ADB CHEATSHEET

ADB (Android Debug Bridge) 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, and it 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: (See documentation)

• 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.

Basic commands

Command	Uses
adb devices	lists connected devices
adb root	restarts adbd with root permissions
adb start-server	starts the adb server
adb kill-server	kills the adb server
adb reboot	reboots the device
adb devices -l	list of devices by product/model
adb shell	starts the backround terminal
exit	exits the background terminal
adb help	list all commands
adb -s {deviceName} {command}	redirect command to specific device
adb –d {command}	directs command to only attached USB device
adb –e {command}	directs command to only attached emulator

Apps installation

adb shell install {apk_path}  : install app (.apk)
adb shell install {app_path}  : install app from phone path
adb shell install -r {path}   : install app from phone path
adb shell uninstall {app_name}: remove the app

File Operations

Command	Uses
adb push {local} {remote}	copy file/dir to device
adb pull {remote} {local}	copy file/dir from device
run-as {package} cat {file}	access the private package files

Device Info

Command	Uses
adb get-statе	print device state
adb get-serialno	get the serial number
adb shell dumpsys iphonesybinfo	get the IMEI
adb shell netstat	list TCP connectivity
adb shell pwd	print current working directory
adb shell dumpsys battery	battery status
adb shell pm list features	list device features
adb shell service list	list all services
adb shell dumpsys activity {package}/{activity}	activity info
adb shell ps	print process status
adb shell wm size	displays the current screen resolution
dumpsys window windows | grep -E 'mCurrentFocus | mFocusedApp'	print current app's opened activity

Package Info

Command	Uses
adb shell list packages	list package names
adb shell list packages -r	list package name + path to apks
adb shell list packages -3	list third party package names
adb shell list packages -s	list only system packages
adb shell list packages -u	list package names + uninstalled
adb shell dumpsys package packages	list info on all apps
adb shell dump {name}	list info on one package
adb shell path {package}	path to the apk file

Settings Commands

Command	Uses
adb shell dumpsys battery set level {n}	change the level from 0 to 100
adb shell dumpsys battery set status{n}	change the level to unknown, charging, discharging, not charging or full
adb shell dumpsys battery reset	reset the battery
adb shell dumpsys battery set usb {n}	change the status of USB connection. ON or OFF
adb shell wm size WxH	sets the resolution to WxH

Device Commands

Command	Uses
abd connect HOST:PORT	connect to device wirelessly (same network)
adb reboot-recovery	reboot device into recovery mode
adb reboot fastboot	reboot device into recovery mode
adb shell screencap -p "example.png"	take a screenshot
adb shell screenrecord "example.mp4"	record device screen
adb backup -apk -all -f backup.ab	backup settings and apps
adb backup -apk -shared -all -f backup.ab	backup settings & apps & shared storage
adb backup -apk -nosystem -all -f backup.ab	backup only user-installed apps
adb restore backup.ab	restore the previous backups

Permissions

Command	Uses
adb shell permissions groups	list permission groups definitions
adb shell list permissions -g -r	list permissions details

PATHs

└───/data/
└───└─── /data/<package>/databases (app databases)
└───└─── /data/<package>/shared_prefs/ (shared preferences)
└───└─── /app (apk installed by user)
└─── /system/app (pre-installed APK files)
└─── /mnt/
└───└─── /asec (encrypted apps) (App2SD)
└───└─── /emmc (internal SD Card)
└───└─── /adcard (external/Internal SD Card)
└───└─── /adcard/external_sd (external SD Card)

adb shell ls (list directory contents) adb shell ls -s (print size of each file) adb shell ls -R (list subdirectories recursively)