Android Debug Bridge (adb) | Android Studio | Android Developers - The first knowledge sharing application in Vietnam

Android Debug Bridge (adb) is a versatile command-line tool that lets you communicate with a
device. The adb command facilitates a variety of device actions, such as installing and
debugging apps. adb provides access to a Unix shell that you can use to run a variety
of commands on a device. It is a client-server program that includes three components:

A client, which sends commands. The client runs on your development machine. You can
invoke a client from a command-line terminal by issuing an adb command.
A daemon (adbd), which runs commands on a device. The daemon runs as a background
process on each device.
A server, which manages communication between the client and the daemon. The server
runs as a background process on your development machine.

adb is included in the Android SDK Platform Tools package. Download this
package with the SDK Manager, which installs
it at android_sdk/platform-tools/. If you want the standalone Android SDK
Platform Tools package, download it here.

For information on connecting a device for use over adb, including how to use the Connection
Assistant to troubleshoot common problems, see
Run apps on a hardware device.

How adb works

When you start an adb client, the client first checks whether there is an
adb server process already running. If there isn’t, it starts the server process.
When the server starts, it binds to local TCP port 5037 and listens for commands sent from
adb clients.

Note: All adb clients use port 5037 to communicate
with the adb server.

The server then sets up connections to all running devices.
It locates emulators by scanning odd-numbered ports in the range
5555 to 5585, which is the range used by the first 16 emulators. Where the server finds an adb
daemon (adbd), it sets up a connection to that port.

Each emulator uses a pair of sequential ports — an even-numbered port for
console connections and an odd-numbered port for adb connections. For example:

Emulator 1, console: 5554
Emulator 1, adb: 5555
Emulator 2, console: 5556
Emulator 2, adb: 5557
and so on.

As shown, the emulator connected to adb on port 5555 is the same as the emulator
whose console listens on port 5554.

Once the server has set up connections to all devices, you can use adb commands to
access those devices. Because the server manages connections to devices and handles
commands from multiple adb clients, you can control any device from any client or
from a script.

Enable adb debugging on your device

To use adb with a device connected over USB, you must enable
USB debugging in the device system settings, under
Developer options. On Android 4.2 (API level 17) and higher, the Developer options screen
is hidden by default. To make it visible, enable
Developer options.

You can now connect your device with USB. You can verify that your device is
connected by executing adb devices from the
android_sdk/platform-tools/ directory. If connected,
you’ll see the device name listed as a “device.”

Note: When you connect a device running Android 4.2.2 (API
level 17) or higher, the system shows a dialog asking whether to accept an RSA key that allows
debugging through this computer. This security mechanism protects user devices because it ensures
that USB debugging and other adb commands cannot be executed unless you’re able to unlock the
device and acknowledge the dialog.

For more information about connecting to a device over USB, read
Run apps on a hardware device.

Connect to a device over Wi-Fi

Note: The instructions below do not apply to Wear devices running
Android 11 (API level 30). See the guide to
debugging a Wear OS app for
more information.

Android 11 (API level 30) and higher support deploying and debugging your app wirelessly from
your workstation using Android Debug Bridge (adb). For example, you can deploy your debuggable
app to multiple remote devices without physically connecting your device via USB. This
eliminates the need to deal with common USB connection issues, such as driver installation.

Before you begin using wireless debugging, do the following:

Ensure that your workstation and device are connected to the same wireless network.
Ensure that your device is running Android 11 (API level 30) or higher for phone or Android
13 (API level 33) or higher for TV and WearOS. For more information, see
Check & update your
Android version.
Ensure that you have the latest version of Android Studio installed. You can download it
here.
On your workstation, update to the latest version of the
SDK Platform Tools.

To use wireless debugging, you must pair your device to your workstation using a QR code or a
pairing code. Your workstation and device must be connected to the same wireless network. To
connect to your device, follow these steps:

Enable developer options
on your device.
Open Android Studio and select Pair Devices Using Wi-Fi from the run
configurations menu.

The Pair devices over Wi-Fi window pops up, as shown in figure 2.
On your device, tap Wireless debugging and pair your device:
1. To pair your device with a QR code, select Pair device with QR code and scan the
  QR code obtained from the Pair devices over Wi-Fi popup shown in figure 2.
2. To pair your device with a pairing code, select Pair device with pairing code from
  the Pair devices over Wi-Fi popup. On your device, select Pair using
  pairing code and take note of the six-digit code provided. Once your device appears on the
  Pair devices over Wi-Fi window, you can select Pair and enter the six-digit
  code shown on your device.
After your device is paired, you can attempt to deploy your app to your device.

