Investigation: remote-android platform connect URL parsing issue

[Copilot]

Users reported "Invalid URL: " error when executing platform connect connect://localhost:5039 with remote-android platform, despite documentation showing this syntax as correct.

Analysis

Traced error through LLDB source code:

• PlatformAndroid::ConnectRemote() retrieves URL via args.GetArgumentAtIndex(0)
• Passes to URI::Parse() which expects format scheme://hostname:port/path
• URI parser correctly handles the syntax - tested with connect://localhost:5039
• Error message "Invalid URL: " (trailing space, no URL shown) indicates empty string passed to parser

Root Cause

Upstream LLDB bug in command argument handling for remote-android platform. The URL argument is consumed or cleared before reaching URI::Parse(), likely by connection options parsing (PlatformPOSIX::GetConnectionOptions() for rsync/ssh/caching options) interfering with argument processing.

Determination

Not a CodeLLDB issue. LLDB's CommandObjectPlatformConnect and PlatformAndroid::ConnectRemote() handle arguments before CodeLLDB involvement. Issue occurs in LLDB's native command processing.

Recommended workaround: Quote the URL: platform connect "connect://localhost:5039"

This investigation provides root cause analysis for users to report to LLDB project with specific technical details.

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Original prompt

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This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>platform connect fails with "Invalid URL" when using remote-android, despite Help docs stating URL syntax.</issue_title>
<issue_description>
Hi, thanks for maintaining CodeLLDB. I ran into an issue with remote-android platform connect and would appreciate any guidance.

OS: ubuntu24.04
VSCode version: 1.107.1
CodeLLDB version: 1.21.1
Compiler: rustc 1.92.0 (targeting aarch64-linux-android) (flutter jni)
Debuggee: aarch64-linux-android (Native Rust library .so loaded in an Android APK)

Hello

The platform connect command fails with an "Invalid URL" error when using the remote-android platform, even though the provided URL is valid and works perfectly with the remote-gdb-server platform. The documentation (help platform connect) implies that connect:// syntax should be supported generally.

Steps to Reproduce:

Setup an Android device and forward a debug port locally: adb forward tcp:5039 tcp:5039.

Start lldb-server on the device listening on port 5039.

In the CodeLLDB Debug Console, execute the following:

platform select remote-android
platform connect connect://localhost:5039

Actual Behavior: The command fails immediately with: error: Invalid URL:

Expected Behavior: It should connect to the target listening on localhost:5039 (just like other remote platforms), or the help documentation should explicitly state that remote-android does not support URL syntax.

Additional Context: If I simply switch the platform to remote-gdb-server, the exact same connection command works:

platform select remote-gdb-server
platform connect connect://localhost:5039
# Result: Connected: yes

This suggests the issue is specific to the argument parsing logic within the remote-android plugin.

Platform: remote-android
Connected: no

platform connect connect://localhost:5039
error: Invalid URL: 

platform connect connect://127.0.0.1:5039
error: Invalid URL:

</issue_description>

<agent_instructions>Try to determine the case. Do not generate a pull request.</agent_instructions>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

• Fixes platform connect fails with "Invalid URL" when using remote-android, despite Help docs stating URL syntax. #1370

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