Capture

--capture runs the complete instrumentation-to-report workflow. It is the simplest way to keep the original APK, probes, scope, and log tag consistent between stages.

The examples use the androlog helper and path variables from Installation and Quick Start.

Interactive capture

androlog --capture \
  -a "$androlog_apk" -p "$androlog_sdk/platforms" \
  -o ./captures -l ANDROLOG \
  -c -m -s -cp -mc

The CLI reports five stages:

Stage	What happens
Prepare device and launcher	Find ADB, select a ready device, read the APK manifest
Instrument and sign APK	Insert selected probes, export, align, and sign the APK
Install APK	Run adb install -r on the selected device
Capture app execution	Restart the target app, record logs, and wait for Enter or a duration
Generate coverage reports	Rebuild the baseline from the original APK and write HTML/JSON

The target app is force-stopped before capture so probes emitted once per process can be recorded again. Capture waits for a logcat readiness marker before launching, excludes older buffered records, and drains through a stop marker when you finish. It does not clear the device's log buffers.

Timed capture and device selection

"$androlog_sdk/platform-tools/adb" devices

androlog --capture --device emulator-5554 --duration 60 \
  -a "$androlog_apk" -p "$androlog_sdk/platforms" \
  -o ./captures -l ANDROLOG \
  -c -m -s -cp -mc

Replace emulator-5554 with a serial from your device list. --device is required when more than one device is ready. Offline and unauthorized devices are not selected.

The timer begins after launch completes. Launch-time observations are already included. Use a duration in scripts or any environment with closed standard input. Timed capture does not automatically exercise the UI; drive the app manually or with your own test tooling.

Choose the probes and scope

All probe options work with capture. For a graph-only run:

androlog --capture --duration 60 \
  -a "$androlog_apk" -p "$androlog_sdk/platforms" \
  -o ./captures -mc

Add -pkg com.example.app to restrict instrumentation to a package prefix, or -n to exclude known bundled libraries. These restrictions also affect what can be confirmed in the graph. The exact prefix matters for obfuscated applications; it is not necessarily the manifest's application ID.

Output files

-o is the parent of a fresh session directory, not the final report filename. Session names contain a UTC timestamp and a unique suffix. Files are listed in Quick Start.

Override report destinations when needed:

androlog --capture --duration 60 \
  -a "$androlog_apk" -p "$androlog_sdk/platforms" \
  -o ./captures -c -m -s -cp -mc \
  -html ./reports/latest.html -j ./reports/latest.json

Explicit report filenames can be overwritten by later runs; the session log and instrumented APK remain in their unique session directory. Capture generates a cumulative timeline automatically, using the same reporting mode as -pam.

ADB and launcher discovery

Use --adb /absolute/path/to/adb to select an executable. Otherwise, AndroLog searches near the supplied SDK platform path, then ANDROID_HOME, ANDROID_SDK_ROOT, and PATH.

The launcher comes from a manifest intent filter containing MAIN and LAUNCHER, or LEANBACK_LAUNCHER for TV. Activity aliases are launched through the alias component; their target activity classes are used in graph metadata. With several launchers, capture uses the first sorted by target class and component name. An APK without a launcher needs the manual workflow and an appropriate way to trigger its components.

Stop, cancel, and recover

Action or failure	Result
Press Enter	Stop capture, drain the log, generate HTML and JSON
Duration expires	Generate the same reports automatically
Press Ctrl+C	Abort, stop managed subprocesses, retain the partial raw log
Standard input closes without a duration	Fail with a message recommending --duration; retain the log
Device disconnects or logcat stops	Fail and retain the partial log
Installation has a signing mismatch	Report the failure; do not uninstall the app

Recover a partial log using the original APK and the same probes, tag, and scope:

androlog \
  -a "$androlog_apk" -p "$androlog_sdk/platforms" \
  -l ANDROLOG -c -m -s -cp -mc \
  -pam ./captures/SESSION/runtime.log \
  -html ./reports/recovered.html -j ./reports/recovered.json

Replace SESSION with the actual session directory. Check instrumentation.log or report-generation.log for child-process diagnostics. Add -v to forward detailed diagnostics to the terminal.

--capture cannot be combined with -pa or -pam. Its device, ADB, and duration options cannot be used in other modes.