ADB Debugging

adb devices
Prints a list of all attached emulator/device

adb devices
In response, return serial number and state
e4b25377

device

emulator-5554 device

Adb forward
forward socket connections
adb forward <local> <remote>
adb forward tcp:8000 tcp:9000 set up forwarding of host port 8000 to emulator/device port 9000
Prerequisites: Enable USB debugging on thee device.

adb kill-server
terminates the adb server process

adb kill-server
Notes: kill the server if it is running. (terminal adb.exe process)

Package Manager

adb install
Pushes an Android application (specified as a full path to an .apk file) to an emulator/device.
adb install [option] <path>

adb install test.apk

adb install -l test.apk forward lock application
adb install -r test.apk replace existing application
adb install -t test.apk allow test packages
adb install -s test.apk install application on sdcard
adb install -d test.apk allow version code downgrade
adb install -p test.apk partial application install

adb uninstall
Removes a package from the emulator/device.
adb uninstall [options] <PACKAGE>

adb uninstall com.test.app

adb uninstall -k com.test.app Keep the data and cache directories
around after package removal

adb shell pm list packages

Prints all packages, optionally only those whose package name contains the text in <FILTER>.
adb shell pm list packages [options] <FILTER>

adb shell pm list packages

adb shell pm list packages -f See their associated file.
adb shell pm list packages -d Filter to only show disabled
packages.

adb shell pm list packages -e Filter to only show enabled

packages.

adb shell pm list packages -s Filter to only show system packages.

adb shell pm list packages -3 Filter to only show third party
packages.

adb shell pm list packages -i See the installer for the packages.
adb shell pm list packages -u Also include uninstalled packages.
adb shell pm list packages --user <USER_ID> The user space to
query.

adb shell pm path

Print the path to the APK of the given <PACKAGE>.
adb shell pm path <PACKAGE>

adb shell pm path com.android.phone

package:/system/priv-app/TeleService/TeleService.apk

adb shell pm clear

Deletes all data associated with a package.
adb shell pm clear <PACKAGE>

adb shell pm clear com.test.abc

Notes: clearing app data, cache

File Manager

adb pull
Download a specified file from an emulator/device to your computer.
adb pull <remote> [local]

adb pull /sdcard/demo.mp4

download /sdcard/demo.mp4 to <android-sdk-path>/platform-tools directory.

adb pull /sdcard/demo.mp4 e:\

download /sdcard/demo.mp4 to drive E.

adb push
Upload a specified file from your computer to an emulator/device.

adb push <local> <remote>

adb push test.apk /sdcard

Copies <android-sdk-path>/platform-tools/test.apk to /sdcard directory.

adb push d:\test.apk /sdcard

Copies d:\test.apk to /sdcard directory.

adb shell ls
list directory contents
ls [options] <directory>
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.

ls
ls -a do not hide entries starting with
ls -i print index number of each file
ls -s print size of each file, in blocks
ls -n list numeric UIDs and GIDs
ls -R list subdirectories recursively
Notes: press Ctrl-C to stop

adb shell ls
list directory contents
ls [options] <directory>
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.

ls
ls -a do not hide entries starting with
ls -i print index number of each file
ls -s print size of each file, in blocks
ls -n list numeric UIDs and GIDs
ls -R list subdirectories recursively
Notes: press Ctrl-C to stop

adb shell cd
change directory
cd <directory>
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.

cd /system

adb shell rm
remove files or directories
rm [options] <files or directory>
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.
rm /sdcard/test.txt

rm -f /sdcard/test.txt force remove without prompt

rm -r /sdcard/tmp remove the contents of directories recursively
rm -d /sdcard/tmp remove directory, even if it is a non-empty
directory
Notes: rm -d equal rmdir command

rm -i /sdcard/test.txt prompt before any removal

adb shell mkdir

make directories
mkdir [options] <directory name>

mkdir /sdcard/tmp
mkdir -m 777 /sdcard/tmp set permission mode
mkdir -p /sdcard/tmp/sub1/sub2 create parent directories as
needed

adb shell touch

create empty file or change file timestamps
touch [options] <file>
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.

touch /sdcard/tmp/test.txt
ls /sdcard/tmp

adb shell pwd

print current working directory location.

pwd

adb shell cp
copy files and directories
cp [options] <source> <dest>
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.
cp /sdcard/test.txt /sdcard/demo.txt

adb shell mv
move or rename files

mv [options] <source> <dest>

STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.

mv /sdcard/tmp /system/tmp move

mv /sdcard/tmp /sdcard/test rename

Network

db shell netstat
network statistics
netstat
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.

netstat

adb shell ping

test the connection and latency between two network connection.
ping [-aAbBdDfhLnOqrRUvV] [-c count] [-i interval] [-I interface]
[-m mark] [-M pmtudisc_option] [-l preload] [-p pattern] [-Q tos]
[-s packetsize] [-S sndbuf] [-t ttl] [-T timestamp_option]
[-w deadline] [-W timeout] [hop1 ...] destination
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.