To pair a different device or to forget the current device on your workstation, navigate to
Wireless debugging on your device. Tap your workstation name under Paired
devices and select Forget.
If you want to quickly turn on and off wireless debugging, you can utilize the
Quick settings developer tiles for
Wireless debugging, found in Developer Options > Quick settings developer
tiles.

Wi-Fi connection using command line

Alternatively, to connect to your device using command line without Android Studio, follow
these steps:

Enable developer options on your device, as described earlier.
Enable Wireless debugging on your device, as described earlier.
On your workstation, open a terminal window and navigate to
android_sdk/platform-tools.
Find your IP address, port number, and pairing code by selecting Pair device with
pairing code. Take note of the IP address, port number, and pairing code displayed on
the device.
On your workstation’s terminal, run adb pair ipaddr:port. Use the IP address
and port number from above.
When prompted, enter the pairing code, as shown below.

Resolve wireless connection issues

If you are having issues connecting to your device wirelessly, try the following
troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue.

Check whether your workstation and device meet the prerequisites

Check that the workstation and device meet the prerequisites listed at the
beginning of this section.

Check for other known issues

The following is a list of current known issues with wireless debugging in Android Studio and
how to resolve them:

Wi-Fi is not connecting: Some Wi-Fi networks, such as corporate Wi-Fi networks, may
block p2p connections and not let you connect over Wi-Fi. Try connecting with a cable or
another Wi-Fi network.
adb over Wi-Fi sometimes turns off automatically: This can happen if the device
either switches Wi-Fi networks or disconnects from the network. To resolve, re-connect
to the network.

Connect to a device over Wi-Fi (Android 10 and lower)

Note: The following instructions do not apply to Wear devices
running Android 10 (API level 29) or lower. See the guide about
debugging a Wear OS app for
more information.

adb usually communicates with the device over USB, but you can also use
adb over Wi-Fi. To connect a device running Android 10 (API level 29) or lower,
follow these initial steps over USB:

Connect your Android device and adb host computer
to a common Wi-Fi network.

Note: Beware that not all access points
are suitable. You might need to use an access point
whose firewall is configured properly to support adb.

Connect the device to the host computer with a USB cable.
Set the target device to listen for a TCP/IP connection on port 5555:
```
adb tcpip 5555
```
Disconnect the USB cable from the target device.
Find the IP address of the Android device. For example, on a Nexus device, you can find
the IP address at Settings > About tablet
(or About phone) > Status > IP address.
Connect to the device by its IP address:
```
adb connect device_ip_address:5555
```

Confirm that your host computer is connected to the target device:

$ adb devices
List of devices attached
device_ip_address:5555 device

Your device is now connected to adb.

If the adb connection to your device is lost:

Make sure that your host is still connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Android device.
Reconnect by executing the adb connect step again.
If that doesn’t work, reset your adb host:
```
adb kill-server
```
Then start over from the beginning.

Query for devices

Before issuing adb commands, it is helpful to know what device instances are connected
to the adb server. Generate a list of attached devices using the
devices command:

  adb devices -l

In response, adb prints this status information for each device:

Serial number: adb creates a string to uniquely identify the device
by its port number.
Here’s an example serial number: emulator-5554
State: The connection state of the device can be one of the following:
- offline: The device is not connected to adb or is not
  responding.
- device: The device is connected to the adb server. Note that
  this state does not imply that the Android system is fully booted and operational, because
  the device connects to adb
  while the system is still booting. After boot-up, this is the normal operational
  state of a device.
- no device: There is no device connected.
Description: If you include the -l option, the devices
command tells you what the device is. This information is helpful when you have multiple devices
connected so that you can tell them apart.

The following example shows the devices command and its output. There are three
devices running. The first two lines in the list are emulators, and the third line is a hardware
device that is attached to the computer.

$ adb devices
List of devices attached
emulator-5556 device product:sdk_google_phone_x86_64 model:Android_SDK_built_for_x86_64 device:generic_x86_64
emulator-5554 device product:sdk_google_phone_x86 model:Android_SDK_built_for_x86 device:generic_x86
0a388e93      device usb:1-1 product:razor model:Nexus_7 device:flo

Emulator not listed

The adb devices command has a corner-case command sequence that causes running
emulators to not show up in the adb devices output even though
the emulators are visible on your desktop. This happens when all of the following
conditions are true:

The adb server is not running.
You use the emulator command with the -port or
-ports option with an odd-numbered port value between 5554 and 5584.
The odd-numbered port you chose is not busy, so the port connection can be made at the
specified port number — or, if it is busy, the emulator switches to
another port that meets the requirements in 2.
You start the adb server after you start the emulator.

