Android Control Skill
Control your Android device from FRIDAY using ADB (Android Debug Bridge).
Prerequisites
- •
Enable USB Debugging on your Android phone:
- •Go to Settings → About Phone → Tap "Build Number" 7 times
- •Go to Settings → Developer Options → Enable "USB Debugging"
- •
Connect phone via USB or set up Wireless ADB:
- •For wireless:
adb tcpip 5555thenadb connect <phone-ip>:5555
- •For wireless:
- •
Authorize the connection when prompted on your phone
Commands Reference
Device Management
bash
# List connected devices adb devices # Get device info adb shell getprop ro.product.model adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release # Reboot device adb reboot # Check battery status adb shell dumpsys battery
Send SMS Message
bash
# Open SMS app with pre-filled message adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.SENDTO -d "sms:<phone_number>" --es sms_body "<message>" # Example: Send message to 9876543210 adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.SENDTO -d "sms:9876543210" --es sms_body "Hello from FRIDAY!"
Make Phone Calls
bash
# Initiate a call adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.CALL -d "tel:<phone_number>" # Example: Call 9876543210 adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.CALL -d "tel:9876543210" # End call (hang up) adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_ENDCALL
Open Apps
bash
# Open specific app by package name adb shell monkey -p <package_name> -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1 # Common apps: adb shell monkey -p com.whatsapp -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1 # WhatsApp adb shell monkey -p com.spotify.music -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1 # Spotify adb shell monkey -p com.google.android.youtube -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1 # YouTube adb shell monkey -p com.instagram.android -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1 # Instagram adb shell monkey -p com.google.android.gm -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1 # Gmail adb shell monkey -p com.android.chrome -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1 # Chrome adb shell monkey -p com.google.android.apps.maps -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1 # Maps # List all installed packages adb shell pm list packages # Search for app package adb shell pm list packages | grep -i spotify
Take Screenshot on Phone
bash
# Capture screenshot and save to phone adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/screenshot.png # Pull screenshot to computer adb pull /sdcard/screenshot.png ~/Pictures/phone_screenshot.png # One-liner: Screenshot and pull adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/screen.png && adb pull /sdcard/screen.png ~/Pictures/phone_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).png
Screen Recording
bash
# Record screen for 10 seconds adb shell screenrecord --time-limit 10 /sdcard/recording.mp4 # Pull recording to computer adb pull /sdcard/recording.mp4 ~/Videos/phone_recording.mp4
Media Control
bash
# Play/Pause media adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_MEDIA_PLAY_PAUSE # Next track adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_MEDIA_NEXT # Previous track adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_MEDIA_PREVIOUS # Volume up/down adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_VOLUME_UP adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_VOLUME_DOWN # Mute adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_VOLUME_MUTE
Navigation & Input
bash
# Tap at coordinates (x, y) adb shell input tap 500 1000 # Swipe from (x1,y1) to (x2,y2) adb shell input swipe 500 1500 500 500 # Swipe up adb shell input swipe 500 500 500 1500 # Swipe down adb shell input swipe 100 500 900 500 # Swipe right adb shell input swipe 900 500 100 500 # Swipe left # Type text adb shell input text "Hello World" # Press keys adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_HOME # Home button adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_BACK # Back button adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_APP_SWITCH # Recent apps adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_POWER # Power button adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_ENTER # Enter key adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_DEL # Backspace
Screen Control
bash
# Turn screen on/off adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_POWER # Wake up screen adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_WAKEUP # Lock screen adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_SLEEP # Get screen state adb shell dumpsys power | grep "Display Power"
File Transfer
bash
# Push file to phone adb push ~/file.txt /sdcard/Download/ # Pull file from phone adb pull /sdcard/Download/file.txt ~/ # List files adb shell ls /sdcard/
Install/Uninstall Apps
bash
# Install APK adb install ~/Downloads/app.apk # Uninstall app adb uninstall com.package.name # Install and replace existing adb install -r ~/Downloads/app.apk
Notifications
bash
# Open notification shade adb shell cmd statusbar expand-notifications # Close notification shade adb shell cmd statusbar collapse # Clear all notifications adb shell service call notification 1
Clipboard
bash
# Set clipboard text (Android 10+) adb shell am broadcast -a clipper.set -e text "Text to copy" # Note: Reading clipboard requires special app like Clipper
Open URLs
bash
# Open URL in browser adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "https://google.com" # Open YouTube video adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"
Wireless ADB Setup
bash
# With phone connected via USB: adb tcpip 5555 # Then disconnect USB and connect wirelessly: adb connect <phone_ip_address>:5555 # Find phone IP: Settings → About Phone → Status → IP Address # Or: adb shell ip addr show wlan0 # Disconnect wireless adb disconnect
Screen Mirroring (requires scrcpy)
bash
# Mirror phone screen to computer scrcpy # Mirror with specific settings scrcpy --max-size 1024 --bit-rate 2M # Record while mirroring scrcpy --record ~/Videos/phone_mirror.mp4
Common Use Cases
"Send a text to Mom saying I'll be late"
bash
adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.SENDTO -d "sms:+919876543210" --es sms_body "I'll be late"
"Open Spotify on my phone"
bash
adb shell monkey -p com.spotify.music -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1
"Take a screenshot of my phone"
bash
adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/screen.png && adb pull /sdcard/screen.png ~/Pictures/phone_screenshot.png
"Play/pause music on my phone"
bash
adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_MEDIA_PLAY_PAUSE
"Go back on my phone"
bash
adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_BACK
"Open YouTube video"
bash
adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"