Develop

AI tooling

Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Fastest way to get started

The portal skill⁠ is a self-contained reference that teaches your AI coding tool everything it needs to build for Portal. You don’t need to read any other documentation — just point your AI tool at the skill and start building. It covers:
  • Portal hardware constraints (no GMS, SDK versions, manifest requirements, icon rules)
  • Device setup and ADB enablement
  • Design guidelines for tabletop form factors
  • Porting existing Android apps to Portal

Horizon Debug Bridge (hzdb)

You can also use hzdb, a command-line tool that wraps ADB with higher-level commands for managing devices, installing apps, capturing screenshots, reading logs, and transferring files. It includes an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server — it gives your AI coding tool programmatic access to your Portal and automatically loads the portal skill.

Install hzdb

Requires Node.js 20 or newer.
npx -y @meta-quest/hzdb --version
This pulls the latest version on every run. To install globally instead:
npm install -g @meta-quest/hzdb

Connect to your AI coding tool

Install the MCP server for your tool of choice:
hzdb mcp install claude-code
hzdb mcp install cursor
hzdb mcp install vscode
hzdb mcp install android-studio
hzdb mcp install codex
hzdb mcp install zed
hzdb mcp install windsurf
hzdb mcp install gemini-cli
For a full list, run hzdb mcp install --help.
With ADB enabled on your Portal and the USB-C cable connected:
hzdb device list
Your Portal should appear. If it does not, see the Set up your device page.

Common hzdb commands

hzdb app install app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk
hzdb app launch com.example.myapp
hzdb app stop com.example.myapp
hzdb app list
hzdb capture screenshot
hzdb log --tag MyApp --level W
hzdb shell getprop ro.product.model

Troubleshooting

Loading the skill manually

To load the skill manually in your AI tool:
/read-skill portal
In tools with MCP, the skill loads automatically when you mention Portal or target minSdkVersion 28-29.

Targeting a specific device

If you have more than one device connected, pin the target device (you can find your serial number with hzdb device list):
hzdb -d YOUR_DEVICE_SERIAL app install app-debug.apk
Or set it once for the session:
export HZDB_DEVICE=YOUR_DEVICE_SERIAL
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