diff --git a/skill-guides/orca-emulator-android.md b/skill-guides/orca-emulator-android.md
index 567be607920..5d96e3d65f1 100644
--- a/skill-guides/orca-emulator-android.md
+++ b/skill-guides/orca-emulator-android.md
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ license: Apache-2.0
 
 ## Command surface
 
-The Android backend shells out to the Android SDK (`adb`, `emulator`, `avdmanager`) that
-Android Studio installs, so it runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Input uses
+The Android backend shells out to `adb`, plus the SDK `emulator` for AVDs, so it runs on
+Windows, Linux, and macOS. Input uses
 `adb shell input`, with no extra streaming server.
 
 `ORCA emulator --help` lists the wrapped verbs. Anything else goes through
@@ -35,11 +35,11 @@ drive the SDK and devices on the host that runs the Orca runtime, including a he
 
 ## Prerequisites
 
-- Android Studio or the Android SDK installed, with `ANDROID_HOME` or `ANDROID_SDK_ROOT`
-  set. Orca also checks the per-OS default location (`%LOCALAPPDATA%\Android\Sdk`,
-  `~/Library/Android/sdk`, `~/Android/Sdk`).
-- `adb` and `emulator` on the SDK path, plus at least one AVD (Android Studio ▸ Device
-  Manager) or a connected device with USB debugging.
+- `adb` from the Android SDK (`ANDROID_HOME`, `ANDROID_SDK_ROOT`, or the per-OS default
+  `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Android\Sdk`, `~/Library/Android/sdk`, `~/Android/Sdk`), or a standalone
+  `adb` on `PATH` such as a distro `android-tools` package.
+- A connected device with USB debugging, or at least one AVD (Android Studio ▸ Device
+  Manager). AVDs need the SDK `emulator` package; without it only running devices are listed.
 - A booted, adb-visible device before any input or capability command. A shutdown AVD is
   listed with `state: shutdown` and must be started first, by `ORCA emulator attach`,
   Android Studio, or `emulator @<avd>`.
diff --git a/src/cli/bundled-skill-guides.ts b/src/cli/bundled-skill-guides.ts
index 274aafc58ff..053b98a1629 100644
--- a/src/cli/bundled-skill-guides.ts
+++ b/src/cli/bundled-skill-guides.ts
@@ -1227,8 +1227,8 @@ const ORCA_EMULATOR_ANDROID_MARKDOWN = [
   "",
   "## Command surface",
   "",
-  "The Android backend shells out to the Android SDK (`adb`, `emulator`, `avdmanager`) that",
-  "Android Studio installs, so it runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Input uses",
+  "The Android backend shells out to `adb`, plus the SDK `emulator` for AVDs, so it runs on",
+  "Windows, Linux, and macOS. Input uses",
   "`adb shell input`, with no extra streaming server.",
   "",
   "`ORCA emulator --help` lists the wrapped verbs. Anything else goes through",
@@ -1246,11 +1246,11 @@ const ORCA_EMULATOR_ANDROID_MARKDOWN = [
   "",
   "## Prerequisites",
   "",
-  "- Android Studio or the Android SDK installed, with `ANDROID_HOME` or `ANDROID_SDK_ROOT`",
-  "  set. Orca also checks the per-OS default location (`%LOCALAPPDATA%\\Android\\Sdk`,",
-  "  `~/Library/Android/sdk`, `~/Android/Sdk`).",
-  "- `adb` and `emulator` on the SDK path, plus at least one AVD (Android Studio ▸ Device",
-  "  Manager) or a connected device with USB debugging.",
+  "- `adb` from the Android SDK (`ANDROID_HOME`, `ANDROID_SDK_ROOT`, or the per-OS default",
+  "  `%LOCALAPPDATA%\\Android\\Sdk`, `~/Library/Android/sdk`, `~/Android/Sdk`), or a standalone",
+  "  `adb` on `PATH` such as a distro `android-tools` package.",
+  "- A connected device with USB debugging, or at least one AVD (Android Studio ▸ Device",
+  "  Manager). AVDs need the SDK `emulator` package; without it only running devices are listed.",
   "- A booted, adb-visible device before any input or capability command. A shutdown AVD is",
   "  listed with `state: shutdown` and must be started first, by `ORCA emulator attach`,",
   "  Android Studio, or `emulator @<avd>`.",
diff --git a/src/main/emulator/android/android-avd-boot-identity.test.ts b/src/main/emulator/android/android-avd-boot-identity.test.ts
index 5be85f3b337..e011fe7f118 100644
--- a/src/main/emulator/android/android-avd-boot-identity.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/emulator/android/android-avd-boot-identity.test.ts
@@ -9,8 +9,7 @@ vi.mock('node:child_process', () => ({
 const sdk: AndroidSdkPaths = {
   sdkRoot: 'sdk',
   adb: 'adb',
-  emulator: 'emulator',
-  avdmanager: 'avdmanager'
+  emulator: 'emulator'
 }
 type Device = { serial: string; name: string; booted: boolean }
 const other: Device = { serial: 'emulator-5556', name: 'Other', booted: true }
diff --git a/src/main/emulator/android/android-avd-boot.ts b/src/main/emulator/android/android-avd-boot.ts
index ecfcb90e1aa..80f7301e800 100644
--- a/src/main/emulator/android/android-avd-boot.ts
+++ b/src/main/emulator/android/android-avd-boot.ts
@@ -4,8 +4,12 @@ import { emulatorFailureText } from '../../../shared/emulator-failure-copy'
 import type { AndroidCommandRunner } from './android-command-runner'
 import type { AndroidSdkPaths } from './android-sdk-discovery'
 import { bootCompletedArgs, isBootCompleted } from './adb-devices'
-import { bootAvdArgs, listAvdsArgs, parseAvdList } from './avd-manager'
-import { findRunningAvdSerial, listRunningAdbDevices } from './android-device-inventory'
+import { bootAvdArgs } from './avd-manager'
+import {
+  findRunningAvdSerial,
+  listAvdNames,
+  listRunningAdbDevices
+} from './android-device-inventory'
 import { emulatorProbeError } from '../emulator-probe'
 
