mcp
aster start

2. Install the Aster Android app on any Android device — your daily phone or a spare one for your AI — from Releases and connect to the server address shown in terminal.

3. Configure MCP in your .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aster": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:5988/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Security & Privacy

Aster is built with a security-first, privacy-first architecture:

• Self-Hosted — Runs entirely on your local machine. No cloud servers, no third-party relays. Your data stays on your network.
• Zero Telemetry — No analytics, no tracking, no usage data collection. What you do stays with you.
• Device Approval — Every new device must be manually approved from the dashboard before it can connect or execute commands.
• Tailscale Integration — Optional encrypted mesh VPN via Tailscale with WireGuard. Enables secure remote access with automatic TLS (WSS) — no port forwarding required.
• No Root Required — Uses the official Android Accessibility Service API (same system powering screen readers). No rooting, no ADB hacks, no exploits. Every action is permission-gated and sandboxed.
• Foreground Transparency — Always-visible notification on your Android device when the service is running. No silent background access.
• Local Storage Only — All data (device info, logs) stored in a local SQLite database. Nothing is sent externally.
• 100% Open Source — MIT licensed, fully auditable codebase. Inspect every line of code on GitHub.

Available Tools

Device & Screen

• aster_list_devices - List connected devices
• aster_get_device_info - Get device details (battery, storage, specs)
• aster_take_screenshot - Capture screenshots
• aster_get_screen_hierarchy - Get UI accessibility tree

Input & Interaction

• aster_input_gesture - Tap, swipe, long press
• aster_input_text - Type text into focused field
• aster_click_by_text - Click element by text
• aster_click_by_id - Click element by view ID
• aster_find_element - Find UI elements
• aster_global_action - Back, Home, Recents, etc.

Apps & System

• aster_launch_intent - Launch apps or intents
• aster_list_packages - List installed apps
• aster_read_notifications - Read notifications
• aster_read_sms - Read SMS messages
• aster_send_sms - Send an SMS text message to a phone number
• aster_get_location - Get GPS location
• aster_execute_shell - Run shell commands in Android app sandbox (no root, restricted to app data directory and user-accessible storage, 30s timeout, 1MB output limit)

Files & Storage

• aster_list_files - List directory contents
• aster_read_file - Read file content
• aster_write_file - Write to file
• aster_delete_file - Delete file
• aster_analyze_storage - Storage analysis
• aster_find_large_files - Find large files
• aster_search_media - Search photos/videos with natural language

Device Features

• aster_get_battery - Battery info
• aster_get_clipboard / aster_set_clipboard - Clipboard access
• aster_show_toast - Show toast message
• aster_speak_tts - Text-to-speech
• aster_vibrate - Vibrate device
• aster_play_audio - Play audio
• aster_post_notification - Post notification
• aster_make_call - Initiate phone call
• aster_make_call_with_voice - Make a call, enable speakerphone, and speak AI text via TTS after pickup
• aster_show_overlay - Show web overlay on device

Media Intelligence

• aster_index_media_metadata - Extract photo/video EXIF metadata
• aster_search_media - Search photos/videos with natural language queries

Proactive Event Forwarding (OpenClaw Callbacks)

Aster can push real-time events from the phone to your AI agent via webhook. When enabled, these events arrive as HTTP POST payloads — your agent doesn't need to poll, the phone tells you what's happening.

Configure via the dashboard at /settings/openclaw or CLI: aster set-openclaw-callbacks.

Webhook Format

Events are sent as HTTP POST to the configured OpenClaw endpoint (/hooks/agent by default). The AI reads the message field. All event context is packed into message using standardized [key] value tags.

Example raw HTTP POST payload for a notification event:

{
  "message": "[skill] aster\n[event] notification\n[device_id] 6241e40fb71c0cf7\n[model] samsung SM-S938B, Android 16\n[data-app] messaging\n[data-package] com.google.android.apps.messaging\n[data-title] John\n[data-text] Hey, are you free tonight?",
  "wakeMode": "now",
  "deliver": true,
  "channel": "whatsapp",
  "to": "+1234567890"
}

• message — structured event text with standard headers (this is what the AI reads)
• wakeMode — always "now" (wake the agent immediately)
• deliver — always true for real events, false for test pings
• channel / to — delivery channel and recipient, configured in the dashboard

Event Format

Every event follows a standardized structure with 4 fixed headers and [data-*] fields:

[skill] aster
[event] <event_name>
[device_id] <device_uuid>
[model] <manufacturer model, Android version>
[data-key] value
[data-key] value

• [skill] — always aster
• [event] — event name: sms, notification, device_online, device_offline, pairing, incoming_call
• [device_id] — UUID of the device (use this to target the device with Aster tools)
• [model] — device manufacturer, model, and OS
• [data-*] — event-specific fields, each prefixed with data- (e.g. [data-app], [data-sender])

Event Types

sms — Incoming SMS

[skill] aster
[event] sms
[device_id] a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab
[model] samsung SM-S938B, Android 15
[data-sender] +1234567890
[data-body] Hey are you free tonight?

