Android TV - How to install an app with ADB and Command Line

Overview

If you need to install or “side load” Apps on Android TV & Amazon Fire TV devices without using the OEM app stores  for example checking pre-launch apps or beta versions on devices.

There are 2 options to install on your Android TV & Amazon Fire TV devices;

• File explorer (easiest route if you are not a developer) on Android TV
• ADB (android debug bridge, best for developers)

There are 2 sets of ADB instructions in this document, one short form taken from Amazons developer site, one complete from the Android developer site as a contingency for when these resources are unavailable.

For the majority of the time you will only need to follow the “quickstart “ section of this document.

(If a non-technical user is trying to install an apk, then using a GUI driven app like “ES file manager” may be more familiar)

 Quick Start

Your device must be switched into developer mode before you begin

Android TV Dev mode

• Go to “Settings”
• Select “About”
• Select “Build” & click 7 times.

Go to “Home” and open “Settings” again, Developer options are now available in  System Preferences.

Amazon Fire TV  Dev mode

https://developer.amazon.com/docs/fire-tv/system-xray-developer-tools.html

You can launch the Developer Tools menu in several ways:

• Remote Control: On the directional pad, press and hold the center and down together (simultaneously) for 5 seconds; then release the buttons and press the remote's menu button.
• Amazon Game Controller: Press and hold A and Y buttons together (simultaneously) for 5 seconds; then release the buttons and press the controller's menu button.

(If ADB is already enabled on the Fire TV and a computer is connected, you can run the following command to invoke the dialog box:

adb shell am start com.amazon.ssm/com.amazon.ssm.ControlPanel)

Android Studio Install

If you don't have android studio already... install Brew first:

Open the website https://brew.sh/ in your browser and then copy the command shown

Or just directly write the following command in Terminal:

/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

After installing Brew, then simply write the following command in Terminal:

brew cask install android-platform-tools

You will only need to do this once.

ADB App Install

Make sure you Android TV device is connected to the same WIFI network as of your computer's.

After typing "adb connect" if you have an error “ADB: COMMAND NOT FOUND” then you will need to use the following command to install Android services "export PATH="~/Library/Android/sdk/platform-tools":$PATH"

So, lets install your APK on the device...

Step 1

Open Terminal

Connect to the physical device with ADB by entering the command below (using the relevant IP address from the device) using Terminal on your MAC.

adb connect "input your device's IP ADDRESS"

Step 2

Make sure you are in the right path where the apk is download example: cd downloads

Install the APK by entering the adb command + the relevant path to the APK file, or write adb install + drag & drop the apk into the terminal window  

adb install -r  <path-to-apk-file-on-your-computer>

Then press enter by using the -r command after "install" it will erase/replace the previous installed application.

Step 3

Wait for the Success! Message, then launch installed app using the device remote control

Step 4

Don’t forget to run an adb disconnect command if you need to install onto several different devices!

adb disconnect IP address

Then press enter.

Step 5

Open the app using the Android or Amazon Fire TV remote & if you want you can add the app icon to the favourites rail.

 

Using ADB - Amazon Guidance

https://developer.amazon.com/de/docs/fire-tv/installing-and-running-your-app.html

Installing and Running Your App

To test and debug your Amazon Fire TV app before submitting it to the Amazon Appstore, use Android Debug Bridge (adb) to install and run your app on your Fire TV device. Installing your own app (outside of the App store) is sometimes referred to as "sideloading" an app.

You must have already used adb to connect your development computer to your Fire TV device. See Connecting to Fire TV Through adb for more information.

https://developer.amazon.com/de/docs/fire-tv/connecting-adb-to-device.html

Note: Certain development tools and resources referenced on this page are provided by third parties, not by Amazon. Any links to these tools and resources will take you to third-party sites.

1. Installing Your App (Command Line)
2. Running Your App (Device)
3. Running Your App (Command Line)
4. Uninstalling Your App (Device)
5. Uninstalling Your App (Command Line)

1. Installing Your App (Command Line)

To install your app onto your Amazon Fire TV device from the command line, use the following command, where <path-to-apk-file> is the file system path to your app's APK:

adb install <path-to-apk-file>

If the installation was successful, adb responds with the message similar to this one:

764 KB/s (217246 bytes in 0.277s)

pkg: /data/local/tmp/HelloWorld.apk

Success

To re-install an app that already exists on the device, you can use the -r option to reinstall the app:

adb install -r <path-to-apk-file>

Note that reinstalling an app does not replace any existing additional user data or cache. To clear this data, uninstall the old app before installing a new version, or clear the data by hand in System > Applications.

2. Running Your App (Device)

Sideloaded apps appear in both the Recent row and in the My Library row in the Apps section. You can also find your app in the Settings menu:

1. From Amazon Fire TV's main screen, select Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications..
2. Select your app.
3. Select Launch application.

Note: If you have a generation 1 device, some of the menus may be slightly different.

