Remote ADB Shell 1.7.2

The Remote ADB Shell is a terminal application that allows users to connect to the ADB shell service of Android devices over the network and execute terminal commands. It proves useful for remotely debugging Android devices, running tools such as top, logcat, or dumpsys. With the ability to support multiple simultaneous connections to different devices, this app keeps the connections alive even when running in the background. It does not require root access on either device, but having root access may be helpful for configuring the target devices. If the target devices are not rooted, users must use a computer with the Android SDK and Google USB drivers to configure them (detailed below).

This app functions as a wrapper around the shell exposed by ADB. It maintains a 15 command history, which users can access by long pressing the command box. Users can also long press the terminal display itself to send a Ctrl+C command, toggle auto-scrolling, or exit the terminal session.

The Remote ADB Shell works in the same way as the "adb shell" command on a computer. As it uses a native Java implementation of the ADB protocol, it does not require root access on either device or any third-party apps on the target device. The devices communicate using the same protocol they would use with a computer running the ADB client from the Android SDK.

IMPORTANT: Devices running Android 4.2.2 and later utilize RSA keys for authenticating ADB connections. During testing, it was found that devices running 4.2.2 need to be plugged into a computer for the first connection (from each device with this app installed). This allows them to display the public key acceptance dialog, which users must accept (and check "Always allow from this computer"). Devices running Android 4.3 and 4.4 do not seem to have any issues displaying this dialog without a connection to a computer, suggesting that this is a workaround specific to Android 4.2.2.

To configure a stock unrooted target, users should plug the target device into a computer with the Android SDK installed and run "adb tcpip 5555" from the Android SDK's platform-tools folder. This will start ADB listening on port 5555 on the target device. The device can then be unplugged and will remain configured properly until reboot.

For rooted devices (although not required), users can install one of the various "ADB WiFi" apps to enable the ADB server to listen over the network. Devices with a custom ROM may have an option to enable ADB over the network in the Developer Options section of Settings. Using either of these methods will properly configure ADB for network access with this app. However, the additional step for 4.2.2 regarding initial connection is still required.

To connect to a remote Android device, users need to enter the IP address of the device and the port number (e.g., 5555) in Remote ADB Shell and tap Connect. The app will then attempt to connect to the device and initiate the terminal session.

Developers can find the custom Java ADB library used in this app on GitHub under the BSD license: https://github.com/cgutman/AdbLib. The source code for this app is available under the Apache license: https://github.com/cgutman/RemoteAdbShell.