ADB Commands

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Adb is usually located in:
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#Windows
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C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Android\sdk\platform-tools\adb.exe
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​
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#MacOS
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/Users/<username>/Library/Android/sdk/platform-tools/adb
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Information obtained from: http://adbshell.com/​
Connection
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adb devices
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This will list the connected devices; if "unathorised" appears, this means that you have to unblock your mobile and accept the connection.
This indicates to the device that it has to start and adb server in port 5555:
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adb tcpip 5555
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Connect to that IP and that Port:
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adb connect <IP>:<PORT>
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If you get an error like the following in a Virtual Android software (like Genymotion):
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adb server version (41) doesn't match this client (36); killing...
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It's because you are trying to connect to an ADB server with a different version. Just try to find the adb binary the software is using (go to C:\Program Files\Genymobile\Genymotion and search for adb.exe)
Several devices
Whenever you find several devices connected to your machine you will need to specify in which one you want to run the adb command.
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adb devices
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List of devices attached
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10.10.10.247:42135	offline
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127.0.0.1:5555	device
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adb -s 127.0.0.1:5555 shell   
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x86_64:/ # whoami                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
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root
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Port Tunneling
In case the adb port is only accessible from localhost in the android device but you have access via SSH, you can forward the port 5555 and connect via adb:
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ssh -i ssh_key [email protected] -L 5555:127.0.0.1:5555 -p 2222
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adb connect 127.0.0.1:5555
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Packet Manager
Install/Uninstall
adb install [option] <path>
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adb install test.apk
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adb install -l test.apk forward lock application
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adb install -r test.apk replace existing application
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adb install -t test.apk allow test packages
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adb install -s test.apk install application on sdcard
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adb install -d test.apk allow version code downgrade
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adb install -p test.apk partial application install
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adb uninstall [options] <PACKAGE>
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adb uninstall com.test.app
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adb uninstall -k com.test.app Keep the data and cache directories around after package removal.
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Packages
Prints all packages, optionally only those whose package name contains the text in <FILTER>.
adb shell pm list packages [options] <FILTER-STR>
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adb shell pm list packages <FILTER-STR>
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adb shell pm list packages -f <FILTER-STR> #See their associated file.
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adb shell pm list packages -d <FILTER-STR> #Filter to only show disabled packages.
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adb shell pm list packages -e <FILTER-STR> #Filter to only show enabled packages.
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adb shell pm list packages -s <FILTER-STR> #Filter to only show system packages.
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adb shell pm list packages -3 <FILTER-STR> #Filter to only show third party packages.
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adb shell pm list packages -i <FILTER-STR> #See the installer for the packages.
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adb shell pm list packages -u <FILTER-STR> #Also include uninstalled packages.
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adb shell pm list packages --user <USER_ID> <FILTER-STR> #The user space to query.
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adb shell pm path <PACKAGE>
Print the path to the APK of the given .
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adb shell pm path com.android.phone
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adb shell pm clear <PACKAGE>
Delete all data associated with a package.
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adb shell pm clear com.test.abc
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File Manager
adb pull <remote> [local]
Download a specified file from an emulator/device to your computer.
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adb pull /sdcard/demo.mp4 ./
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adb push <local> <remote>
Upload a specified file from your computer to an emulator/device.
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adb push test.apk /sdcard
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Screencapture/Screenrecord
adb shell screencap <filename>
Taking a screenshot of a device display.
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adb shell screencap /sdcard/screen.png
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adb shell screenrecord [options] <filename>
Recording the display of devices running Android 4.4 (API level 19) and higher.
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adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/demo.mp4
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adb shell screenrecord --size <WIDTHxHEIGHT>
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adb shell screenrecord --bit-rate <RATE>
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adb shell screenrecord --time-limit <TIME> #Sets the maximum recording time, in seconds. The default and maximum value is 180 (3 minutes).
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adb shell screenrecord --rotate # Rotates 90 degrees
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adb shell screenrecord --verbose
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(press Ctrl-C to stop recording)
You can download the files (images and videos) using _adb pull_
Shell
adb shell
Get a shell inside the device
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adb shell
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adb shell <CMD>
Execute a command inside the device
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adb shell ls
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pm
The following commands are executed inside of a shell
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pm list packages #List installed packages
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pm path <package name> #Get the path to the apk file of tha package
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am start [<options>] #Start an activity. Whiout options you can see the help menu
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am startservice [<options>] #Start a service. Whiout options you can see the help menu
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am broadcast [<options>] #Send a broadcast. Whiout options you can see the help menu
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input [text|keyevent] #Send keystrokes to device
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Processes
If you want to get the PID of the process of your application you can execute:
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adb shell ps
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And search for your application
Or you can do
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adb shell pidof com.your.application
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And it will print the PID of the application
System
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adb root
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Restarts the adbd daemon with root permissions. Then, you have to conenct again to the ADB server and you will be root (if available)
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adb sideload <update.zip>
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flashing/restoring Android update.zip packages.
Logs
Logcat
To filter the messages of only one application, get the PID of the application and use grep (linux/macos) or findstr (windows) to filter the output of logcat:
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adb logcat | grep 4526
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adb logcat | findstr 4526
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adb logcat [option] [filter-specs]
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adb logcat
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Notes: press Ctrl-C to stop monitor
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adb logcat *:V lowest priority, filter to only show Verbose level
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adb logcat *:D filter to only show Debug level
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adb logcat *:I filter to only show Info level
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adb logcat *:W filter to only show Warning level
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adb logcat *:E filter to only show Error level
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adb logcat *:F filter to only show Fatal level
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adb logcat *:S Silent, highest priority, on which nothing is ever printed
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adb logcat -b <Buffer>
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adb logcat -b radio View the buffer that contains radio/telephony related messages.
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adb logcat -b event View the buffer containing events-related messages.
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adb logcat -b main default
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adb logcat -c Clears the entire log and exits.
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adb logcat -d Dumps the log to the screen and exits.
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adb logcat -f test.logs Writes log message output to test.logs .
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adb logcat -g Prints the size of the specified log buffer and exits.
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adb logcat -n <count> Sets the maximum number of rotated logs to <count>. 
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dumpsys
dumps system data
adb shell dumpsys [options]
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adb shell dumpsys
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adb shell dumpsys meminfo
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adb shell dumpsys battery
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Notes: A mobile device with Developer Options enabled running Android 5.0 or higher.
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adb shell dumpsys batterystats collects battery data from your device
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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
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adb shell dumpsys batterystats --reset erases old collection data
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adb shell dumpsys activity
Backup
Backup an android device from adb.
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adb backup [-apk] [-shared] [-system] [-all] -f file.backup
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# -apk -- Include APK from Third partie's applications
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# -shared -- Include removable storage
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# -system -- Include system Applciations
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# -all -- Include all the applications
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​
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adb shell pm list packages -f -3      #List packages
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adb backup -f myapp_backup.ab -apk com.myapp # backup on one device
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adb restore myapp_backup.ab                  # restore to the same or any other device
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If you want to inspect the content of the backup:
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( printf "\x1f\x8b\x08\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00" ; tail -c +25 myapp_backup.ab ) |  tar xfvz -
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