# Vega CLI: commands to take a screenshot and press remote keys **URL:** \ **Category:** Feature Requests\ **Created:** [September 30, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://community.amazondeveloper.com/t/vega-cli-commands-to-take-a-screenshot-and-press-remote-keys/29258 "2026-09-30T12:15:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fortemate](https://dhm3gbtzu79o6.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/community.amazondeveloper.com/fortemate/32/6182_2.png) [@Fortemate](https://community.amazondeveloper.com/u/Fortemate)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://community.amazondeveloper.com/t/vega-cli-commands-to-take-a-screenshot-and-press-remote-keys/29258/1 "2026-09-30T12:15:04Z")
**App Name** : Dice Chess TV **SDK version you are referring to for this feature request:** v0.24 (0.24.12112) **React Native version you are referring for this feature request:** RN 0.83 **App Link on Amazon Appstore** : not published yet ### Is your feature request related to a problem? We check every change to our app on the Virtual Device, from scripts and from AI coding agents: press remote keys, then look at the screen. The vega CLI installs and launches apps, but it has no command for either step. The routes available today: - **Appium with the Vega driver** needs an Appium 2 server, the driver package, the device’s automation toolkit and Node 22 or earlier (topic 28665). Threads here report its screenshots on the VVD being flaky or a frame behind (20196, 29134), and the toolkit not starting on OS 1.2 devices (29136). - **`gwsi-tool-screenshooter`** , through `vega exec vda shell`, is for a Fire TV Stick: the VDA reference notes that the Virtual Device doesn’t support it, as staff confirmed in 29249. On the Virtual Device it gives no error, though: it writes a 0-byte file or hangs. So Appium is the only documented way to take a screenshot there. - **For keys** , the emulator console’s `event send`, QEMU’s `send-key` and `inputd-cli` on the device all report success and never reach an app. ### Describe the solution you’d like Two documented commands, for the Virtual Device and for devices in developer mode: - `vega device screenshot -d [file.png]`: save the screen as a PNG. - `vega device press -d `: press remote keys by name (up, down, left, right, select, back, …), with an optional hold time and a gap between keys. With both, a script or an agent could check any screen with the tools the SDK already installs, and the docs could show them next to `install-app` and `launch-app`. ### Is this a blocker? Describe alternatives you’ve considered Not a blocker for us. On the Virtual Device only, we call the Android emulator’s own gRPC API (`EmulatorController.sendKey` and `getScreenshot`) through [vega-vvd-driver](https://github.com/fortemate/vega-vvd-driver), an unofficial open-source tool. It cannot help on a Fire TV Stick, and it depends on an emulator interface that Vega does not document. ### Additional context Our friction log records these obstacles as FL-08 (key injection) and FL-09 (screenshots): [Friction log | Dice Chess TV](https://fortemate.github.io/dicechess-tv/friction-log/) ---
**Author:** ![amen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@amen](https://community.amazondeveloper.com/u/amen)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 6:01pm UTC](https://community.amazondeveloper.com/t/vega-cli-commands-to-take-a-screenshot-and-press-remote-keys/29258/4 "2026-09-30T18:01:20Z")
Hi @Fortemate, Thank you for the detailed write-up and for logging the friction so clearly (FL-08 / FL-09). To confirm I’ve understood the ask: you’d like first-class, documented vega CLI commands to capture a screenshot and to send remote key presses that work on both the Virtual Device and developer-mode physical devices, so your scripted and agent-driven testing can rely on tooling the SDK already ships. I’m passing these details along to our team as a feature request for consideration. Thanks again for helping us improve the Vega platform. Warm regards, Aishwarya