notification — App notification (deduplicated against SMS)

[skill] aster
[event] notification
[device_id] a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab
[model] samsung SM-S938B, Android 15
[data-app] whatsapp
[data-package] com.whatsapp
[data-title] John
[data-text] Meeting moved to 3pm

device_online — Approved device came online

[skill] aster
[event] device_online
[device_id] a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab
[model] samsung SM-S938B, Android 15
[data-status] connected

device_offline — Device went offline

[skill] aster
[event] device_offline
[device_id] a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab
[model] samsung SM-S938B, Android 15
[data-status] disconnected

pairing — New device needs approval (use [device_id] to approve)

[skill] aster
[event] pairing
[device_id] e5f6g7h8-9012-cdef
[model] Samsung SM-S924B, Android 15
[data-status] pending_approval
[data-action] approve this device from the Aster dashboard or via aster devices approve

incoming_call — Phone is ringing (caller ID is best-effort; [data-number] is always empty on Android 12+ and needs the call-log grant on 9–11)

[skill] aster
[event] incoming_call
[device_id] a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab
[model] samsung SM-S938B, Android 15
[data-number] +1234567890
[data-contact] Jane Doe

Example raw HTTP POST payload for an incoming-call event:

{
  "message": "[skill] aster\n[event] incoming_call\n[device_id] a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab\n[model] samsung SM-S938B, Android 15\n[data-number] +1234567890\n[data-contact] Jane Doe",
  "wakeMode": "now",
  "deliver": true,
  "channel": "whatsapp",
  "to": "+1234567890"
}

How to React to Events

When you receive a message with [skill] aster, parse the [event] and [device_id] to determine what happened and which device to act on.

SMS — reply, extract info, or escalate:

[event] sms | [device_id] a1b2c3d4 | sender: +1234567890 | body: Running late, be there in 20
→ aster_send_sms (deviceId: a1b2c3d4) to +1234567890: "No worries, see you soon!"

[event] sms | [device_id] a1b2c3d4 | sender: +1800555 | body: Your OTP is 482913
→ Extract OTP "482913", use aster_input_text (deviceId: a1b2c3d4) to enter it

Notifications — monitor and act on behalf of user:

[event] notification | [device_id] a1b2c3d4 | app: driver | text: Your driver is arriving
→ aster_speak_tts (deviceId: a1b2c3d4) "Your Uber is almost here"

[event] notification | [device_id] a1b2c3d4 | app: mShop | text: Your package was delivered
→ aster_send_sms (deviceId: a1b2c3d4) to user: "Your Amazon package just arrived"

Device lifecycle — manage connectivity:

[event] device_offline | [device_id] a1b2c3d4
→ Pause pending automations for device a1b2c3d4

[event] device_online | [device_id] a1b2c3d4
→ Resume queued tasks, aster_read_notifications (deviceId: a1b2c3d4) to catch up

Pairing — approve or alert:

[event] pairing | [device_id] e5f6g7h8 | model: Samsung SM-S924B
→ If expected: approve device e5f6g7h8 via dashboard API
→ If unexpected: alert user "Unknown device SM-S924B trying to connect"

Incoming call — log or notify (caller ID is always empty on Android 12+):

[event] incoming_call | [device_id] a1b2c3d4 | number: +1234567890 | contact: Jane Doe
→ aster_send_sms (deviceId: a1b2c3d4) to user: "Incoming call from Jane Doe"

[event] incoming_call | [device_id] a1b2c3d4 | number: (empty)
→ Note the ring; do not assume a number on Android 12+

Example Usage

Your CoPilot on Mobile:

"Open YouTube and search for cooking videos"
→ aster_launch_intent → aster_click_by_id → aster_input_text

"Find photos from my trip to Mumbai last month"
→ aster_search_media with query "photos from Mumbai last month"

"Take a screenshot and tell me what's on screen"
→ aster_take_screenshot → aster_get_screen_hierarchy

AI's own phone — let it act for you:

"Call me and tell me my flight is delayed"
→ aster_make_call_with_voice with number, text "Your flight is delayed 45 min, new gate B12", waitSeconds 8

"Text me when my delivery arrives"
→ aster_read_notifications → aster_send_sms with number and message

"Reply to the delivery guy: Thanks, I'll be home"
→ aster_send_sms with number and message

Commands

aster start              # Start the server
aster stop               # Stop the server
aster status             # Show server and device status
aster dashboard          # Open web dashboard

aster devices list       # List connected devices
aster devices approve    # Approve a pending device
aster devices reject     # Reject a device
aster devices remove     # Remove a device

aster set-openclaw-callbacks  # Configure event forwarding to OpenClaw

Requirements

• Node.js >= 20
• Any Android device with Aster app installed (your phone or a dedicated AI device)
• Device and server on same network (or use Tailscale for secure remote access)

Aster is part of the OpenAlly platform — the OpenAlly app drives Aster fully on-device over IPC (Binder) mode.

Website: aster.matterwardlabs.com | GitHub: github.com/satyajiit/aster-mcp | OpenAlly: openally.ai