Android Debug Bridge (adb) is a versatile command-line tool that lets you communicate with a device. The adb command facilitates a variety of device actions, such as installing and debugging apps, and it provides access to a Unix shell that you can use to run a variety of commands on a device. It is a client-server program that includes three components:
A client, which sends commands. The client runs on your development machine. You can invoke a client from a command-line terminal by issuing an adb command.
A daemon (adbd), which runs commands on a device. The daemon runs as a background process on each device.
A server, which manages communication between the client and the daemon. The server runs as a background process on your development machine.
adb is included in the Android SDK Platform-Tools package. You can download this package with the SDK Manager, which installs it at android_sdk/platform-tools/. Or if you want the standalone Android
SDK Platform-Tools package, you can
download it here.
For information on connecting a device for use over ADB, including how to use the Connection Assistant to troubleshoot common problems, see Run apps on a hardware device.
How adb works
When you start an adb client, the client first checks whether there is an adb server process already running. If there isn't, it starts the server process. When the server starts, it binds to local TCP port 5037 and listens for commands sent from adb clients—all adb clients use port 5037 to communicate with the adb server.
The server then sets up connections to all running devices. It locates emulators by scanning odd-numbered ports in the range 5555 to 5585, the range used by the first 16 emulators. Where the server finds an adb daemon (adbd), it sets up a connection to that port. Note that each emulator uses a pair of sequential ports — an even-numbered port for console connections and an odd-numbered port for adb connections. For example:
Emulator 1, console: 5554
Emulator 1, adb: 5555
Emulator 2, console: 5556
Emulator 2, adb: 5557
and so on...
As shown, the emulator connected to adb on port 5555 is the same as the emulator whose console listens on port 5554.
Once the server has set up connections to all devices, you can use adb commands to access those devices. Because the server manages connections to devices and handles commands from multiple adb clients, you can control any device from any client (or from a script).
Enable adb debugging on your device
To use adb with a device connected over USB, you must enable USB debugging in the device system settings, under Developer options. To use adb with a device connected over Wi-Fi, see Connect to a device over Wi-Fi.
On Android 4.2 and higher, the Developer options screen is hidden by default. To make it visible, go to Settings > About phone and tap Build number seven times. Return to the previous screen to find Developer options at the bottom.
On some devices, the Developer options screen might be located or named differently.
You can now connect your device with USB. You can verify that your device is connected by executing adb devices from the android_sdk/platform-tools/ directory. If connected, you'll see the device name listed as a "device."