One way to avoid this situation is to let the emulator choose its own ports and to run no more
than 16 emulators at once. Another way is to always start the adb server before you
use the emulator command, as explained in the following examples.

Example 1: In the following command sequence, the adb devices command starts
the adb server, but the list of devices does not appear.

Stop the adb server and enter the following commands in the order shown. For the AVD
name, provide a valid AVD name from your system. To get a list of AVD names, type
emulator -list-avds. The emulator command is in the
android_sdk/tools directory.

$ adb kill-server
$ emulator -avd Nexus_6_API_25 -port 5555
$ adb devices

List of devices attached
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *

Example 2: In the following command sequence, adb devices displays the
list of devices because the adb server was started first.

To see the emulator in the adb devices output, stop the adb server, and
then start it again after using the emulator command and before using the
adb devices command, as follows:

$ adb kill-server
$ emulator -avd Nexus_6_API_25 -port 5557
$ adb start-server
$ adb devices

List of devices attached
emulator-5557 device

For more information about emulator command-line options,
see Command-Line
startup options.

Send commands to a specific device

If multiple devices are running, you must specify the target device
when you issue the adb command.

To specify the target, follow these steps:

Use the devices command to get the serial number of the target.
Once you have the serial number, use the
-s option with the adb commands to specify the serial number.
1. If you’re going to issue a lot of adb commands, you can set the
  $ANDROID_SERIAL environment variable to contain the serial number
  instead.
2. If you use both
  -s and $ANDROID_SERIAL, -s overrides
  $ANDROID_SERIAL.

In the following example, the list of attached devices is obtained, and then the serial
number of one of the devices is used to install the helloWorld.apk on that device:

$ adb devices
List of devices attached
emulator-5554 device
emulator-5555 device

$ adb -s emulator-5555 install helloWorld.apk

Note: If you issue a command without specifying a target device
when multiple devices are available, adb displays an error.

If you have multiple devices available but only one is an emulator,
use the -e option to send commands to the emulator. If there are multiple
devices but only one hardware device attached, use the -d option to send commands to
the hardware device.

Install an app

You can use adb to install an APK on an emulator or connected device
with the install command:

adb install path_to_apk

You must use the -t option with the install
command when you install a test APK. For more information,
see -t.

For more information about how to create an APK file that you can install on an emulator/device
instance, see Build and run your app.

Note: If you are using Android Studio, you do not need to use
adb directly to install your app on the emulator or device. Instead, Android Studio
handles the packaging and installation of the app for you.

Set up port forwarding

Use the forward command to set up arbitrary port forwarding, which
forwards requests on a specific host port to a different port on a device.
The following example sets up forwarding of host port 6100 to device port 7100:

adb forward tcp:6100 tcp:7100

The following example sets up forwarding of host port 6100 to local:logd:

adb forward tcp:6100 local:logd

This could be useful if you are trying to detemine what is being sent to a given port on the
device. All received data will be written to the system-logging daemon and displayed
in the device logs.

Copy files to and from a device

Use the pull and push commands to copy files to
and from a device. Unlike the install command,
which only copies an APK file to a specific location, the pull and push
commands let you copy arbitrary directories and files to any location in a device.

To copy a file or directory and its sub-directories from the device,
do the following:

adb pull remote local

To copy a file or directory and its sub-directories to the device,
do the following:

adb push local remote

Replace local and remote with the paths to
the target files/directory on your development machine (local) and on the
device (remote). For example:

adb push myfile.txt /sdcard/myfile.txt

Stop the adb server

In some cases, you might need to terminate the adb server process and then restart
it to resolve the problem. For example, this could be the case if adb does not respond to a command.

To stop the adb server, use the adb kill-server command.
You can then restart the server by issuing any other adb command.

Issue adb commands

Issue adb commands from a command line on your development machine or from a script using the
following:

adb [-d | -e | -s serial_number] command

If there’s only one emulator running or only one device connected, the adb command is
sent to that device by default. If multiple emulators are running and/or multiple devices are
attached, you need to use the -d, -e, or -s
option to specify the target device to which the command should be directed.

You can see a detailed list of all supported adb commands using the following
command:

adb --help

Issue shell commands

You can use the shell command to issue device commands through adb or to start an
interactive shell. To issue a single command, use the shell command like this:

adb [-d |-e | -s serial_number] shell shell_command

To start an interactive shell on a device, use the shell command like this:

adb [-d | -e | -s serial_number] shell

To exit an interactive shell, press Control+D or type exit.

