android-adb

name	android-adb
description	Android device control via raw ADB for PlayBridge phone/TV work. Use when discovering devices on the LAN, connecting over Wi-Fi ADB, force-stopping apps, rebuilding and installing FOSS debug APKs with ABI splits, launching apps, screenshots, UI dumps, input, logcat, or ADB troubleshooting.

Android ADB

Reference for controlling Android devices with raw adb commands during PlayBridge Android work.

Upstream source: httprunner/skills android-adb (skills.sh). Extended with PlayBridge LAN discovery, Smart TV preference, ABI-split installs, and stop → rebuild → install → launch flow.

PlayBridge context

Item	Value
Phone package	com.playbridge.sender
TV package	com.playbridge.player
Phone Gradle root	mobile/android/
TV Gradle root	tv/android/
Phone FOSS debug APKs	mobile/android/app/build/outputs/apk/foss/debug/app-foss-*-debug.apk
TV FOSS debug APKs	tv/android/player/app/build/outputs/apk/foss/debug/app-foss-*-debug.apk
Default ADB port	5555

• Prefer debug / FOSS debug APKs for on-device verification. Many detection, proxy, and network dumps are gated on BuildConfig.DEBUG.
• On macOS, quote logcat filters that contain *:S so zsh does not glob.
• For phone logcat tag recipes, also read mobile/android/docs/logging.md.
• Always run Gradle from the project that owns the change, via: zsh -c "source ~/.zshrc && ./gradlew …".

Default workflow for Android work

When the user is working on Android phone or TV and on-device verification is useful (or they ask to install/run), do this before assuming a serial:

1. Discover devices already known to ADB and on the LAN (see LAN discovery).
2. Classify each hit (phone vs TV / Smart TV, authorized vs unauthorized, PlayBridge package present).
3. Prefer:
   • TV / tv/android work → Smart TV targets first (SmartTV, Hisense/BRAVIA/Android TV leanback, com.playbridge.player installed, _androidtvremote2 / Cast TV names).
   • Phone / mobile/android work → phone / non-TV targets first (com.playbridge.sender, handheld product).
4. List candidates to the user (IP/serial, name, model, ADB state, package presence).
5. Ask which device to use when more than one is usable, or when the preferred class is missing / unauthorized.
6. Connect with adb connect <ip>:5555 and keep using adb -s SERIAL for every later command.
7. For install/run cycles, use Stop → rebuild → install → launch.

Do not silently pick a random device when several are online. Do not treat unauthorized as connected.

Execution constraints

• Use adb -s <serial> whenever more than one device is listed (including leftover unauthorized entries).
• Confirm screen resolution before coordinate taps: adb -s SERIAL shell wm size.
• Ask for missing required inputs (serial when ambiguous, coordinates, APK path outside the defaults).
• Surface actionable stderr (authorization dialog, offline, INSTALL_FAILED_NO_MATCHING_ABIS, tcpip/Wi-Fi issues).
• Prefer ADB Keyboard broadcast for CJK / special characters when that IME is installed.

LAN discovery

1. Known ADB devices

adb start-server
adb devices -l

2. Find local IPv4 subnet

ipconfig getifaddr en0   # common Wi-Fi on macOS
# fallback: other en* / ifconfig inet lines excluding 127.0.0.1 and VPN tunnels if needed

3. Scan the /24 for TCP 5555

python3 - <<'PY'
import concurrent.futures, socket, time
subnet = "192.168.1."  # replace with local /24 prefix
port, timeout = 5555, 0.35

def probe(ip: str):
    s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
    s.settimeout(timeout)
    try:
        start = time.time()
        s.connect((ip, port))
        return ip, (time.time() - start) * 1000
    except Exception:
        return ip, None
    finally:
        s.close()

open_hosts = []
with concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=64) as ex:
    for ip, ms in ex.map(probe, [f"{subnet}{i}" for i in range(1, 255)]):
        if ms is not None:
            open_hosts.append((ip, ms))
for ip, ms in sorted(open_hosts, key=lambda t: tuple(map(int, t[0].split(".")))):
    print(f"{ip}:{port} open rtt_ms={ms:.0f}")
PY

4. Optional mDNS labels (names only; still verify via ADB)

# brief browse; kill after a few seconds
dns-sd -B _androidtvremote2._tcp local.
dns-sd -B _adb._tcp local.
dns-sd -B _googlecast._tcp local.