 export type AndroidBootOptions = {
@@ -29,8 +33,8 @@ export async function bootAndroidDevice(
     return existing
   }
   // Reject stale serials before launching an invalid AVD and waiting out the boot timeout.
-  const avds = parseAvdList((await runner(sdk.emulator, listAvdsArgs)).stdout)
-  if (!avds.includes(deviceOrName)) {
+  const avds = await listAvdNames(runner, sdk)
+  if (!sdk.emulator || !avds.includes(deviceOrName)) {
     throw new EmulatorError(
       'emulator_device_not_found',
       emulatorFailureText('unknownDeviceOrAvd', { device: deviceOrName })
diff --git a/src/main/emulator/android/android-capability-operations.test.ts b/src/main/emulator/android/android-capability-operations.test.ts
index a888c9d7fc9..fd4e8acb3dd 100644
--- a/src/main/emulator/android/android-capability-operations.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/emulator/android/android-capability-operations.test.ts
@@ -10,8 +10,7 @@ import {
 const SDK: AndroidSdkPaths = {
   sdkRoot: '/sdk',
   adb: '/sdk/adb',
-  emulator: '/sdk/emulator',
-  avdmanager: '/sdk/avdmanager'
+  emulator: '/sdk/emulator'
 }
 
 const ok = (stdout: string): AndroidCommandResult => ({ stdout, stderr: '', code: 0 })
diff --git a/src/main/emulator/android/android-device-inventory.test.ts b/src/main/emulator/android/android-device-inventory.test.ts
index 8a6ea3c5a46..82f9faff96c 100644
--- a/src/main/emulator/android/android-device-inventory.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/emulator/android/android-device-inventory.test.ts
@@ -12,8 +12,7 @@ import { parseAdbDevices } from './adb-devices'
 const SDK: AndroidSdkPaths = {
   sdkRoot: '/sdk',
   adb: '/sdk/adb',
-  emulator: '/sdk/emulator',
-  avdmanager: '/sdk/avdmanager'
+  emulator: '/sdk/emulator'
 }
 