Android provides most of the usual Unix command-line tools. For a list of available tools, use
the following command:

adb shell ls /system/bin

Help is available for most of the commands via the --help argument.
Many of the shell commands are provided by
toybox.
General help applicable to all toybox commands is available via toybox --help.

With Android Platform Tools 23 and higher, adb handles arguments the same way that
the ssh(1) command does. This change has fixed a lot of problems with
command injection
and makes it possible to safely execute commands that contain shell
metacharacters,
such as adb install Let\'sGo.apk. This change means that the interpretation
of any command that contains shell metacharacters has also changed.

For example, adb shell setprop key 'value' is now an error, because the
single quotes (') are swallowed by the local shell, and the device sees
adb shell setprop key value. To make the command work, quote twice,
once for the local shell and once for the remote shell, as you do with
ssh(1). For example, adb shell setprop key 'value'.

See also Logcat command-line tool, which is useful
for monitoring the system log.

Call activity manager

Within an adb shell, you can issue commands with the activity manager (am) tool to
perform various system actions, such as start an activity, force-stop a process,
broadcast an intent, modify the device screen properties, and more.

While in a shell, the am syntax is:

am command

You can also issue an activity manager command directly from adb
without entering a remote shell. For example:

adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW

Table 1. Available activity manager commands

Command
Description

start [options] intent

Start an Activity specified by
intent.

See the
Specification for intent arguments.

Options are:

-D: Enable debugging.
-W: Wait for launch to complete.
--start-profiler file: Start profiler and send results to
file.
-P file: Like --start-profiler,
but profiling stops when the app goes idle.
-R count: Repeat the activity launch count
times. Prior to each repeat,
the top activity will be finished.
-S: Force stop the target app before starting the activity.
--opengl-trace: Enable tracing of OpenGL functions.
--user user_id | current: Specify which user to run as; if not
specified, then run as the current user.

startservice [options] intent
Start the Service specified by
intent.

See the
Specification for intent arguments.

Options are:

--user user_id | current: Specify which user to run as. If not
specified, then run as the current user.

force-stop package
Force-stop everything associated with package.

kill [options] package
Kill all processes associated with package. This command kills only
processes that are safe to kill and that will not impact the user
experience.

Options are:

--user user_id | all | current: Specify which user’s processes to kill.
If not specified, then kill all users’ processes.

kill-all
Kill all background processes.

broadcast [options] intent
Issue a broadcast intent.

See the
Specification for intent arguments.

Options are:

[--user user_id | all | current]: Specify which user to send to. If not
specified, then send to all users.

instrument [options] component
Start monitoring with an
Instrumentation instance.
Typically the target component
is the form test_package/runner_class.

Options are:

-r: Print raw results (otherwise decode
report_key_streamresult). Use with
[-e perf true] to generate raw output for performance measurements.
-e name value: Set argument name
to value.
For test runners a common form is -e testrunner_flag value[,value...].
-p file: Write profiling data to file.
-w: Wait for instrumentation to finish before returning. Required for
test runners.
--no-window-animation: Turn off window animations while running.
--user user_id | current: Specify which user instrumentation runs in.
If not specified, run in the current user.

profile start process file
Start profiler on process, write results to file.

profile stop process
Stop profiler on process.

dumpheap [options] process file
Dump the heap of process, write to file.

Options are:

--user [user_id | current]: When supplying a process name,
specify the user of the process to dump. If not specified, the current user is used.
-n: Dump native heap instead of managed heap.

set-debug-app [options] package
Set app package to debug.

Options are:

-w: Wait for debugger when app starts.
--persistent: Retain this value.

clear-debug-app
Clear the package previous set for debugging with set-debug-app.

monitor [options]
Start monitoring for crashes or ANRs.

Options are:

--gdb: Start gdbserv on the given port at crash/ANR.

screen-compat {on | off} package
Control screen
compatibility mode of package.

display-size [reset | widthxheight]
Override device display size.
This command is helpful for testing your app across different screen sizes by mimicking a small
screen resolution using a device with a large screen, and vice versa.

Example:
am display-size 1280x800

display-density dpi
Override device display density.
This command is helpful for testing your app across different screen densities by mimicking a high-density
screen environment using a low-density screen, and vice versa.

Example:
am display-density 480

to-uri intent
Print the given intent specification as a URI.

See the
Specification for intent arguments.

to-intent-uri intent
Print the given intent specification as an intent: URI.