Useful instance-name hints: SmartTV…, BRAVIA…, Master bedroom TV, GoogleTV….

5. Probe each open host

adb connect IP:5555
adb devices -l

For each device (authorized) serial:

SERIAL=IP:5555
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell getprop ro.product.manufacturer
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell getprop ro.product.model
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell getprop ro.product.cpu.abi
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell getprop ro.product.cpu.abilist
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell settings get global device_name
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell pm path com.playbridge.player
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell pm path com.playbridge.sender
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell pm list packages | grep -E 'leanback|android.tv' | head

Present a table to the user, for example:

Serial	Name	Model	Kind	ADB	PlayBridge
192.168.1.34:5555	Master bedroom TV	Hisense SmartTV 4K FFM	Smart TV	device	player
192.168.1.32:5555	?	?	?	unauthorized	—

Then ask which serial to use (default recommendation: Smart TV for TV work).

Wi-Fi / USB connection

# USB first-time wireless enable
adb -s USB_SERIAL tcpip 5555
adb -s USB_SERIAL shell ip route | grep src

adb connect IP:5555
adb disconnect IP:5555

unauthorized → user must accept the RSA prompt on the TV/phone. Re-run adb connect / adb devices -l after they accept.

Device state

adb -s SERIAL shell wm size
adb -s SERIAL shell dumpsys window | grep -E 'mCurrentFocus|mFocusedApp'
adb -s SERIAL shell dumpsys activity activities | grep -E 'mResumedActivity|topResumedActivity'
adb -s SERIAL shell pidof com.playbridge.player   # or com.playbridge.sender
adb -s SERIAL shell cmd package resolve-activity --brief -c android.intent.category.HOME

App lifecycle

adb -s SERIAL shell pm list packages | grep playbridge
adb -s SERIAL shell am force-stop com.playbridge.player
adb -s SERIAL shell am force-stop com.playbridge.sender
adb -s SERIAL shell monkey -p com.playbridge.player -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1
adb -s SERIAL shell monkey -p com.playbridge.sender -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1
adb -s SERIAL shell am start -W -n com.playbridge.player/.MainActivity

Stop → rebuild → install → launch

Standard on-device loop after code changes (TV example; swap roots/packages for phone).

1. Force-stop

SERIAL=192.168.1.34:5555   # chosen target
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell am force-stop com.playbridge.player
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell pidof com.playbridge.player || echo stopped

2. Rebuild FOSS debug from the owning root

# TV
cd tv/android
zsh -c "source ~/.zshrc && ./gradlew :player:app:assembleFossDebug"

# Phone
cd mobile/android
zsh -c "source ~/.zshrc && ./gradlew :app:assembleFossDebug"

Outputs (ABI splits + universal):

• TV: player/app/build/outputs/apk/foss/debug/app-foss-{arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a,universal}-debug.apk
• Phone: app/build/outputs/apk/foss/debug/app-foss-{arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a,universal}-debug.apk

3. Pick APK by device ABI

ABI=$(adb -s "$SERIAL" shell getprop ro.product.cpu.abi | tr -d '\r')
# Examples seen in the field:
#   arm64-v8a  → app-foss-arm64-v8a-debug.apk
#   armeabi-v7a → app-foss-armeabi-v7a-debug.apk   # some Hisense Smart TVs are 32-bit only

Match split APK to ABI. If install fails with INSTALL_FAILED_NO_MATCHING_ABIS, install the other ABI split or the universal APK — do not assume every TV is arm64.

