ADB Commands Cheat Sheet: The 25 Most Useful Commands
A practical ADB commands cheat sheet with the 25 commands you will use most, grouped by device, apps, files, shell and logs, plus browser alternatives.
ADB (Android Debug Bridge) is the command-line tool that lets your computer talk to an Android device. This cheat sheet lists the 25 commands that cover most day-to-day work, grouped by task. To use them, download Google's platform-tools for your operating system, unzip them, and either run adb from that folder or add the folder to your PATH. Then enable USB debugging on the phone and check the connection with adb devices -l.
Device and connection
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
adb devices -l | Lists connected devices with model and transport details |
adb kill-server | Stops the ADB server, useful when the connection is stuck |
adb start-server | Starts the ADB server again |
adb tcpip 5555 | Switches a USB-connected device to listen for ADB over Wi-Fi on port 5555 |
adb connect <ip>:5555 | Connects to a device over the network |
adb disconnect | Disconnects network devices |
If two devices are attached, add -s <serial> before the command, for example adb -s <serial> shell. For the Wi-Fi workflow in detail, see ADB over Wi-Fi on Android.
Apps
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
adb install app.apk | Installs an APK (add -r to replace an existing install) |
adb uninstall com.example.app | Removes an app by package name |
adb shell pm list packages | Lists installed package names |
adb shell am start -n com.example.app/.MainActivity | Launches a specific activity |
Package and activity names are case-sensitive. More on installing in how to install an APK with ADB.
Files
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
adb push local.txt /sdcard/Download/ | Copies a file from your computer to the device |
adb pull /sdcard/Download/file.txt . | Copies a file from the device to the current folder |
adb shell ls -l /sdcard/ | Lists a directory on the device with details |
Without root, you can usually reach shared storage under /sdcard/ but not other apps' private data.
Shell and system
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release | Prints a system property, here the Android version |
adb shell dumpsys battery | Shows battery level, status and temperature |
adb shell wm size | Shows the screen resolution |
adb shell input text "hello" | Types text into the focused field (use %s for spaces) |
adb shell input keyevent 3 | Sends a key press; 3 is Home, 4 is Back, 26 is Power |
adb reboot recovery | Restarts into recovery; bootloader and fastboot work the same way |
Running adb shell on its own opens an interactive shell on the device. The reboot modes are explained in ADB reboot: recovery, bootloader, fastboot and download mode.
Logs and debugging
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
adb logcat | Streams the device log in real time |
adb bugreport | Collects a full diagnostic bundle into a zip file |
adb exec-out screencap -p > screen.png | Saves a screenshot to your computer |
adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/demo.mp4 | Records the screen; stop with Ctrl+C, then pull the file |
adb shell dumpsys activity activities | Shows the activity stack and which app is in the foreground |
Logcat output grows quickly, so filter it. For example, adb logcat *:E shows only errors. See how to read Android logcat for filters and tips.
Note:
screenrecordhas a built-in time limit of three minutes per recording by default, and it can be changed with--time-limit. On some devices screen recording or secure content is restricted.
Do the same things without platform-tools
Several of these tasks are available in ADBKit, a free workspace that runs in Chromium-based desktop browsers such as Chrome and Edge, using WebUSB. There is nothing to install and no account to create. Connect your phone with USB debugging on, click Connect device, pick it in the browser's USB window, and tap Allow on the phone.
| Task | Command above | In ADBKit |
|---|---|---|
| Screenshots | screencap | Screenshots with a built-in editor |
| Screen recording | screenrecord | Recording with trim and export |
| Move files | push, pull, ls | Files explorer with upload and download |
| Install apps | install | Install APK panel with a replace option |
| Read logs | logcat | Logcat panel with filters and regex |
| Run commands | adb shell | Shell drawer with multiple tabs |
| Reboot modes | adb reboot ... | Power actions, each with confirmation |
Files, logs and APKs go only between your browser and the phone, since ADBKit has no server that receives them. Only one program can hold the USB connection at a time, so if it fails, close Android Studio, scrcpy or other ADBKit tabs, or run adb kill-server. Installed platform-tools remain the better choice for scripting and automation, and the browser workspace is convenient when you just need to get something done quickly on a machine where you cannot install software.