3. Running Your App (Command Line)

To send a launch intent to your app on the Amazon Fire TV device, use the following command, where com.amazon.sample.helloworld is the package name of your app, and MainActivity is the name of your app's primary activity.

adb shell am start -n com.amazon.sample.helloworld/.MainActivity

adb responds with a message similar to the following, and your app begins running:

Starting: Intent { cmp=com.amazon.sample.helloworld/.MainActivity }

4. Uninstalling Your App (Device)

To uninstall your app from Amazon Fire TV on the device itself:

1. From Fire TV's main screen, select Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications.
2. Select your app.
3. Select Uninstall > Uninstall.

5. Uninstalling Your App (Command Line)

To uninstall your app from the command line, you need the package name for your APK. Use the following command to uninstall your app, where com.amazon.sample.helloworld is the package for your app:

adb uninstall com.amazon.sample.helloworld

If you are unsure of your app's package name, use the following command to see a list of all the installed APKs and their package names:

adb shell pm list packages -f

Using ADB - Android TV Guidance

Back up from the android site

https://developer.android.com/studio/command-line/adb

• Contents
• How adb works
• Enable adb debugging on your device
• Connect to a device over Wi-Fi
• Query for devices
• Emulator not listed
• Send commands to a specific device
• Install an app
• Set up port forwarding
• Copy files to/from a device
• Stop the adb server
• adb commands reference
• Issue shell commands
• Call activity manager (am)
• Call package manager (pm)
• Take a screenshot
• Record a video
• Read ART profiles for apps
• Other shell commands

Android Debug Bridge (adb) 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:

• 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.

adb is included in the Android SDK Platform-Tools package. You can download this package with the SDK Manager, which installs it at android_sdk/platform-tools/. Or if you want the standalone Android SDK Platform-Tools package, you can download it here.

How ADB works

When you start an adb client, the client first checks whether there is an adb server process already running. If there isn't, it starts the server process. When the server starts, it binds to local TCP port 5037 and listens for commands sent from adb clients—all adb clients use port 5037 to communicate with the adb server.

The server then sets up connections to all running devices. It locates emulators by scanning odd-numbered ports in the range 5555 to 5585, the range used by the first 16 emulators. Where the server finds an adb daemon (adbd), it sets up a connection to that port. Note that each emulator uses a pair of sequential ports — an even-numbered port for console connections and an odd-numbered port for adb connections. For example:

Emulator 1, console: 5554

Emulator 1, adb: 5555

Emulator 2, console: 5556

Emulator 2, adb: 5557

and so on...

As shown, the emulator connected to adb on port 5555 is the same as the emulator whose console listens on port 5554.

Once the server has set up connections to all devices, you can use adb commands to access those devices. Because the server manages connections to devices and handles commands from multiple adb clients, you can control any device from any client (or from a script).

Enable ADB deugging on your device

To use adb with a device connected over USB, you must enable USB debugging in the device system settings, under Developer options.

On Android 4.2 and higher, the Developer options screen is hidden by default. To make it visible, go to Settings > About phone and tap Build number seven times. Return to the previous screen to find Developer options at the bottom.

On some devices, the Developer options screen might be located or named differently.

You can now connect your device with USB. You can verify that your device is connected by executing adb devices from the android_sdk/platform-tools/ directory. If connected, you'll see the device name listed as a "device."

Note: When you connect a device running Android 4.2.2 or higher, the system shows a dialog asking whether to accept an RSA key that allows debugging through this computer. This security mechanism protects user devices because it ensures that USB debugging and other adb commands cannot be executed unless you're able to unlock the device and acknowledge the dialog.

For more information about connecting to a device over USB, read Run Apps on a Hardware Device.

Connect to a device over WiFi

adb usually communicates with the device over USB, but you can also use adb over Wi-Fi after some initial setup over USB, as described below. If you're developing for Wear OS, however, you should instead see the guide to debugging an Wear OS app, which has special instructions for using adb with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

• Connect your Android device and adb host computer to a common Wi-Fi network accessible to both. Beware that not all access points are suitable; you might need to use an access point whose firewall is configured properly to support adb.
• If you are connecting to an Wear OS device, turn off Bluetooth on the phone that's paired with the device.
• Connect the device to the host computer with a USB cable.
• Set the target device to listen for a TCP/IP connection on port 5555.

adb tcpip 5555

• Disconnect the USB cable from the target device.

• Find the IP address of the Android device. For example, on a Nexus device, you can find the IP address at Settings > About tablet (or About phone) > Status > IP address. Or, on an Wear OS device, you can find the IP address at Settings > Wi-Fi Settings > Advanced > IP address.
• Connect to the device by its IP address.

adb connect device_ip_address

• Confirm that your host computer is connected to the target device:

$ adb devices

List of devices attached

device_ip_address:5555 device

You're now good to go!

If the adb connection is ever lost:

• Make sure that your host is still connected to the same Wi-Fi network your Android device is.
• Reconnect by executing the adb connect step again.
• Or if that doesn't work, reset your adb host:

adb kill-server

Then start over from the beginning.