See the
Specification for intent arguments.

Specification for intent arguments

For activity manager commands that take an intent argument, you can
specify the intent with the following options:

Show all

-a action: Specify the intent action, such as android.intent.action.VIEW.
You can declare this only once.
-d data_uri: Specify the intent data URI, such as content://contacts/people/1.
You can declare this only once.
-t mime_type: Specify the intent MIME type, such as image/png.
You can declare this only once.
-c category: Specify an intent category, such as android.intent.category.APP_CONTACTS.
-n component: Specify the component name with package name prefix to create an explicit intent, such
as com.example.app/.ExampleActivity.
-f flags: Add flags to the intent, as supported by
setFlags().
--esn extra_key: Add a null extra. This option is not supported for URI intents.
-e | --es extra_key extra_string_value: Add string data as a key-value pair.
--ez extra_key extra_boolean_value: Add boolean data as a key-value pair.
--ei extra_key extra_int_value: Add integer data as a key-value pair.
--el extra_key extra_long_value: Add long data as a key-value pair.
--ef extra_key extra_float_value: Add float data as a key-value pair.
--eu extra_key extra_uri_value: Add URI data as a key-value pair.
--ecn extra_key extra_component_name_value: Add a component name, which is converted and passed as
a ComponentName object.
--eia extra_key extra_int_value[,extra_int_value...]: Add an array of integers.
--ela extra_key extra_long_value[,extra_long_value...]: Add an array of longs.
--efa extra_key extra_float_value[,extra_float_value...]: Add an array of floats.
--grant-read-uri-permission: Include the flag FLAG_GRANT_READ_URI_PERMISSION.
--grant-write-uri-permission: Include the flag FLAG_GRANT_WRITE_URI_PERMISSION.
--debug-log-resolution: Include the flag FLAG_DEBUG_LOG_RESOLUTION.
--exclude-stopped-packages: Include the flag FLAG_EXCLUDE_STOPPED_PACKAGES.
--include-stopped-packages: Include the flag FLAG_INCLUDE_STOPPED_PACKAGES.
--activity-brought-to-front: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_BROUGHT_TO_FRONT.
--activity-clear-top: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP.
--activity-clear-when-task-reset: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_WHEN_TASK_RESET.
--activity-exclude-from-recents: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_EXCLUDE_FROM_RECENTS.
--activity-launched-from-history: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_LAUNCHED_FROM_HISTORY.
--activity-multiple-task: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_MULTIPLE_TASK.
--activity-no-animation: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_ANIMATION.
--activity-no-history: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_HISTORY.
--activity-no-user-action: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_USER_ACTION.
--activity-previous-is-top: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_PREVIOUS_IS_TOP.
--activity-reorder-to-front: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_REORDER_TO_FRONT.
--activity-reset-task-if-needed: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_RESET_TASK_IF_NEEDED.
--activity-single-top: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_SINGLE_TOP.
--activity-clear-task: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TASK.
--activity-task-on-home: Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_TASK_ON_HOME.
--receiver-registered-only: Include the flag FLAG_RECEIVER_REGISTERED_ONLY.
--receiver-replace-pending: Include the flag FLAG_RECEIVER_REPLACE_PENDING.
--selector: Requires the use of -d and -t options to set the intent data and
type.
URI component package: You can directly specify a URI, package name, and component name when not qualified
by one of the preceding options. When an argument is unqualified, the tool assumes the argument
is a URI if it contains a “:” (colon). The tools assumes the argument is a component name if
it contains a “/” (forward-slash); otherwise it assumes the argument is a package name.

Call package manager (`pm`)

Within an adb shell, you can issue commands with the package manager (pm) tool to
perform actions and queries on app packages installed on the device.

While in a shell, the pm syntax is:

pm command

You can also issue a package manager command directly from adb
without entering a remote shell. For example:

adb shell pm uninstall com.example.MyApp

Table 2. Available package manager commands

Command
Description

list packages [options] filter
Print all packages, optionally only
those whose package name contains the text in filter.

Options:

-f: See associated file.
-d: Filter to only show disabled packages.
-e: Filter to only show enabled packages.
-s: Filter to only show system packages.
-3: Filter to only show third-party packages.
-i: See the installer for the packages.
-u: Include uninstalled packages.
--user user_id: The user space to query.

list permission-groups
Print all known permission groups.

list permissions [options] group
Print all known permissions, optionally only
those in group.

Options:

-g: Organize by group.
-f: Print all information.
-s: Short summary.
-d: Only list dangerous permissions.
-u: List only the permissions users will see.

list instrumentation [options]
List all test packages.

