Take a Screenshot and Record the Screen on Android with ADB

You can take a screenshot from a computer with adb exec-out screencap -p > screen.png, and record the screen with adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/demo.mp4. Both work without installing anything on the phone. If you would rather do it with a few clicks, ADBKit can capture, edit and record from the browser.

Take a screenshot with adb

Make sure USB debugging is on and adb devices lists your phone. Then run:

adb exec-out screencap -p > screen.png

exec-out sends the raw PNG straight to your computer, so the file is written locally and nothing is left on the device. This is preferable to the older two-step approach, which saves on the phone first:

adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/screen.png
adb pull /sdcard/screen.png

Note: On Windows PowerShell, the > redirect may re-encode the output and corrupt the PNG. Use Command Prompt, or use the two-step method above.

Some apps mark their windows as secure (banking apps and video players often do), and the capture then comes out black. That is intentional behavior on the app's side.

Record the screen with adb

adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/demo.mp4

Recording runs until you press Ctrl+C, but there is a built-in limit of 3 minutes per file by default. Useful options:

adb shell screenrecord --time-limit 30 /sdcard/demo.mp4
adb shell screenrecord --bit-rate 8000000 /sdcard/demo.mp4
adb shell screenrecord --size 1280x720 /sdcard/demo.mp4

• --time-limit sets the length in seconds (the maximum is 180).
• --bit-rate sets the video bit rate in bits per second; higher means better quality and larger files.
• --size sets the resolution, such as 1280x720. A lower size gives smaller files.

When you stop the recording, wait a moment for the file to finish writing, then copy it to your computer:

adb pull /sdcard/demo.mp4

Delete the original if you no longer need it:

adb shell rm /sdcard/demo.mp4

Audio is not recorded by screenrecord. For longer sessions, record several clips back to back. More on moving files in browse and transfer Android files with ADB.

Capture and record in ADBKit

The ADBKit workspace does the same job in a Chromium-based desktop browser (Chrome or Edge) with no install and no account. Connect your phone over USB, and the live screen appears. From the live view:

1. Screenshot: click capture. The image opens in an editor where you can crop, rotate, annotate, apply filters and resize, then save it as a PNG.
2. Screen recording: start recording from the live view, stop when you are done, then go through a trim step to cut the start and end and export the result.
3. Captures list: each capture is kept in a list for the current session, so you can reopen, edit or save any of them.

Frames and files go only between the browser and the phone; ADBKit has no server that receives them. Because the captures live in the session, save the ones you want to keep before closing the tab. For how the live screen works, see control your Android phone from the browser.

Tips for better captures

• Lower the noise first. Turn on Do Not Disturb so notifications do not appear in the frame.
• Use a steady resolution. A smaller --size or a lower stream quality makes recordings lighter to share.
• Keep clips short. Short, focused recordings are easier to trim and upload than one long take.
• Annotate instead of describing. For bug reports, a cropped screenshot with an arrow is clearer than a paragraph.
• Pair a recording with logs. Reproduce the bug on video while you collect output as described in how to read Android logcat.
• Check for black frames. If protected content shows black, that content cannot be captured this way.

Troubleshooting

• If screencap or screenrecord fails with an error about the device, run adb devices to confirm the connection first.
• If a recording will not start, a few phones restrict screenrecord at certain sizes. Try a smaller --size.
• If the pulled video will not play, make sure the recording was stopped cleanly rather than by unplugging the cable.