Android Debug Bridge - adb shell guide
Android Debug Bridge
connecting to a physical phone using adb
enable developer usb debugging
go to and enable: Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging
enabling app installation
go to and enable: Settings > Applications > Unknown sources
command line
The adb command line utility is installed as part of the Android SDK
list locally attached devices
$ adb devices List of devices attached c7b5b844 device
run shell interactively
$ adb shell shell@android:/ $
at this point you are connected to your device. You can move around the phone file system, list files, etc..
copy files off the device
$ adb pull /pathtofileondevice localfilename
copy files to the device
$ adb push localfilename /pathtofileondevice
backup a device
I attempted the below procedure but the backup would hang at the shared storage (sdcard).
$adb backup -shared -all -f my_backup_file Now unlock your device and confirm the backup operation.
You will be promped on screed at the device to confirm the backup by selecting "Back up my data". You can also choose to encrypt the backup file and lock it with a password. (android 4.2.2)
backup a particular app / apk
grep for package in list
usage options: -3: Filter to only show third party packages, -f: See their associated file
$ adb shell pm list packages -f -3 | grep abccorp_app package:/data/app/com.abccorp.abccorp_app-fww9oZOScSyUhl26nLwn6g==/base.apk=com.abccorp.abccorp
pull apk from phone
$ adb pull <filename on device> <local filename>
$ adb pull /data/app/com.abccorp.abccorp_app-fww9oZOScSyUhl26nLwn6g==/base.apk abccorp_app_1.1.1 /data/app/com.abccorp.abccorp_app-fww9oZOScSyUhl26nLwn6g==/base.apk: 1 file pulled. 13.9 MB/s (29403087 bytes in 2.014s)
- where filename is the string provided by the package list up to .apk
and where abccorp_app_1.1.1 is the filename of your choosing. I get the app version from the android gui on the device apps list. I don't know of a way to get it from adb.
