android-adb

name	android-adb
description	Android device control via ADB - screenshots, UI interaction, app management, file transfer, and backup/restore using adb and uiautomator

Android ADB

Use this skill when interacting with Android devices over USB via ADB — taking screenshots, navigating UI, transferring files, managing apps, or performing backups.

Activation Triggers

Activate this skill when the user mentions:

• ADB, Android Debug Bridge
• Controlling or automating an Android phone
• Taking screenshots of a phone
• Installing or managing Android apps
• Transferring files to/from Android
• Backing up or restoring Android data
• Interacting with a phone's UI programmatically

Environment

• Binary: adb (from android-tools package)
• Install: sudo pacman -S android-tools (Arch/CachyOS)
• Prerequisites: USB Debugging enabled on device (Developer Options)
• Multiple devices: Use -s <serial> to target a specific device

Device Management

# List connected devices
adb devices

# Target a specific device
adb -s <serial> <command>

# Get device serial numbers only
adb devices | grep -v "List" | awk '{print $1}'

# Restart ADB server
adb kill-server && adb start-server

# Connect over TCP/IP (e.g. over Tailscale)
adb connect <ip>:5555
adb tcpip 5555  # switch device to TCP mode first (requires USB)

Screenshots

Screenshots can be taken and pulled to the local machine. The agent CAN VIEW these screenshots using the Read tool.

# Take screenshot and pull to local machine
adb -s <serial> shell screencap -p /sdcard/screen.png
adb -s <serial> pull /sdcard/screen.png /tmp/screen.png

# One-liner
adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/screen.png && adb pull /sdcard/screen.png /tmp/screen.png

Important: After pulling, use the read tool on the local path to view the screenshot. Image coordinates in the displayed image may be scaled — multiply by the scale factor shown to get actual device coordinates.

UI Interaction

Tapping & Input

# Tap at coordinates (use screenshot to find coordinates)
adb shell input tap <x> <y>

# Long press
adb shell input swipe <x> <y> <x> <y> 1000

# Swipe
adb shell input swipe <x1> <y1> <x2> <y2> [duration_ms]

# Type text
adb shell input text "hello world"

# Key events
adb shell input keyevent 4     # Back
adb shell input keyevent 3     # Home
adb shell input keyevent 187   # Recents
adb shell input keyevent 26    # Power

UI Hierarchy (Blind Navigation)

Use uiautomator dump to understand what's on screen without seeing it:

# Dump UI to file and pull
adb shell uiautomator dump /sdcard/ui.xml
adb pull /sdcard/ui.xml /tmp/ui.xml
cat /tmp/ui.xml | grep -o 'text="[^"]*"\|bounds="[^"]*"' | paste - -

Parse bounds format [x1,y1][x2,y2] to find tap center:

• center_x = (x1 + x2) / 2
• center_y = (y1 + y2) / 2

Launch Apps

# Launch app by package name
adb shell monkey -p <package> -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1

# Launch specific activity
adb shell am start -n <package>/<activity>

# Open URL
adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "https://example.com"

App Management

# List installed user apps
adb shell pm list packages -3

# List all packages
adb shell pm list packages

# Install APK
adb install app.apk
adb install -r app.apk  # reinstall, keep data

# Uninstall
adb uninstall <package>

# Clear app data
adb shell pm clear <package>

# Get app version
adb shell dumpsys package <package> | grep versionName

File Transfer

# Push file to device
adb push local_file.txt /sdcard/

# Pull file from device
adb pull /sdcard/file.txt ./

# Pull entire directory
adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/ ./DCIM/

# List directory
adb shell ls /sdcard/

Backup & Restore

# Backup specific app data (no APK)
adb backup -noapk <package> -f backup.ab

# Backup multiple apps
adb backup -noapk <pkg1> <pkg2> -f backup.ab

# Full backup
adb backup -all -f full_backup.ab

# Restore
adb restore backup.ab

Note: User must confirm backup/restore on device screen. adb backup is deprecated but still functional as of Android 16.

SMS / Telephony

# Backup SMS database
adb backup -noapk com.android.providers.telephony -f sms_backup.ab

# Restore SMS to another device
adb -s <target_serial> restore sms_backup.ab

Shell Access

# Interactive shell
adb shell

# Run single command
adb shell <command>

# Device info
adb shell getprop ro.product.model
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.sdk

# Storage info
adb shell df -h

# Running processes
adb shell ps -A | grep <name>

Logcat

# Stream logs
adb logcat

# Filter by tag
adb logcat -s MyTag

# Filter by priority
adb logcat *:E  # errors only

# Clear log buffer
adb logcat -c

Screen Recording

adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/record.mp4
# Ctrl+C to stop, then:
adb pull /sdcard/record.mp4 ./

Common Workflows

Navigate an App Blindly

1. Take screenshot → pull → read to see current state
2. Dump UI hierarchy to find element coordinates
3. Tap element by calculated center coordinates
4. Repeat

Diff Apps Between Two Devices

comm -23 \
  <(adb -s <serial1> shell pm list packages -3 | sed 's/package://' | sort) \
  <(adb -s <serial2> shell pm list packages -3 | sed 's/package://' | sort)

Migrate SMS Between Phones

# On source phone (plugged in via USB)
adb -s <source> backup -noapk com.android.providers.telephony -f sms_backup.ab
# Confirm on device screen

# Switch USB to target phone
adb -s <target> restore sms_backup.ab
# Confirm on device screen

GrapheneOS Notes

• USB debugging must be explicitly enabled in Developer Options
• GrapheneOS restricts adb backup for some system apps — user apps work fine
• adb shell run-as <package> may not work without app being debuggable
• USB data blocked when screen locked by default — unlock before connecting