ADB Commands Cheatsheet 2026 — Android Debug Bridge Complete Reference

Prerequisites: Install ADB: brew install android-platform-tools (macOS) · winget install Google.PlatformTools (Windows) · sudo apt install adb (Linux). Enable USB Debugging in Settings → Developer Options. Then connect and run adb devices to verify.

🔌 Setup & Connection 6 commands

adb devices

List connected devices. Shows serial numbers and connection state. Run this first.

safe

adb connect 192.168.1.100:5555

Connect wirelessly. First enable Wireless Debugging in Developer Options (Android 11+).

safewireless

adb shell

Open an interactive shell session on the device. Type exit to close.

safe

adb reboot

Reboot the device normally. Also: adb reboot bootloader / adb reboot recovery.

caution

adb pair 192.168.1.100:PORT

Pair wirelessly (Android 11+). Use the pairing code from Wireless Debugging settings.

safe

adb kill-server && adb start-server

Restart the ADB daemon. Fixes most "device not found" or connection issues.

safe

📊 Device Info 8 commands

adb shell getprop ro.product.model

Get device model name.

safe

adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release

Get Android OS version number (e.g. "14").

safe

adb shell pm list packages -f

List all installed packages with APK file paths. Remove -f for just package names.

safe

adb shell pm list packages -3

List only user-installed (third-party) packages.

safe

adb shell dumpsys battery

Full battery status: level, health, temperature, voltage, charging state.

safe

adb shell wm size && adb shell wm density

Get current screen resolution and DPI density values.

safe

adb shell cat /proc/meminfo

Total and available RAM. MemTotal and MemAvailable are the key values.

safe

adb shell df -h

Disk usage for all partitions in human-readable format.

safe

⚡ Performance Tweaks 7 commands

adb shell settings put global window_animation_scale 0.5
adb shell settings put global transition_animation_scale 0.5
adb shell settings put global animator_duration_scale 0.5

Set all animations to 0.5x speed. Use 0 to disable entirely. Makes the phone feel noticeably snappier.

safe

adb shell settings put global window_animation_scale 0
adb shell settings put global transition_animation_scale 0
adb shell settings put global animator_duration_scale 0

Disable all animations entirely. Fastest feel, but can look jarring. Restore to 1 to revert.

safe

adb shell settings put global heads_up_notifications_enabled 0

Disable heads-up (floating) notifications. Restore to 1 to re-enable.

safe

adb shell dumpsys power | grep "Wake Locks"

Show apps holding wake locks. If battery drains fast, this reveals the culprit.

safe

adb shell am force-stop com.package.name

Force stop any app by package name. Frees RAM immediately.

caution

adb shell am send-trim-memory com.package.name RUNNING_LOW

Tell an app to release memory. Useful for heavy apps like Chrome or games.

safe

adb shell cmd netpolicy set restrict-background true

Enable Data Saver globally. Restricts background data for all apps not whitelisted.

caution

🔒 Privacy & Permissions 8 commands

adb shell pm revoke com.package.name android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION

Revoke fine location permission from any app. Replace package name and permission as needed.

safe

adb shell dumpsys package com.package.name | grep permission

List all permissions granted to a specific app. Shows both granted and denied.

safe

adb shell pm revoke com.package.name android.permission.CAMERA
adb shell pm revoke com.package.name android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO

Revoke camera and microphone access. Effective for social media apps that don't need them.

safe

adb shell settings put global google_usage_stats_disabled 1

Disable Google usage statistics reporting. Part of the Privacy Hardener script.

safe

adb shell settings put secure limit_ad_tracking 1

Opt out of ad tracking. Equivalent to "Opt out of Ads Personalization" in Settings.

safe

adb shell pm revoke com.package.name android.permission.READ_CONTACTS

Revoke contacts access. Highly recommended for social apps (LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.).

safe

adb shell pm reset-permissions -p com.package.name

Reset ALL runtime permissions for an app to ungranted state. Nuclear option — app will ask again.