 const ok = (stdout: string): AndroidCommandResult => ({ stdout, stderr: '', code: 0 })
@@ -78,6 +77,18 @@ describe('listAndroidDevices', () => {
     expect(devices).toHaveLength(1)
     expect(devices[0]).toMatchObject({ id: 'emulator-5554', name: 'Pixel_7', state: 'booted' })
   })
+
+  it('lists USB devices without running the emulator binary on adb-only hosts', async () => {
+    const binaries: string[] = []
+    const fake = runner((binary, a) => {
+      binaries.push(binary)
+      return a === 'devices -l' ? 'List of devices attached\n721a6f41\tdevice model:M2007J17C' : ''
+    })
+    const adbOnly: AndroidSdkPaths = { sdkRoot: null, adb: '/usr/bin/adb', emulator: null }
+    const devices = await listAndroidDevices(fake, adbOnly)
+    expect(devices).toEqual([expect.objectContaining({ id: '721a6f41', detail: 'device' })])
+    expect(binaries.every((binary) => binary === '/usr/bin/adb')).toBe(true)
+  })
 })
 
 describe('listConfirmedAdbSerials', () => {
diff --git a/src/main/emulator/android/android-device-inventory.ts b/src/main/emulator/android/android-device-inventory.ts
index 76717147104..cd3fc909ae6 100644
--- a/src/main/emulator/android/android-device-inventory.ts
+++ b/src/main/emulator/android/android-device-inventory.ts
@@ -60,15 +60,21 @@ export async function listAndroidDevices(
   runner: AndroidCommandRunner,
   sdk: AndroidSdkPaths
 ): Promise<EmulatorDevice[]> {
-  const [running, avdsResult] = await Promise.all([
+  const [running, avds] = await Promise.all([
     listRunningAdbDevices(runner, sdk),
-    runner(sdk.emulator, listAvdsArgs)
+    listAvdNames(runner, sdk)
   ])
-  const avds = parseAvdList(avdsResult.stdout)
   const runningAvdBySerial = await resolveRunningAvdNames(runner, sdk, running)
   return mergeAndroidDevices(running, avds, runningAvdBySerial)
 }
 
