Swipe
Swipe action, Perform a touch gesture for interactions beyond regular scrolling (e.g., adjust a continuous control such as a slider, flip pages in a carousel, dismiss a notification, swipe-to-delete a list item). For regular content scrolling, use Scroll instead. Use "distance" + "direction" for ...
This record as markdown: /tools/android/swipe.md
What Swipe does on Android
AI agents invoke Swipe to trigger actions in Android. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call: builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
end | object | — | Ending point of the swipe gesture (mutually exclusive with distance) |
start | object | — | Starting point of the swipe gesture, if not specified, the center of the page will be used |
repeat | number | — | The number of times to repeat the swipe gesture. 1 for default, 0 for infinite (e.g. endless swipe until the end of the page) |
distance | number | — | The distance in pixels to swipe (mutually exclusive with end) |
duration | number | — | Duration of the swipe gesture in milliseconds |
direction | string | — | The direction to swipe (required when using distance). The direction means the direction of the finger swipe. |
android.deviceId | string | — | Android device ID (from adb devices) |
android.useScrcpy | boolean | — | Enable scrcpy accelerated screenshots |
android.aiActContext | string | — | Background knowledge passed to aiAct. Default: no extra context. |
android.waitAfterAction | number | — | Wait time in milliseconds after each action execution. Default: 300ms. |
android.replanningCycleLimit | integer | — | Maximum number of replanning cycles for aiAct. Default: model adapter default. |
android.screenshotShrinkFactor | number | — | Screenshot shrink factor before sending images to AI. Default: 1; high values may reduce recognition quality, especially on mobile. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why Swipe is rated High
This tool executes a touch gesture on an Android device, triggering UI interactions whose effects depend on context and arguments. Notably, it can perform 'swipe-to-delete' actions and dismiss notifications, meaning effects vary widely based on what is being swiped.
From the tool's definition Swipe action, Perform a touch gesture for interactions beyond regular scrolling (e.g., adjust a continuous control such as a slider, flip pages in a carousel, dismiss a notification, swipe-to-delete a list item)
Risk signalsHigh parameter count (22 properties)
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs Swipe safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Android, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For Swipe, this is the rule to start with:
Swipe stays usable, but rate-capped: a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Android, apply this rule, and every Swipe call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about Swipe
Swipe action, Perform a touch gesture for interactions beyond regular scrolling (e.g., adjust a continuous control such as a slider, flip pages in a carousel, dismiss a notification, swipe-to-delete a list item). For regular content scrolling, use Scroll instead. Use "distance" + "direction" for relative movement, or "start" + "end" for precise endpoint movement.. Parameters: start? (object) - Starting point of the swipe gesture, if not specified, the center of the page will be used; direction? (enum('up', 'down', 'left', 'right')) - The direction to swipe (required when using distance). The direction means the direction of the finger swipe.; distance? (number) - The distance in pixels to swipe (mutually exclusive with end); end? (object) - Ending point of the swipe gesture (mutually exclusive with distance); duration? (number) - Duration of the swipe gesture in milliseconds; repeat? (number) - The number of times to repeat the swipe gesture. 1 for default, 0 for infinite (e.g. endless swipe until the end of the page). It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Android MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Swipe accepts 12 parameters: end, start, repeat, distance, duration, direction, android.deviceId, android.useScrcpy, android.aiActContext, android.waitAfterAction, android.replanningCycleLimit, android.screenshotShrinkFactor. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Android MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for Swipe: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Android. Nothing to install.
Swipe is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the Swipe rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for Swipe. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
Swipe is provided by the Android MCP server (@midscene/android-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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