Options:

-f: List the APK file for the test package.
target_package: List test packages for only this app.

list features
Print all features of the system.

list libraries
Print all the libraries supported by the current device.

list users
Print all users on the system.

path package
Print the path to the APK of the given package.

install [options] path
Install a package, specified by path, to the system.

Options:

-r: Reinstall an existing app, keeping its data.
-t: Allow test APKs to be installed. Gradle generates a test APK when
you have only run or debugged your app or have used the Android Studio Build > Build
APK command. If the APK is built using a developer preview SDK, you must include the
-t option
with the install command if you are installing a test APK.
-i installer_package_name: Specify the installer package name.
--install-location location: Set the install location
using one of the following values:
- 0: Use the default install location.
- 1: Install on internal device storage.
- 2: Install on external media.
-f: Install package on the internal system memory.
-d: Allow version code downgrade.
-g: Grant all permissions listed in the app manifest.
--fastdeploy: Quickly update an installed package by only updating the parts of
the APK that changed.
--incremental: Installs enough of the APK to launch the app
while streaming the remaining data in the background. To use this feature, you must sign the
APK, create an
APK Signature Scheme v4 file,
and place this file in the same directory as the APK. This feature is only supported on
certain devices. This option forces adb to use the feature or fail if it is not
supported, with verbose information on why it failed. Append the --wait option to
wait until the APK is fully installed before granting access to the APK.

--no-incremental prevents adb from using this feature.

uninstall [options] package
Removes a package from the system.

Options:

-k: Keep the data and cache directories after package removal.
--user user_id: Specifies the user for whom the package is removed.
--versionCode version_code: Only uninstalls if the app has the given version code.

clear package
Delete all data associated with a package.

enable package_or_component
Enable the given package or component (written as “package/class”).

disable package_or_component
Disable the given package or component (written as “package/class”).

disable-user [options] package_or_component

Options:

--user user_id: The user to disable.

grant package_name permission
Grant a permission to an app. On devices running Android 6.0 (API level 23)
and higher, the permission can be any permission declared in the app manifest. On devices
running Android 5.1 (API level 22) and lower, must be an optional permission defined by the
app.

revoke package_name permission
Revoke a permission from an app. On devices running Android 6.0 (API level
23) and higher, the permission can be any permission declared in the app manifest. On devices
running Android 5.1 (API level 22) and lower, must be an optional permission defined by the
app.

set-install-location location
Change the default install location. Location values:

0: Auto: Let system decide the best location.
1: Internal: Install on internal device storage.
2: External: Install on external media.

Note: This is only intended for debugging. Using this can cause
apps to break and other undesireable behavior.

get-install-location
Returns the current install location. Return values:

0 [auto]: Let system decide the best location
1 [internal]: Install on internal device storage
2 [external]: Install on external media

set-permission-enforced permission [true | false]
Specify whether the given permission should be enforced.

trim-caches desired_free_space
Trim cache files to reach the given free space.

create-user user_name
Create a new user with the given user_name,
printing the new user identifier of the user.

remove-user user_id
Remove the user with the given user_id,
deleting all data associated with that user

get-max-users
Print the maximum number of users supported by the device.

get-app-links [options] [package]

Print the domain verification state for the given package, or for all
packages if none is specified. State codes are defined as follows:

none: nothing has been recorded for this domain
verified: the domain has been successfully verified
approved: force-approved, usually through shell
denied: force-denied, usually through shell
migrated: preserved verification from a legacy response
restored: preserved verification from a user data restore
legacy_failure: rejected by a legacy verifier, unknown reason
system_configured: automatically approved by the device config
>= 1024: custom error code, which is specific to the device verifier

Options are:

--user user_id: include user selections. Include all domains,
not just autoVerify ones.

reset-app-links [options] [package]

Reset domain verification state for the given package, or for all
packages if none is specified.

package: the package to reset, or “all” to reset all packages

Options are:

--user user_id: include user selections. Include all domains,
not just autoVerify ones.

verify-app-links [--re-verify] [package]

Broadcast a verification request for the given package, or for all
packages if none is specified. Only sends if the package has previously
not recorded a response.

--re-verify: send even if the package has recorded a response

set-app-links [--package package] state domains

Manually set the state of a domain for a package. The domain must be
declared by the package as autoVerify for this to work. This command
will not report a failure for domains that could not be applied.

