ADB (Android Debug Bridge)

Command-line tool to communicate with an Android device over USB, Wi-Fi, or emulator.

Setup

Connect via USB with debugging enabled (Developer Options), or over Wi-Fi:

# Pair once, then connect over the network
adb pair <device-ip>:<pairing-port>
adb connect <device-ip>:<port>
 
# List connected devices/emulators
adb devices -l

When multiple devices are connected, target one with -s <device-serial>. Shell completion for device-side paths (e.g. adb push ./file /st<TAB>) also requires an explicit -s <device-serial> — with no device specified, or with an ambiguous/stale entry in adb devices, completion silently fails to enumerate remote paths.

Apps

Install, uninstall, and inspect packages without going through the Play Store:

adb install <path-to-apk>
adb install -r <path-to-apk>       # reinstall, keep data
adb uninstall <package-name>
adb shell pm list packages -3       # list only user-installed packages
adb shell pm clear <package-name>   # wipe app data + cache

Files

Push/pull files between the device and the host. Both are recursive when the source is a directory:

adb push <local-dir> <device-dir>
adb pull <device-dir> <local-dir>

pull skips symlinks inside a directory tree, and fails on permission-restricted paths (e.g. /data/data/<package>) unless the device is rooted or the target is your own debuggable app’s data dir.

Logs and debugging

adb logcat                          # stream full log
adb logcat -s <tag>                 # filter by tag
adb logcat *:E                      # errors only
adb shell dumpsys battery           # battery stats
adb shell dumpsys activity activities   # current activity stack

Shell and reboot

adb shell                           # open interactive shell
adb reboot
adb reboot bootloader
adb reboot recovery

Screen

adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/screen.png && adb pull /sdcard/screen.png
adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/demo.mp4   # ctrl-c to stop

Cheatsheet

Connection

adb devices -l
adb connect <device-ip>:<port>
adb disconnect <device-ip>:<port>

Apps

adb install -r <path-to-apk>
adb uninstall <package-name>
adb shell pm clear <package-name>
adb shell pm list packages -3

Files

adb push <local-path> <device-path>
adb pull <device-path> <local-path>

Logs

adb logcat -s <tag>
adb logcat *:E

Power

adb reboot
adb shell dumpsys battery