How to install and use ADB on Windows Mac Linux Android Chromebooks or even in a browser: A powerful tool called ADB makes it possible for you to use your computer to control your Android device. You can transfer files, install apps, and even take screen shots of your device's display using ADB.

How to install and use ADB on Windows Mac Linux Android Chromebooks or even in a browser

How to install and use ADB on Windows Mac Linux Android Chromebooks or even in a browser

One of your favorite Android phone's most potent features is the Android Debug Bridge, or ADB for short. While learning all the choices the command-line tool provides may take some time, installing your preferred custom ROM, activating it, and using it under instruction just requires you to run a single line of computer code. The nice aspect is that sending ADB commands to your phone may be done from any device. ADB functions, at least in part, on Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, as well as on the web and your phone..

What is ADB?

You may access restricted functionality on your Android phone with the help of the robust command-line tool known as the Android Debug Bridge. It is divided into three primary sections:

  • the customer. the machine, typically your computer, from which you are issuing commands.
  • a daemon. runs in the background of your phone and responds to client commands.
  • The server. a service on your client that creates the connection between the two devices while it is operating in the background.

ADB is a debugging tool for app developers that enables them to construct apps and analyze problems with their code on a real phone. However, the tool is more than that. It also enables you to install system upgrades or a custom ROM and access secret settings on your phone.

Android setup

You'll modify a few settings on your Android smartphone before using ADB for the first time. If you haven't already, turn on the developer settings in your system settings. These are generally the steps you'll take, though they may differ depending on your phone:

  • Enter the system settings of your phone.
  • The About phone section or a similar place will have the build number for your smartphone.
  • You need to tap the build number seven times to view the message “You're now a developer.” The need to enter your screen can arise.
  • After completing the previous step, check your system settings for the new Developer choices that have appeared.
  • Enable USB debugging in the developer settings. Your device will be ready for ADB connections with your computer (or the client of your choice) after doing this.
  • Instead of or in addition to USB debugging, turn on Wi-Fi debugging if you want to connect your phone to your client wirelessly.

When you're finished using ADB for your intended purpose, we advise switching off WIFI and USB debugging for security reasons. You might need to sift through your system settings to uncover these options because, as was already noted, these processes can vary based on your phone.

Installing and setting up ADB on your client

The quickest method for setting up and running ADB on your PC is with Nexus Tools. It was developed by Android Police alumnus Corbin Davenport as an open source tool. The most recent platform tools are automatically downloaded by Nexus Tools from the Google website, extracted, and added to your system's path for use.

Set up ADB on macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS with Nexus Tools

To begin, paste the following command into a terminal window on a Mac or Linux computer and hit Enter.

Open a new terminal window after the installation is complete and use the ADB devices command to verify that ADB is functional. You can see your phone's ID if USB debugging is enabled and it is connected. The script also functions with Linux on Chromebooks (here's how to enable Linux on Chrome OS) and the most recent Macs with custom M chips.

Install ADB on Windows with Nexus Tools

You'll need to take a slightly different route on Windows. Open Windows PowerShell by using the Start menu to search for it, then paste the following command into it: Open a new PowerShell window, connect your phone, then type the ADB devices command to verify that it functions on Windows.

Perform a manual setup in Windows

We provide instructions for manually configuring ADB and the platform tools on Windows if you prefer:

  • From the Android Developers website, download the Windows SDK platform tools.
  • Extract the ZIP file to a location you can remember easily, such as C:/platform-tools.
  • Holding Shift while right-clicking an empty space in the folder and choosing Open command prompt/PowerShell here will bring up a command window. After that, you can begin utilizing ADB. Enter and connect your phone. ADB devices to see if they are functioning. The associated devices are listed in a list.
  • You might need to install the phone's specific Windows USB driver if your computer doesn't recognize it. Alternatively, if you don't want to deal with the effort of locating the right one for your device, there is an open source universal driver.

Add the folder to your Windows path (Nexus Tools takes care of it automatically for you) if you merely want to create a command window and use ADB without first going to your platform-tools folder:

  • Use the Windows Start search to look up system environment, then click Edit the system environment variables from the list of results.
  • The window will open, and at the bottom, click Environment Variables.
  • Look find the Path row under System variables in the lower part of the following window. Click Edit after selecting it.
  • In the Edit environment variable window, select the New button, then use the platform tools to add the path. In our illustration, it is C:/platform-tools.
  • Select OK to save your changes and close all open windows.
  • Check whether ADB devices function by starting a new command prompt or PowerShell and seeing if you need to go to your platform-tools folder. Additionally, you won't need to place a period (.) before it any longer.

On Windows, macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS, install Android Studio.

Install Android Studio if you're a developer or want to start creating Android apps. It's the official Integrated Development Environment (IDE) from Google for developing Android apps, and it includes all the tools you'll need to start your projects, like ADB and faltboat. Additionally, the software makes sure that your tools are always current. On the website for Android Developers, you can download Android Studio. The installation procedure is simple. Observe the installer's on-screen instructions.

Set up the ADB shell on your phone

You don't need to connect your phone to a computer if all you need is access to the ADB shell and you don't want to root it or install a custom ROM. You can use the wireless ADB protocol to locally execute a shell with the free LADB software. To actually live free from a computer, you'll need Android 11 or higher, and setting it up is a little complicated. You can follow the procedure in our tutorial.

How to use webADB

WebADB might be for you if you don't have Android 11 or higher or if you want to work on a larger screen. It's an open source online application that you can use to launch the ADB shell, but it also includes a file manager and supports SCRCPY for taking screenshots and recording screencasts in apps that don't allow you to do so normally (on Android versions 11 and below, that is). The biggest warning: Because it's an online tool, you have to believe that the creators won't mistreat your phone in any way. You're giving an unidentified party low-level access; hence, you might wish to choose a local install. The tool was used as shown below.

Using ADB

There are various ways to set up and use ADB; these are just the easiest ones. Similar to Nexus Tools, ADB is automatically installed in the appropriate location if you use Homebrew on a Mac or Linux system. As explained in the Windows tutorial, ADB may also be manually installed on Linux and macOS.

Depending on the installation method you chose, you might need to prefix ADB commands with a period (.) in order for them to function. On Windows, you must launch a terminal from the SDK tools folder if you haven't added your SDK tools installation to your path (this isn't necessary if you installed it via Nexus Tools).

Through ADB and the ADB shell, you can enable or disable a variety of sophisticated functions and modifications. SCRCPY, installing APKs, and stockizing Amazon Fire devices are some of our favorites.

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