Query for devices

Before issuing adb commands, it is helpful to know what device instances are connected to the adb server. You can generate a list of attached devices using the devices command.

 adb devices -l

In response, adb prints this status information for each device:

• Serial number: A string created by adb to uniquely identify the device by its port number. Here's an example serial number: emulator-5554
• State: The connection state of the device can be one of the following:
• offline: The device is not connected to adb or is not responding.
• device: The device is now connected to the adb server. Note that this state does not imply that the Android system is fully booted and operational because the device connects to adb while the system is still booting. However, after boot-up, this is the normal operational state of an device.
• no device: There is no device connected.

• Description: If you include the -l option, the devices command tells you what the device is. This information is helpful when you have multiple devices connected so that you can tell them apart.

The following example shows the devices command and its output. There are three devices running. The first two lines in the list are emulators, and the third line is a hardware device that is attached to the computer.

$ adb devices

List of devices attached

emulator-5556 device product:sdk_google_phone_x86_64 model:Android_SDK_built_for_x86_64 device:generic_x86_64

emulator-5554 device product:sdk_google_phone_x86 model:Android_SDK_built_for_x86 device:generic_x86

0a388e93      device usb:1-1 product:razor model:Nexus_7 device:flo

Emulator not listed

The adb devices command has a corner-case command sequence that causes running emulator(s) to not show up in the adb devices output even though the emulator(s) are visible on your desktop. This happens when all of the following conditions are true:

1. The adb server is not running, and
2. You use the emulator command with the -port or -ports option with an odd-numbered port value between 5554 and 5584, and
3. The odd-numbered port you chose is not busy so the port connection can be made at the specified port number, or if it is busy, the emulator switches to another port that meets the requirements in 2, and
4. You start the adb server after you start the emulator.

One way to avoid this situation is to let the emulator choose its own ports, and don't run more than 16 emulators at once. Another way is to always start the adb server before you use the emulatorcommand, as explained in the following examples.

Example 1: In the following command sequence, the adb devices command starts the adb server, but the list of devices does not appear.

Stop the adb server and enter the following commands in the order shown. For the avd name, provide a valid avd name from your system. To get a list of avd names, type emulator -list-avds. The emulator command is in the android_sdk/toolsdirectory.

$ adb kill-server

$ emulator -avd Nexus_6_API_25 -port 5555

$ adb devices

List of devices attached

* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *

* daemon started successfully *

Example 2: In the following command sequence, adb devices displays the list of devices because the adb server was started first.

To see the emulator in the adb devices output, stop the adb server, and then start it again after using the emulator command and before using the adb devices command, as follows:

$ adb kill-server

$ emulator -avd Nexus_6_API_25 -port 5557

$ adb start-server

$ adb devices

List of devices attached

emulator-5557 device

For more information about emulator command-line options, see Using Command Line Parameters.

Send commands to a specific device

If multiple devices are running, you must specify the target device when you issue the adb command. To specify the target, use the devices command to get the serial number of the target. Once you have the serial number, use the -s option with the adb commands to specify the serial number. If you're going to issue a lot of adb commands, you can set the $ANDROID_SERIAL environment variable to contain the serial number instead. If you use both -s and $ANDROID_SERIAL, -s overrides $ANDROID_SERIAL.

In the following example, the list of attached devices is obtained, and then the serial number of one of the devices is used to install the helloWorld.apk on that device.

$ adb devices

List of devices attached

emulator-5554 device

emulator-5555 device

$ adb -s emulator-5555 install helloWorld.apk

Note: If you issue a command without specifying a target device when multiple devices are available, adb generates an error.

If you have multiple devices available, but only one is an emulator, use the -e option to send commands to the emulator. Likewise, if there are multiple devices but only one hardware device attached, use the -d option to send commands to the hardware device.

Install an app

You can use adb to install an APK on an emulator or connected device with the install command:

adb install path_to_apk

You must use the -t option with the install command when you install a test APK. For more information, see -t.

For more information about how to create an APK file that you can install on an emulator/device instance, see Build and Run Your App.

Note that, if you are using Android Studio, you do not need to use adb directly to install your app on the emulator/device. Instead, Android Studio handles the packaging and installation of the app for you.

Set up port forwarding

You can use the forward command to set up arbitrary port forwarding, which forwards requests on a specific host port to a different port on a device. The following example sets up forwarding of host port 6100 to device port 7100:

adb forward tcp:6100 tcp:7100

The following example sets up forwarding of host port 6100 to local:logd:

adb forward tcp:6100 local:logd

Copy files to/from a device

Use the pull and push commands to copy files to and from an device. Unlike the install command, which only copies an APK file to a specific location, the pull and push commands let you copy arbitrary directories and files to any location in a device.