+export async function listAvdNames(
+  runner: AndroidCommandRunner,
+  sdk: AndroidSdkPaths
+): Promise<string[]> {
+  return sdk.emulator ? parseAvdList((await runner(sdk.emulator, listAvdsArgs)).stdout) : []
+}
+
 // adb appends an OK status after the AVD name.
 function firstNonStatusLine(stdout: string): string | null {
   for (const raw of stdout.split('\n')) {
diff --git a/src/main/emulator/android/android-input-commands.test.ts b/src/main/emulator/android/android-input-commands.test.ts
index 0404738df5b..3bad940847e 100644
--- a/src/main/emulator/android/android-input-commands.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/emulator/android/android-input-commands.test.ts
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ describe.runIf(process.platform !== 'win32')('Android text shell boundary', () =
     }
     await androidTypeText(
       runner,
-      { sdkRoot: 'sdk', adb: 'adb', emulator: 'emulator', avdmanager: 'avdmanager' },
+      { sdkRoot: 'sdk', adb: 'adb', emulator: 'emulator' },
       'emulator-5558',
       text
     )
diff --git a/src/main/emulator/android/android-sdk-discovery.test.ts b/src/main/emulator/android/android-sdk-discovery.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4977f8aa3f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/emulator/android/android-sdk-discovery.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import { join } from 'node:path'
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { discoverAndroidSdk } from './android-sdk-discovery'
+
+const home = '/home/dev'
+const defaultRoot = join(home, 'Android', 'Sdk')
+const adbIn = (root: string): string => join(root, 'platform-tools', 'adb')
+const emulatorIn = (root: string): string => join(root, 'emulator', 'emulator')
+
+function discover(files: string[], env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = {}, pathAdb: string | null = null) {
+  const present = new Set(files)
+  return discoverAndroidSdk({
+    env,
+    platform: 'linux',
+    homedir: home,
+    exists: (path) => present.has(path),
+    findAdbOnPath: () => pathAdb
+  })
+}
+
+describe('discoverAndroidSdk', () => {
+  it('accepts an SDK root with platform-tools but no emulator package', () => {
+    expect(discover([adbIn(defaultRoot)])).toEqual({
+      sdkRoot: defaultRoot,
+      adb: adbIn(defaultRoot),
+      emulator: null
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('prefers a full SDK over an earlier adb-only root', () => {
+    const adbOnly = '/opt/platform-tools-only'
+    expect(
+      discover([adbIn(adbOnly), adbIn(defaultRoot), emulatorIn(defaultRoot)], {
+        ANDROID_HOME: adbOnly
+      })
+    ).toEqual({ sdkRoot: defaultRoot, adb: adbIn(defaultRoot), emulator: emulatorIn(defaultRoot) })
+  })
+
+  it('falls back to a standalone adb on PATH when no SDK root has one', () => {
+    expect(discover([], {}, '/usr/bin/adb')).toEqual({
+      sdkRoot: null,
+      adb: '/usr/bin/adb',
+      emulator: null
+    })
+    expect(discover([])).toBeNull()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/main/emulator/android/android-sdk-discovery.ts b/src/main/emulator/android/android-sdk-discovery.ts
index d852422f650..b890391bad2 100644
--- a/src/main/emulator/android/android-sdk-discovery.ts
+++ b/src/main/emulator/android/android-sdk-discovery.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 import { join } from 'node:path'
 
 export type AndroidSdkPaths = {
-  sdkRoot: string
+  /** Null when only a standalone adb (e.g. distro android-tools) was found. */
+  sdkRoot: string | null
   adb: string
-  emulator: string
-  avdmanager: string
+  /** Null without the SDK emulator package: physical devices work, AVDs are unavailable. */
+  emulator: string | null
 }
 
 export type DiscoverAndroidSdkOptions = {
@@ -12,21 +13,26 @@ export type DiscoverAndroidSdkOptions = {
   platform: NodeJS.Platform
   homedir: string
   exists: (path: string) => boolean
+  findAdbOnPath: () => string | null
 }
 
 export function discoverAndroidSdk(options: DiscoverAndroidSdkOptions): AndroidSdkPaths | null {
   const { env, platform, homedir, exists } = options
   const win32 = platform === 'win32'
 
-  for (const sdkRoot of candidateSdkRoots(env, platform, homedir)) {
-    const paths = resolveToolPaths(sdkRoot, win32)
-    // Both adb and the emulator binary are required for backend operations.
-    if (exists(paths.adb) && exists(paths.emulator)) {
-      return paths
-    }
+  const rootsWithAdb = candidateSdkRoots(env, platform, homedir)
+    .map((sdkRoot) => resolveToolPaths(sdkRoot, win32))
+    .filter((paths) => exists(paths.adb))
+  // Prefer a full SDK so AVDs stay available when an adb-only root comes first.
+  const full = rootsWithAdb.find((paths) => paths.emulator && exists(paths.emulator))
+  if (full) {
+    return full
   }
-
-  return null
+  if (rootsWithAdb[0]) {
+    return { ...rootsWithAdb[0], emulator: null }
+  }
+  const adb = options.findAdbOnPath()
+  return adb ? { sdkRoot: null, adb, emulator: null } : null
 }
 