--package package: the package to set, or “all” to set all packages
state: the code to set the domains to. Valid values are:
- STATE_NO_RESPONSE (0): reset as if no response was ever recorded.
- STATE_SUCCESS (1): treat domain as successfully verified by domain
  verification agent. Note that the domain verification agent can
  override this.
- STATE_APPROVED (2): treat domain as always approved, preventing the
  domain verification agent from changing it.
- STATE_DENIED (3): treat domain as always denied, preventing the domain
  verification agent from changing it.
domains: space-separated list of domains to change, or “all” to
change every domain.

set-app-links-user-selection --user user_id [--package package] enabled domains

Manually set the state of a host user selection for a package. The domain
must be declared by the package for this to work. This command will not
report a failure for domains that could not be applied.

--user user_id: the user to change selections for
--package package: the package to set
enabled: whether to approve the domain
domains: space-separated list of domains to change, or “all” to
change every domain

set-app-links-user-selection --user user_id [--package package] enabled domains

--user user_id: the user to change selections for
--package package: the package to set
enabled: whether to approve the domain
domains: space-separated list of domains to change, or “all” to
change every domain

set-app-links-allowed --user user_id [--package package] allowed

Toggle the auto-verified link-handling setting for a package.

--user user_id: the user to change selections for
--package package: the package to set, or “all” to set all
packages; packages will be reset if no package is specified
allowed: true to allow the package to open auto-verified links,
false to disable

get-app-link-owners --user user_id [--package package] domains

Print the owners for a specific domain for a given user in low- to high-priority order.

--user user_id: the user to query for
--package package: optionally also print for all web domains
declared by a package, or “all” to print all packages
domains: space-separated list of domains to query for

Call device policy manager (`dpm`)

To help you develop and test your device management apps, issue
commands to the device policy manager (dpm) tool. Use the tool to control the active
admin app or change a policy’s status data on the device.

While in a shell, the dpmsyntax is:

dpm command

You can also issue a device policy manager command directly from adb
without entering a remote shell:

adb shell dpm command

Table 3. Available device policy manager commands

Command
Description

set-active-admin [options] component

Sets component as active admin.

Options are:

--user user_id: Specify the target user. You can also pass
--user current to select the current user.

set-profile-owner [options] component

Set component as active admin and its package as profile owner for an existing user.

Options are:

--user user_id: Specify the target user. You can
also pass --user current to select the current user.
--name name: Specify the human-readable organization name.

set-device-owner [options] component

Set component as active admin and its package as device owner.

Options are:

--user user_id: Specify the target user. You can also pass
--user current to select the current user.
--name name: Specify the human-readable organization name.

remove-active-admin [options] component

Disable an active admin. The app must declare
android:testOnly
in the manifest. This command also removes device and profile owners.

Options are:

--user user_id: Specify the target user. You can also pass
--user current to select the current user.

clear-freeze-period-record

Clear the device’s record of previously set freeze periods for system OTA updates. This is useful
to avoid the device scheduling restrictions when developing apps that manage freeze periods. See
Manage system updates.

Supported on devices running Android 9.0 (API level 28) and higher.

force-network-logs

Force the system to make any existing network logs ready for retrieval by a DPC. If there are
connection or DNS logs available, the DPC receives the
onNetworkLogsAvailable()
callback. See Network activity logging.

This command is rate-limited. Supported on devices running Android 9.0 (API level 28) and higher.

force-security-logs

Force the system to make any existing security logs available to the DPC. If there are logs
available, the DPC receives the
onSecurityLogsAvailable()
callback. See Log enterprise device
activity.

This command is rate-limited. Supported on devices running Android 9.0 (API level 28) and higher.

Take a screenshot

The screencap command is a shell utility for taking a screenshot of a device
display.

While in a shell, the screencap syntax is:

screencap filename

To use screencap from the command line, enter the following:

adb shell screencap /sdcard/screen.png

Here’s an example screenshot session, using the adb shell to capture the screenshot
and the pull command to download the file from the device:

$ adb shell
shell@ $ screencap /sdcard/screen.png
shell@ $ exit
$ adb pull /sdcard/screen.png

Record a video

The screenrecord command is a shell utility for recording the display of devices
running Android 4.4 (API level 19) and higher. The utility records screen activity to an MPEG-4
file. You can use this file to create promotional or training videos or for debugging and testing.

In a shell, use the following syntax:

screenrecord [options] filename

To use screenrecord from the command line, enter the following:

adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/demo.mp4

Stop the screen recording by pressing Control+C (Command+C on macOS). Otherwise, the recording
stops automatically at three minutes or the time limit set by --time-limit.