To copy a file or directory and its sub-directories from the device, do the following:

adb pull remotelocal

To copy a file or directory and its sub-directories to the device, do the following:

adb push localremote

Replace local and remote with the paths to the target files/directory on your development machine (local) and on the device (remote). For example:

adb push foo.txt /sdcard/foo.txt

Stop the ADB server

In some cases, you might need to terminate the adb server process and then restart it to resolve the problem (e.g., if adb does not respond to a command).

To stop the adb server, use the adb kill-server command. You can then restart the server by issuing any other adb command.

ADB commands reference

You can issue adb commands from a command line on your development machine or from a script. The usage is:

adb [-d | -e | -s serial_number] command

If there's only one emulator running or only one device connected, the adb command is sent to that device by default. If multiple emulators are running and/or multiple devices are attached, you need to use the -d, -e, or -s option to specify the target device to which the command should be directed.

The table below lists all of the supported adb commands and explains their meaning and usage.

Table 1. Available adb commands and options

• -s: Install the app on the SD card.
• -d: Allow version code downgrade (debugging packages only).
• -g: Grant all runtime permissions.

Global Options	Description
-a	Listen on all network interfaces instead of only on localhost.
-d	Direct an adb command to the only attached USB device. Returns an error when more than one USB device is attached.
-e	Direct an adb command to the only running emulator. Returns an error when more than one emulator is running.
-s serial_number	Direct an adb command to a specific device, referred to by its adb-assigned serial number (such as emulator-5556). Overrides the serial number value stored in the $ANDROID_SERIAL environment variable. See Send Commands to a Specific Device.
-H server	The name of the adb server host. The default value is localhost.
-P port	The adb server port number. The default value is 5037.
-L socket	Listen on the provided adb server socket. The default value is tcp:localhost:5037.
General Commands	Description
devices [-l]	Print a list of all devices. Use the -l option to include the device descriptions. For more information, see Query for Devices.
help	Print a list of supported adb commands and their descriptions.
version	Print the adb version number.
run-as package_name	Run commands on a device as an app (specified using package_name). This lets you run commands in adb as if the app you specify is running the command (that is, you have the same device access that the app has), without requiring root access. This might be necessary when using adb on a non-rooted device or an emulator with a Play Store image. The app must be debuggable.
Networking Commands	Description
connect host[:port]	Connect to a device over TCP/IP. If you do not specify a port, then the default port, 5555, is used.
disconnect [host | host:port]	Disconnect from the specified TCP/IP device running on the specified port. If you do not specify a host or a port, then all devices are disconnected from all TCP/IP ports. If you specify a host, but not a port, the default port, 5555, is used.
forward --list	List all forwarded socket connections.
forward [--no-rebind] localremote	Forward socket connections from the specified local port to the specified remote port on the device. You can specify both local and remote ports in the following ways: •tcp:port. To choose any open port, make the local value tcp:0. •localabstract:unix_domain_socket_name. •localreserved:unix_domain_socket_name. •localfilesystem:unix_domain_socket_name. •dev:character_device_name. •jdwp:pid.
forward --remove local	Remove the specified forwarded socket connection.
reverse --l	List all reverse socket connections from the device.
reverse [--no-rebind] remotelocal	Reverse a socket connection. The --no-rebind option means the reversal fails if the specified socket is already bound through a previous reverse command. You can specify the port for both local and remote arguments in the following ways: •tcp:port. To choose any open port, make the remote value tcp:0. •localabstract:unix_domain_socket_name. •localreserved:unix_domain_socket_name. •localfilesystem:unix_domain_socket_name.
reverse --remove remote	Remove the specified reverse socket connection from the device.
reverse --remove-all	Remove all reverse socket connections from the device.
File Transfer Commands	Description
push local remote	Copy files and directories from the local device (computer) to a remote location on the device.
pull [-a] remote local	Copy remote files and directories to a device. Use the -a option to preserve the file time stamp and mode.
sync  [system|vendor|oem|data|all]	Synchronize a local build from the location specified in $ANDROID_PRODUCT_OUT to the device. All changed files are copied from the specified partition. The default is to sync all partitions. This command is only used when you build the Android platform source. App developers don’t need to use this command. The $ANDROID_PRODUCT_OUT environment variable is automatically set by the Android build system to contain the location of the system images. Normally you won't need to set $ANDROID_PRODUCT_OUT when doing adb sync, but it can be useful if you're not in a build tree (but have one) or are syncing between build trees without switching between them. $ANDROID_PRODUCT_OUT=/out/target/product/generic adb sync
App Installation Commands	Description
install [options] package	Push packages to the device and install them. Possible options are the following: •-l: Forward lock app. •-r: Replace the existing app. •-t: Allow test packages. If the APK is built using a developer preview SDK (if the targetSdkVersion is a letter instead of a number), you must include the -t option with the install command if you are installing a test APK. For more information see -t option.
install-multiple [options] packages	Same options as install with the addition of the following: -p: Partial app install.
uninstall [-k] package	Remove this app package from the device. Add the -k option to keep the data and cache directories.
