Android Cheat Sheet
Android Debug Bridge (ADB)
What is Android Debug Bridge?
ADB is a powerful command-line tool for issuing commands to your Android device. You
can use it to generate bug reports, view info about a device, and install standalone Android
packages. ADB offers many of the same advantages as SSH but it shouldn‘t be used for
currently deployed devices.
Most common ADB commands
The following overview lists the most common ADB shell commands for Android.
Connectivity
adb start-server
Start the adb server on your computer. Will be executed automatically.
adb kill-server
Close local adb server on your computer.
adb connect <ip>
e.g.: adb connect 192.168.0.10
Connect to a specific device via IP or device name
adb devices
Lists all devices in the network with enabled adb client.
adb disconnect
Disconnect from a specific device.
Android Cheat Sheet
Android Debug Bridge (ADB)
File Handling
adb push <local filepath> <device filepath>
e.g.: adb push mybootanimation.zip /oem/media/bootanimation.zip
Transfers a local file from your computer to the specified filepath on the device
adb pull <device filepath> <local filepath>
Transfers a file from the device to your local computer
APK Handling
adb install <apk path>
e.g.: adb install myapplication.apk
Installs a local apk on the connected device
adb uninstall <packagename>
Uninstalls the specified package from the device
Debugging
adb logcat
Prints Android logs in your local shell. Can also be piped into a file.
adb bugreport
Creates a comprehensive bugreport from the connected device and saves it to your
computer.
Android Cheat Sheet
Android Debug Bridge (ADB)
Device Handling
adb root
Gives you additional right. For example to access the /system partition on the device.
adb remount
Remounts the /system partition to be writable
adb reboot
Reboots the connected device
adb shell
Connects you to the shell of the connected device
Device Shell
adb shell input text <any text>
Emulates keystrokes on the device. No need to type things out on your device. Just copy and
paste it into your shell.
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