ping www.google.com
Notes: press Ctrl-C to stop ping

ping www.google.com -c 4

adb shell netcfg

configure and manage network connections via profiles
netcfg [<interface> {dhcp|up|down}]
STEP 1.

adb shell

STEP 2.

netcfg

adb shell ip
show, manipulate routing, devices, policy routing and tunnels
ip [ OPTIONS ] OBJECT
OBJECT := { link | addr | addrlabel | route | rule | neigh | ntable |tunnel | tuntap | maddr | mroute |
mrule | monitor | xfrm |netns | l2tp }
OPTIONS := { -V[ersion] | -s[tatistics] | -d[etails] | -r[esolve] |-f[amily] { inet | inet6 | ipx | dnet | link } |l[oops] { maximum-addr-flush-attempts } |-o[neline] | -t[imestamp] | -b[atch] [filename] |-rc[vbuf] [size]}
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.

ip -f inet addr show wlan0 show WiFi IP Address

Logcat

adb logcat
Prints log data to the screen.

adb logcat [option] [filter-specs]

adb logcat
Notes: press Ctrl-C to stop monitor

adb logcat *:V lowest priority, filter to only show Verbose level
adb logcat *:D filter to only show Debug level
adb logcat *:I filter to only show Info level
adb logcat *:W filter to only show Warning level
adb logcat *:E filter to only show Error level
adb logcat *:F filter to only show Fatal level
adb logcat *:S Silent, highest priority, on which nothing is ever
printed

adb logcat -b <Buffer>

adb logcat -b radio View the buffer that contains radio/telephony

related messages.

adb logcat -b event View the buffer containing events-related

messages.

adb logcat -b main default

adb logcat -c Clears the entire log and exits.
adb logcat -d Dumps the log to the screen and exits.
adb logcat -f test.logs Writes log message output to test.logs .
adb logcat -g Prints the size of the specified log buffer and exits.
adb logcat -n <count> Sets the maximum number of rotated logs to
<count>.

Notes: The default value is 4. Requires the -r option.

adb logcat -r <kbytes> Rotates the log file every <kbytes> of

output.

Notes: The default value is 16. Requires the -f option.

adb logcat -s Sets the default filter spec to silent.

adb logcat -v <format>

adb shell dumpsys

dumps system data
adb shell dumpsys [options]

adb shell dumpsys

adb shell dumpsys meminfo

adb shell dumpsys battery

Notes: A mobile device with Developer Options enabled running Android 5.0 or higher.

adb shell dumpsys batterystats collects battery data from your

device

Notes: Battery Historian converts that data into an HTML visualization. STEP 1 adb shell dumpsys
batterystats > batterystats.txt STEP 2 python historian.py batterystats.txt > batterystats.html

adb shell dumpsys batterystats --reset erases old collection

data

adb shell dumpsys activity

adb shell dumpsys gfxinfo com.android.phone measuring com.android.phone ui performance

adb shell dumpstate

dumps state

adb shell dumpstate

adb shell dumpstate > state.logs dumps state to a file

Screenshot

adb shell screencap

taking a screenshot of a device display.
adb shell screencap <filename>

adb shell screencap /sdcard/screen.png

download the file from the device

adb pull /sdcard/screen.png

adb shell screenrecord

recording the display of devices running Android 4.4 (API level 19) and higher.

adb shell screenrecord [options] <filename>

adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/demo.mp4

(press Ctrl-C to stop recording)
download the file from the device

adb pull /sdcard/demo.mp4

Notes: Stop the screen recording by pressing Ctrl-C, otherwise the recording stops automatically at
three minutes or the time limit set by --time-limit.

adb shell screenrecord --size <WIDTHxHEIGHT>

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

adb shell screenrecord --bit-rate <RATE>

Sets 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 5Mbps: adb shell screenrecord --bit-rate 5000000
/sdcard/demo.mp4

adb shell screenrecord --time-limit <TIME>

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

adb shell screenrecord --rotate

Rotates the output 90 degrees. This feature is experimental.

adb shell screenrecord --verbose

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

System

adb root
restarts the adbd daemon with root permissions

adb root
Notes: adbd cannot run as root in production builds (test in emulator)

adb sideload
flashing/restoring Android update.zip packages.

adb sideload <update.zip>

Notes: adb reboot sideload [Android M+]

db shell ps

print process status

ps [options]
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.

ps
ps -p

adb shell top

display top CPU processes
top [options]
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.

top
Notes: (press Ctrl-C to stop monitor)
top -t Show threads instead of processes.

adb shell getprop

get property via the android property service
getprop [options]
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.

getprop
getprop ro.build.version.sdk
getprop ro.chipname
getprop | grep adb
See Also adb shell setprop

adb shell setprop

set property service
setprop <key> <value>
STEP 1.

adb shell
STEP 2.

setprop service.adb.tcp.port 5555

See Also adb shell getprop