Backup and Restore Commands	Description
backup [-f file] [-apk | -noapk] [-obb | -noobb] [-shared | -noshared] [-all] [-system | [-nosystem] package_names	Write an archive of the device's data to file. If you do not specify a file name, the default file is backup.adb. The package list is optional when you specify the -all and -shared options. The following describes the usages for the other options: •-apk | -noapk: Back up or do not back up .apk files. The default value is -noapk. •-obb | -noobb: Back up or do not back up .obb files. The default value is -noobb. •-shared | -noshared: Back up or do not back up shared storage. The default value is -noshared. •-all: Back up all installed apps. •-system | -nosystem: Include or do not include system apps when backing up all installed apps (-all). The default value is -system.
restore file	Restore the device contents from file.
Debug Commands	Description
bugreport path	Print a bugreport to the specified path. If path is a directory, then the bug report is saved to that directory using the default file name, bugreport.zip. Devices that do not support zipped bug reports print to stdout.
jdwp	Print a list of the available JDWP processes on a given device. Use forward jdwp:pid to connect to a specific JDWP process. For example: adb forward tcp:8000 jdwp:472 jdb -attach localhost:8000
logcat [-help] [option] [filter-spec]	Print log data to the screen. For information about the logcat command and the $ANDROID_LOG_TAGS environment variable, see Filtering Log Output on the logcat page. The $ADB_TRACE environment variable contains a comma-separated list of the debug information to log. Values can be any combination of the following: all, adb, sockets, packets, rwx, usb, sync, sysdeps, transport, and jdwp. See also Logcat Command-Line Tool.
Security Commands	Description
disable-verity	Disable dm-verity checking on userdebug builds. The dm-verity option ensures that when a user boots a device that it is in the same state that it was in when it was last used. For more information, see Verified Boot.
enable-verity	Re-enable dm-verity checking on userdebug builds. The dm-verity option ensures that when a user boots a device that it is in the same state that it was in when it was last used. For more information, see Verified Boot.
keygen file	Generate adb public and private RSA encrypted keys. The private key is stored in file. The public key is stored in file.pub. An RSA key pair is needed when you use adb to connect over USB for the first time. You must accept the host computer's RSA key to explicitly grant adb access to the device. Use the $ANDROID_VENDOR_KEYS environment variable to point to a file or directory that contains 2048-bit RSA authentication key pairs that you generated with the keygen command. These key pairs are in addition to the RSA key pairs generated by the adb server. When the adb server needs a key, it first searches the adb server key store directory. If no keys are found, it then checks the $ANDROID_VENDOR_KEYS environment variable for a location. If still no keys are found, the local adb server generates and saves a new key pair in the adb server key store directory. For this reason, only an OEM creating a new Android device should need to run 'adb keygen' themselves. By default key pairs generated by the adb server are stored in the following key store directories as adbkey (private key) and adbkey.pub (public key): •Linux and Mac: $HOME/.android. •Windows: %USERPOFILE%\.android.
Scripting Commands	Description
wait-for [-transport] -state	Wait for the device to be in the specified state. •state: Values can be device, recovery, sideload, or bootloader. •transport: Values can be usb, local, or any.
get-state	Print the adb state of a device. The adb state can be print offline, bootloader, or device. For more information, see Query for Devices.
get-serialno	Print the adb device serial number string. For more information, see Query for Devices.
get-devpath	Print the adb device path.
remount	Remount the /system, /vendor, and /oem partitions in read-write mode.
reboot [bootloader | recovery | sideload | sideload-auto-reboot ]	Reboot the device. This command defaults to booting the system image, but also supports bootloader and recovery. •The bootloader option reboots into bootloader. •The recovery option reboots into recovery. •The sideload option reboots into recovery and starts sideload mode. •The sideload-auto-reboot option is the same as sideload, but reboots after side loading completes.
sideload otapackage	Side load (install in APK format) the specified full OTA package onto the device.
root	Restart adbd with root permissions.
unroot	Restart adbd without root permissions.
usb	Restart the adb server listening on USB.
tcpip port-number	Restart the adb server listening on TCP at the specified port.
Internal Debugging Commands	Description
start-server	Check whether the adb server process is running.
kill-server	Terminate the adb server process.
reconnect	Force a reconnect from the host.
reconnect device	Force a reconnect from the device to force a reconnect.
Shell Commands	Description
shell	Start a remote interactive shell in the target device. For more information, see Issue shell commands.
shell -e escape_char [-n] [-T] [-t] [-x] [command]	Issue a shell command in the target device and then exit the remote shell. Use any combination of the following options: •-e: Specify an escape character or the value none if you do not want to use an escape character. If you do not provide a value, the default escape character (a dash (-)), is used. •-n: Do not read from stdin. •-T: Disable pseudo-terminal utiity (PTY) allocation. •-t: Force PTY allocation. •-x: Disable remote exit codes and stdout/stderr separation. For more information, see Issue shell commands.
emu command	Run an emulator console command. For more information, see Control the Emulator from the Command Line

You can use the shell command to issue device commands through adb, with or without entering the adb remote shell on the device. To issue a single command without entering a remote shell, use the shell command like this:

adb [-d |-e | -s serial_number] shell shell_command

Or enter a remote shell on a device like this:

adb [-d | -e | -s serial_number] shell

When you are ready to exit the remote shell, press Control + D or type exit.