caution

adb shell settings put global sensors_off_for_unknown_apps 1

Block sensor access (accelerometer, gyro, etc.) for apps not in foreground. Android 12+.

safe

🗑️ Debloating 6 commands

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.package.name

Disable a system app for your user. App stays installed but can't run. Reversible — no root needed.

safereversible

adb shell pm enable com.package.name

Re-enable a previously disabled app. Always reversible.

safe

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.package.name

Uninstall for current user only. App data kept (-k). Restores on factory reset. Safer than full uninstall.

caution

adb shell cmd package install-existing com.package.name

Restore a user-uninstalled system app without factory reset.

safe

adb shell pm list packages -d

List all currently disabled packages. Useful audit of what you've already disabled.

safe

adb shell pm list packages | grep -i samsung

Search for packages by keyword. Replace "samsung" with your search term.

safe

🖥️ Display & DPI 6 commands

adb shell wm density 420

Change display DPI. Lower = more content on screen. Typical range: 320-480. Reset: adb shell wm density reset

safereversible

adb shell wm size 1080x1920

Override screen resolution. Reset: adb shell wm size reset. Use with caution — some resolutions cause issues.

caution

adb shell settings put system font_scale 1.0

Set font size scale. 1.0 = default. Range: 0.85 (smaller) to 1.3 (larger).

safe

adb shell settings put system screen_brightness 128

Set screen brightness (0-255). Disable auto-brightness first: settings put system screen_brightness_mode 0

safe

adb exec-out screencap -p > screen.png

Take a screenshot and save directly to your PC as screen.png.

safe

adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/record.mp4

Record screen to device storage. Ctrl+C to stop. Pull with: adb pull /sdcard/record.mp4

safe

💾 Backup & Files 6 commands

adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/ ./backup/

Copy a folder from device to PC. Works for any path you have permission to access.

safe

adb push ./file.apk /sdcard/

Copy a file from PC to device storage.

safe

adb install -r app.apk

Install an APK. -r keeps existing data if reinstalling. Add -d to allow downgrades.

safe

adb shell pm path com.package.name
adb pull /data/app/.../base.apk ./app_backup.apk

Get the APK path of any installed app, then pull it to PC as a backup.

safe

adb pull /sdcard/ . 2>&1 | tail -1

Pull all of /sdcard/ to current directory. Shows summary of files transferred.

caution

adb logcat -d > device_log.txt

Dump the current device log buffer to a file. Useful for debugging crashes.

safe

🔋 Battery & Power 5 commands

adb shell dumpsys batterystats | grep -E "uid|wakelock|top"

Show which apps/UIDs are consuming battery. Grep filters to the important lines.

safe

adb shell dumpsys deviceidle enable

Force enable Doze mode immediately (instead of waiting for device to be idle). Good for testing.

caution

adb shell dumpsys battery set level 50

Simulate battery level for testing. Reset with: adb shell dumpsys battery reset

caution

adb shell settings put global low_power 1

Enable Battery Saver mode. Set to 0 to disable.

safe

adb shell dumpsys battery | grep temperature

Check battery temperature. Value is in tenths of degrees Celsius (e.g. 290 = 29.0°C).

safe

🛠️ Developer Tools 5 commands

adb shell am start -n com.package.name/.MainActivity

Launch a specific activity. Great for automation and testing.

safe

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

Open a URL on the device from your PC. Works for any intent.

safe

adb shell input tap 540 960

Simulate a tap at coordinates (x, y). Use adb shell screencap first to find coordinates.

safe

adb shell input text "Hello%sWorld"

Type text into the focused field. Use %s for spaces. Limited to ASCII only.

safe

adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_HOME

Simulate button press. Common codes: HOME, BACK, MENU, POWER, VOLUME_UP, VOLUME_DOWN.

safe

🚀 Want a GUI for all of this?

android-adb-toolkit wraps these commands in a web interface — no terminal needed.

⭐ GitHub Repo 🔒 Privacy Script 📱 All Tools