# TV paths from tv/android
case "$ABI" in
  arm64-v8a) APK=player/app/build/outputs/apk/foss/debug/app-foss-arm64-v8a-debug.apk ;;
  armeabi-v7a|armeabi) APK=player/app/build/outputs/apk/foss/debug/app-foss-armeabi-v7a-debug.apk ;;
  *) APK=player/app/build/outputs/apk/foss/debug/app-foss-universal-debug.apk ;;
esac

adb -s "$SERIAL" install -r "$APK"

4. Launch and verify foreground

adb -s "$SERIAL" shell monkey -p com.playbridge.player -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1
sleep 2
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell pidof com.playbridge.player
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell dumpsys window | grep -E 'mCurrentFocus|mFocusedApp'
adb -s "$SERIAL" shell dumpsys package com.playbridge.player | grep -E 'versionName|versionCode|lastUpdateTime|primaryCpuAbi'

Success looks like focus/resumed activity on com.playbridge.player/.MainActivity (or the phone equivalent) and a non-empty pidof.

Phone variant

Same loop with:

• package com.playbridge.sender
• assemble :app:assembleFossDebug from mobile/android
• APKs under app/build/outputs/apk/foss/debug/

Input actions

adb -s SERIAL shell input tap X Y
adb -s SERIAL shell input tap X Y && sleep 0.1 && adb -s SERIAL shell input tap X Y
adb -s SERIAL shell input swipe X Y X Y 3000
adb -s SERIAL shell input swipe X1 Y1 X2 Y2 [duration_ms]
adb -s SERIAL shell input keyevent KEYCODE_BACK
adb -s SERIAL shell input keyevent KEYCODE_HOME
adb -s SERIAL shell input keyevent KEYCODE_ENTER
adb -s SERIAL shell input keyevent KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER   # TV remote center
adb -s SERIAL shell input keyevent KEYCODE_DPAD_UP
adb -s SERIAL shell input keyevent KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN
adb -s SERIAL shell input keyevent KEYCODE_DPAD_LEFT
adb -s SERIAL shell input keyevent KEYCODE_DPAD_RIGHT

Text input

# ASCII only; spaces as %s
adb -s SERIAL shell input text "hello%sworld"

# ADB Keyboard (CJK / special chars) when installed
adb -s SERIAL shell ime set com.android.adbkeyboard/.AdbIME
adb -s SERIAL shell am broadcast -a ADB_INPUT_B64 --es msg "$(echo -n 'your text' | base64)"
adb -s SERIAL shell am broadcast -a ADB_CLEAR_TEXT

Screenshot and UI tree

adb -s SERIAL exec-out screencap -p > screenshot.png
adb -s SERIAL shell uiautomator dump /sdcard/window_dump.xml
adb -s SERIAL pull /sdcard/window_dump.xml ./window_dump.xml

Install / uninstall

adb -s SERIAL install -r /path/to/app.apk
adb -s SERIAL uninstall com.playbridge.player
adb -s SERIAL uninstall com.playbridge.sender

Common keycodes

Keycode	Description
KEYCODE_BACK	Back
KEYCODE_HOME	Home
KEYCODE_ENTER	Enter
KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER	TV select / OK
KEYCODE_DPAD_UP / DOWN / LEFT / RIGHT	TV d-pad
KEYCODE_DEL	Delete
KEYCODE_VOLUME_UP / DOWN	Volume
KEYCODE_POWER	Power
KEYCODE_TAB	Tab
KEYCODE_ESCAPE	Escape

Troubleshooting

Symptom	What to do
unauthorized	Accept RSA prompt on device; adb kill-server && adb start-server; reconnect
No port 5555 open	Enable wireless debugging / ADB over network on the TV; or USB + tcpip 5555
INSTALL_FAILED_NO_MATCHING_ABIS	Read ro.product.cpu.abi and install the matching split (many Smart TVs are armeabi-v7a only)
Install succeeds, blank focus	Wait 1–2s and re-check mCurrentFocus / mResumedActivity; re-launch with monkey or am start
Glob fails on logcat *:S	Quote filters in zsh
Wrong app updated	Confirm package (player vs sender) and Gradle root before assemble