The shell command binaries are stored in the file system of the device at /system/bin/.

Note: With Android Platform-Tools 23 and higher, adb handles arguments the same way that the ssh(1)command does. This change has fixed a lot of problems with command injection and makes it possible to now safely execute commands that contain shell metacharacters, such as adb install Let\'sGo.apk. But, this change means that the interpretation of any command that contains shell metacharacters has also changed. For example, the adb shell setprop foo 'a b' command is now an error because the single quotes (') are swallowed by the local shell, and the device sees adb shell setprop foo a b. To make the command work, quote twice, once for the local shell and once for the remote shell, the same as you do with ssh(1). For example, adb shell setprop foo "'a b'".

Call Activity manager (AM)

Within an adb shell, you can issue commands with the activity manager (am) tool to perform various system actions, such as start an activity, force-stop a process, broadcast an intent, modify the device screen properties, and more. While in a shell, the syntax is:

am command

You can also issue an activity manager command directly from adb without entering a remote shell. For example:

adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW

Table 2. Available activity manager commands

Command	Description
start [options] intent	Start an Activity specified by intent. See the Specification for intent arguments. Options are: •-D: Enable debugging. •-W: Wait for launch to complete. •--start-profiler file: Start profiler and send results to file. •-P file: Like --start-profiler, but profiling stops when the app goes idle. •-R count: Repeat the activity launch count times. Prior to each repeat, the top activity will be finished. •-S: Force stop the target app before starting the activity. •--opengl-trace: Enable tracing of OpenGL functions. •--user user_id | current: Specify which user to run as; if not specified, then run as the current user.
startservice [options] intent	Start the Service specified by intent. See the Specification for intent arguments. Options are: •--user user_id | current: Specify which user to run as; if not specified, then run as the current user.
force-stop package	Force stop everything associated with package (the app's package name).
kill [options] package	Kill all processes associated with package (the app's package name). This command kills only processes that are safe to kill and that will not impact the user experience. Options are: •--user user_id | all | current: Specify user whose processes to kill; all users if not specified.
kill-all	Kill all background processes.
broadcast [options] intent	Issue a broadcast intent. See the Specification for intent arguments. Options are: •[--user user_id | all | current]: Specify which user to send to; if not specified then send to all users.
instrument [options] component	Start monitoring with an Instrumentation instance. Typically the target component is the form test_package/runner_class. Options are: •-r: Print raw results (otherwise decode report_key_streamresult). Use with [-e perf true] to generate raw output for performance measurements. •-e name value: Set argument name to value. For test runners a common form is -e testrunner_flag value[,value...]. •-p file: Write profiling data to file. •-w: Wait for instrumentation to finish before returning. Required for test runners. •--no-window-animation: Turn off window animations while running. •--user user_id | current: Specify which user instrumentation runs in; current user if not specified.
profile start process file	Start profiler on process, write results to file.
profile stop process	Stop profiler on process.
dumpheap [options] process file	Dump the heap of process, write to file. Options are: •--user [user_id | current]: When supplying a process name, specify user of process to dump; uses current user if not specified. •-n: Dump native heap instead of managed heap.
set-debug-app [options] package	Set app package to debug. Options are: •-w: Wait for debugger when app starts. •--persistent: Retain this value.
clear-debug-app	Clear the package previous set for debugging with set-debug-app.
monitor [options]	Start monitoring for crashes or ANRs. Options are: •--gdb: Start gdbserv on the given port at crash/ANR.
screen-compat {on | off} package	Control screen compatibility mode of package.
display-size [reset | widthxheight]	Override device display size. This command is helpful for testing your app across different screen sizes by mimicking a small screen resolution using a device with a large screen, and vice versa. Example: am display-size 1280x800
display-density dpi	Override device display density. This command is helpful for testing your app across different screen densities on high-density screen environment using a low density screen, and vice versa. Example: am display-density 480
to-uri intent	Print the given intent specification as a URI. See the Specification for intent arguments.
to-intent-uri intent	Print the given intent specification as an intent: URI. See the Specification for intent arguments.

 

Specification for Intent Management

For activity manager commands that take an intent argument, you can specify the intent with the following options:

-a action

Specify the intent action, such as android.intent.action.VIEW. You can declare this only once.

-d data_uri

Specify the intent data URI, such as content://contacts/people/1. You can declare this only once.

-t mime_type

Specify the intent MIME type, such as image/png. You can declare this only once.

-c category

Specify an intent category, such as android.intent.category.APP_CONTACTS.

-n component

Specify the component name with package name prefix to create an explicit intent, such as com.example.app/.ExampleActivity.

-f flags

Add flags to the intent, as supported by setFlags().