 function candidateSdkRoots(
@@ -64,13 +70,6 @@ function resolveToolPaths(sdkRoot: string, win32: boolean): AndroidSdkPaths {
   return {
     sdkRoot,
     adb: join(sdkRoot, 'platform-tools', win32 ? 'adb.exe' : 'adb'),
-    emulator: join(sdkRoot, 'emulator', win32 ? 'emulator.exe' : 'emulator'),
-    avdmanager: join(
-      sdkRoot,
-      'cmdline-tools',
-      'latest',
-      'bin',
-      win32 ? 'avdmanager.bat' : 'avdmanager'
-    )
+    emulator: join(sdkRoot, 'emulator', win32 ? 'emulator.exe' : 'emulator')
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/emulator/android/android-sdk-host-discovery.ts b/src/main/emulator/android/android-sdk-host-discovery.ts
index a7f93acbfa2..a0e427fecf6 100644
--- a/src/main/emulator/android/android-sdk-host-discovery.ts
+++ b/src/main/emulator/android/android-sdk-host-discovery.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { homedir, platform } from 'node:os'
 import { existsSync } from 'node:fs'
 import { discoverAndroidSdk, type AndroidSdkPaths } from './android-sdk-discovery'
+import { resolveExecutableCommand } from '../../../shared/node-cli-command-resolution'
 
 let configuredSdkPath: string | null = null
 
@@ -13,7 +14,13 @@ export function setConfiguredAndroidSdkPath(path: string | null): void {
 export function discoverAndroidSdkFromHost(): AndroidSdkPaths | null {
   const env = configuredSdkPath ? { ...process.env, ANDROID_HOME: configuredSdkPath } : process.env
   try {
-    return discoverAndroidSdk({ env, platform: platform(), homedir: homedir(), exists: existsSync })
+    return discoverAndroidSdk({
+      env,
+      platform: platform(),
+      homedir: homedir(),
+      exists: existsSync,
+      findAdbOnPath: () => resolveExecutableCommand('adb')
+    })
   } catch {
     return null
   }
diff --git a/src/main/emulator/android/scrcpy-stream-session.test.ts b/src/main/emulator/android/scrcpy-stream-session.test.ts
index c7dcdc6d28b..6c6dc632c7d 100644
--- a/src/main/emulator/android/scrcpy-stream-session.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/emulator/android/scrcpy-stream-session.test.ts
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ async function startSession() {
   const started = ScrcpyStreamSession.start(
     {
       runner,
-      sdk: { sdkRoot: 'sdk', adb: 'adb', emulator: 'emulator', avdmanager: 'avdmanager' },
+      sdk: { sdkRoot: 'sdk', adb: 'adb', emulator: 'emulator' },
       serial: 'test-device',
       localJarPath: 'server.jar'
     },
diff --git a/src/main/emulator/backends/android-emulator-backend.test.ts b/src/main/emulator/backends/android-emulator-backend.test.ts
index 8111f200797..093949dc563 100644
--- a/src/main/emulator/backends/android-emulator-backend.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/emulator/backends/android-emulator-backend.test.ts
@@ -14,8 +14,7 @@ vi.mock('node:child_process', async (importOriginal) => {
 const SDK: AndroidSdkPaths = {
   sdkRoot: '/sdk',
   adb: '/sdk/adb',
-  emulator: '/sdk/emulator',
-  avdmanager: '/sdk/avdmanager'
+  emulator: '/sdk/emulator'
 }
 
 const ok = (stdout: string): AndroidCommandResult => ({ stdout, stderr: '', code: 0 })
diff --git a/src/main/emulator/backends/android-emulator-backend.ts b/src/main/emulator/backends/android-emulator-backend.ts
index 4ad1425015c..7f4661a0856 100644
--- a/src/main/emulator/backends/android-emulator-backend.ts
+++ b/src/main/emulator/backends/android-emulator-backend.ts
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ export class AndroidEmulatorBackend implements EmulatorBackend {
     if (!sdk) {
       return { available: false, devices: [], ...emulatorCodedMessage('androidSdkMissing') }
     }
-    const sdkPath = sdk.sdkRoot
+    const sdkPath = sdk.sdkRoot ?? sdk.adb
     let devices: EmulatorDevice[] = []
     try {
       devices = await this.listDevices()