To begin recording your device screen, run the screenrecord command to record
the video. Then, run the pull command to download the video from the device to the host
computer. Here’s an example recording session:

$ adb shell
shell@ $ screenrecord --verbose /sdcard/demo.mp4
(press Control + C to stop)
shell@ $ exit
$ adb pull /sdcard/demo.mp4

The screenrecord utility can record at any supported resolution and bit rate you
request, while retaining the aspect ratio of the device display. The utility records at the native
display resolution and orientation by default, with a maximum length of three minutes.

Limitations of the screenrecord utility:

Audio is not recorded with the video file.
Video recording is not available for devices running Wear OS.
Some devices might not be able to record at their native display resolution.
If you encounter problems with screen recording, try using a lower screen resolution.
Rotation of the screen during recording is not supported. If the screen does rotate during
recording, some of the screen is cut off in the recording.

Table 4. screenrecord options

Options
Description

--help

Display command syntax and options

--size widthxheight

Set the video size: 1280x720. The default value is the device’s native
display resolution (if supported), 1280×720 if not. For best results, use a size supported
by your device’s Advanced Video Coding (AVC) encoder.

--bit-rate rate
Set the video bit rate for the video, in megabits per second. The default value is 4Mbps.
You can increase the bit rate to improve video quality, but doing so results in larger movie
files. The following example sets the recording bit rate to 6Mbps:

screenrecord --bit-rate 6000000 /sdcard/demo.mp4

--time-limit time
Set the maximum recording time, in seconds. The default and maximum value is 180
(3 minutes).

--rotate
Rotate the output 90 degrees. This feature is experimental.

--verbose
Display log information on the command-line screen. If you do not set this option,
the utility does not display any information while running.

Read ART profiles for apps

Starting in Android 7.0 (API level 24), the Android Runtime (ART) collects execution profiles for
installed apps, which are used to optimize app performance. Examine the collected profiles to
understand which methods are executed frequently and which classes are used during app startup.

Note: It is only possible to retrieve the execution profile
filename if you have root access to the file system, for example, on an emulator.

To produce a text form of the profile information, use the following command:

adb shell cmd package dump-profiles package

To retrieve the file produced, use:

adb pull /data/misc/profman/package.prof.txt

Reset test devices

If you test your app across multiple test devices, it may be useful to reset your device between
tests, for example, to remove user data and reset the test environment. You can perform a factory
reset of a test device running Android 10 (API level 29) or higher using the
testharness adb shell command, as shown:

adb shell cmd testharness enable

When restoring the device using testharness, the device automatically backs up the RSA
key that allows debugging through the current workstation in a persistent location. That is, after
the device is reset, the workstation can continue to debug and issue adb commands to
the device without manually registering a new key.

Additionally, to help make it easier and more secure to keep testing your app, using the
testharness to restore a device also changes the following device settings:

The device sets up certain system settings so that initial device setup wizards do not appear.
That is, the device enters a state from which you can quickly install, debug, and test your app.
Settings:
- Disables lock screen.
- Disables emergency alerts.
- Disables auto-sync for accounts.
- Disables automatic system updates.
Other:
- Disables preinstalled security apps.

If your app needs to detect and adapt to the default settings of the testharness
command, use the

ActivityManager.isRunningInUserTestHarness().

sqlite

sqlite3 starts the sqlite command-line program for examining SQLite databases.
It includes commands such as .dump to print the contents of a table and
.schema to print the SQL CREATE statement for an existing table.
You can also execute SQLite commands from the command line, as shown:

$ adb -s emulator-5554 shell
$ sqlite3 /data/data/com.example.app/databases/rssitems.db
SQLite version 3.3.12
Enter ".help" for instructions

Note: It is only possible to access a SQLite database
if you have root access to the file system, for example, on an emulator.

For more information, see the sqlite3 command line documentation.

Android Debug Bridge (adb) | Android Studio | Android Developers

How adb works

Enable adb debugging on your device

Connect to a device over Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi connection using command line

Resolve wireless connection issues

Check whether your workstation and device meet the prerequisites

Check for other known issues

Connect to a device over Wi-Fi (Android 10 and lower)

Query for devices

Emulator not listed

Send commands to a specific device

Install an app

Set up port forwarding

Copy files to and from a device

Stop the adb server

Issue adb commands

Issue shell commands

Call activity manager

Specification for intent arguments

Call package manager (pm)

Call device policy manager (dpm)

Take a screenshot

Record a video

Read ART profiles for apps

Reset test devices

sqlite

Call package manager (`pm`)

Call device policy manager (`dpm`)