--esn extra_key

Add a null extra. This option is not supported for URI intents.

-e | --es extra_key extra_string_value

Add string data as a key-value pair.

--ez extra_key extra_boolean_value

Add boolean data as a key-value pair.

--ei extra_key extra_int_value

Add integer data as a key-value pair.

--el extra_key extra_long_value

Add long data as a key-value pair.

--ef extra_key extra_float_value

Add float data as a key-value pair.

--eu extra_key extra_uri_value

Add URI data as a key-value pair.

--ecn extra_key extra_component_name_value

Add a component name, which is converted and passed as a ComponentName object.

--eia extra_key extra_int_value[,extra_int_value...]

Add an array of integers.

--ela extra_key extra_long_value[,extra_long_value...]

Add an array of longs.

--efa extra_key extra_float_value[,extra_float_value...]

Add an array of floats.

--grant-read-uri-permission

Include the flag FLAG_GRANT_READ_URI_PERMISSION.

--grant-write-uri-permission

Include the flag FLAG_GRANT_WRITE_URI_PERMISSION.

--debug-log-resolution

Include the flag FLAG_DEBUG_LOG_RESOLUTION.

--exclude-stopped-packages

Include the flag FLAG_EXCLUDE_STOPPED_PACKAGES.

--include-stopped-packages

Include the flag FLAG_INCLUDE_STOPPED_PACKAGES.

--activity-brought-to-front

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_BROUGHT_TO_FRONT.

--activity-clear-top

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP.

--activity-clear-when-task-reset

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_WHEN_TASK_RESET.

--activity-exclude-from-recents

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_EXCLUDE_FROM_RECENTS.

--activity-launched-from-history

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_LAUNCHED_FROM_HISTORY.

--activity-multiple-task

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_MULTIPLE_TASK.

--activity-no-animation

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_ANIMATION.

--activity-no-history

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_HISTORY.

--activity-no-user-action

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_USER_ACTION.

--activity-previous-is-top

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_PREVIOUS_IS_TOP.

--activity-reorder-to-front

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_REORDER_TO_FRONT.

--activity-reset-task-if-needed

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_RESET_TASK_IF_NEEDED.

--activity-single-top

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_SINGLE_TOP.

--activity-clear-task

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TASK.

--activity-task-on-home

Include the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_TASK_ON_HOME.

--receiver-registered-only

Include the flag FLAG_RECEIVER_REGISTERED_ONLY.

--receiver-replace-pending

Include the flag FLAG_RECEIVER_REPLACE_PENDING.

--selector

Requires the use of -d and -t options to set the intent data and type.

URI component package

You can directly specify a URI, package name, and component name when not qualified by one of the above options. When an argument is unqualified, the tool assumes the argument is a URI if it contains a ":" (colon); it assumes the argument is a component name if it contains a "/" (forward-slash); otherwise it assumes the argument is a package name.

 

Call Package Manager

Within an adb shell, you can issue commands with the package manager (pm) tool to perform actions and queries on app packages installed on the device. While in a shell, the syntax is:

pm command

You can also issue a package manager command directly from adb without entering a remote shell. For example:

adb shell pm uninstall com.example.MyApp

Table 3. Available package manager commands.

Command	Description
list packages [options] filter	Prints all packages, optionally only those whose package name contains the text in filter. Options: •-f: See their associated file. •-d: Filter to only show disabled packages. •-e: Filter to only show enabled packages. •-s: Filter to only show system packages. •-3: Filter to only show third party packages. •-i: See the installer for the packages. •-u: Also include uninstalled packages. •--user user_id: The user space to query.
list permission-groups	Prints all known permission groups.
list permissions [options] group	Prints all known permissions, optionally only those in group. Options: •-g: Organize by group. •-f: Print all information. •-s: Short summary. •-d: Only list dangerous permissions. •-u: List only the permissions users will see.
list instrumentation [options]	List all test packages. Options: •-f: List the APK file for the test package. •target_package: List test packages for only this app.
list features	Prints all features of the system.
list libraries	Prints all the libraries supported by the current device.
list users	Prints all users on the system.
path package	Print the path to the APK of the given package.
install [options] path	Installs a package (specified by path) to the system. Options: •-l: Install the package with forward lock. •-r: Reinstall an existing app, keeping its data. •-t: Allow test APKs to be installed. Gradle generates a test APK when you have only run or debugged your app or have used the Android Studio Build > Build APK command. If the APK is built using a developer preview SDK (if the targetSdkVersion is a letter instead of a number), you must include the -t option with the install command if you are installing a test APK. •-i installer_package_name: Specify the installer package name. •-s: Install package on the shared mass storage (such as sdcard). •-f: Install package on the internal system memory. •-d: Allow version code downgrade. •-g: Grant all permissions listed in the app manifest.
uninstall [options] package	Removes a package from the system. Options: •-k: Keep the data and cache directories around after package removal.
clear package	Deletes all data associated with a package.
enable package_or_component	Enable the given package or component (written as "package/class").
disable package_or_component	Disable the given package or component (written as "package/class").
disable-user [options] package_or_component	Options: •--user user_id: The user to disable.
grant package_namepermission	Grant a permission to an app. On devices running Android 6.0 (API level 23) and higher, the permission can be any permission declared in the app manifest. On devices running Android 5.1 (API level 22) and lower, must be an optional permission defined by the app.
revoke package_namepermission	Revoke a permission from an app. On devices running Android 6.0 (API level 23) and higher, the permission can be any permission declared in the app manifest. On devices running Android 5.1 (API level 22) and lower, must be an optional permission defined by the app.
set-install-location location	Changes the default install location. Location values: •0: Auto: Let system decide the best location. •1: Internal: install on internal device storage. •2: External: on external media. Note: This is only intended for debugging; using this can cause apps to break and other undesireable behavior.
get-install-location	Returns the current install location. Return values: •0 [auto]: Lets system decide the best location •1 [internal]: Installs on internal device storage •2 [external]: Installs on external media
set-permission-enforced permission [true | false]	Specifies whether the given permission should be enforced.
trim-caches desired_free_space	Trim cache files to reach the given free space.
create-user user_name	Create a new user with the given user_name, printing the new user identifier of the user.
remove-user user_id	Remove the user with the given user_id, deleting all data associated with that user
get-max-users	Prints the maximum number of users supported by the device.

 

Taking Screenshots (Images)

The screencap command is a shell utility for taking a screenshot of a device display. While in a shell, the syntax is:

screencap filename

To use the screencap from the command line, type the following:

adb shell screencap /sdcard/screen.png

Here's an example screenshot session, using the adb shell to capture the screenshot and the pullcommand to download the file from the device:

$ adb shell

shell@ $ screencap /sdcard/screen.png

shell@ $ exit

$ adb pull /sdcard/screen.png

Taking Screenshots (Video)

The screenrecord command is a shell utility for recording the display of devices running Android 4.4 (API level 19) and higher. The utility records screen activity to an MPEG-4 file.

Note: Audio is not recorded with the video file.

A developer can use this file to create promotional or training videos. While in a shell, the syntax is:

screenrecord [options] filename

To use screenrecord from the command line, type the following:

adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/demo.mp4

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

To begin recording your device screen, run the screenrecord command to record the video. Then, run the pull command to download the video from the device to the host computer. Here's an example recording session:

$ adb shell

shell@ $ screenrecord --verbose /sdcard/demo.mp4

(press Control + C to stop)

shell@ $ exit

$ adb pull /sdcard/demo.mp4

The screenrecord utility can record at any supported resolution and bit rate you request, while retaining the aspect ratio of the device display. The utility records at the native display resolution and orientation by default, with a maximum length of three minutes.

There are some known limitations of the screenrecord utility that you should be aware of when using it:

• Some devices might not be able to record at their native display resolution. If you encounter problems with screen recording, try using a lower screen resolution.
• Rotation of the screen during recording is not supported. If the screen does rotate during recording, some of the screen is cut off in the recording.

Table 4. screenrecord options

Options	Description
--help	Displays command syntax and options
--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.
--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 6Mbps: screenrecord --bit-rate 6000000 /sdcard/demo.mp4
--time-limit time	Sets the maximum recording time, in seconds. The default and maximum value is 180 (3 minutes).
--rotate	Rotates the output 90 degrees. This feature is experimental.
--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

 

Read ART profiles for apps

Starting in Android 7.0 (API level 24) the Android Runtime (ART) collects execution profiles for installed apps, which are used to optimize app performance. You might want to examine the collected profiles to understand which methods are determined to be frequently executed and which classes are used during app startup.

To produce a text form of the profile information, use the command:

adb shell cmd package dump-profiles package

To retrieve the file produced, use:

adb pull /data/misc/profman/package.txt

For a list of all the available shell programs, use the following command:

adb shell ls /system/bin

Help is available for most of the commands.

Table 5 lists some of the more common adb shell commands.

Table 5. Some other adb shell commands

Shell Command	Description
dumpsys	Dumps system data to the screen. To learn more about this command-line tool, read dumpsys
dumpstate	Dumps state to a file.
logcat [option]...  [filter-spec]...	Enables system and app logging and prints output to the screen. See also Logcat Command-Line Tool.
dmesg	Prints kernel debugging messages to the screen.
start	Starts (restarts) a device.
stop	Stops execution of a device.
sqlite3	Starts the sqlite3 command-line program. The sqlite3 tool includes commands such as .dump to print out the contents of a table and .schema to print the SQL CREATE statement for an existing table. You can also execute SQLite commands on the fly. SQLite3 databases are stored in the folder /data/data/package_name/databases/. For example: $ adb -s emulator-5554 shell $ sqlite3 /data/data/com.example.app/databases/rssitems.db SQLite version 3.3.12 Enter ".help" for instructions For more information, see the sqlite3 command line documentation.