Android Automation

Android Automation

Control and automate Android devices using ADB, uiautomator, and screencap.

Connecting Devices

USB Connection

1. Enable Developer Options and USB Debugging on the device.
2. Connect via USB and verify with adb devices.

Wireless Connection (Android 11+)

1. Enable Wireless Debugging in Developer Options.
2. Pairing: Find the IP, port, and pairing code in the "Pair device with pairing code" popup. adb pair <ip>:<pairing_port> <pairing_code>
3. Connecting: Use the IP and port shown on the main Wireless Debugging screen. adb connect <ip>:<connection_port>
4. Verify with adb devices.

Common Workflows

Launching an App

Use the monkey tool to launch apps by package name: adb shell monkey -p <package_name> -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1

Analyzing the UI

Dump and pull the UI hierarchy to find coordinates: adb shell uiautomator dump /sdcard/view.xml && adb pull /sdcard/view.xml ./view.xml

Then grep for text or resource IDs to find bounds="[x1,y1][x2,y2]".

Interacting with Elements

• Tap: adb shell input tap <x> <y>
• Text: adb shell input text "<text>" (Note: Use %\s for spaces in some environments or handle quoting carefully)
• Keyevent: adb shell input keyevent <keycode> (Home: 3, Back: 4, Power: 26, Search: 84, Enter: 66)
• Swipe: adb shell input swipe <x1> <y1> <x2> <y2> <duration_ms>

Visual Verification

Take a screenshot to verify the state: adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/screen.png && adb pull /sdcard/screen.png ./screen.png

Tips

• Search: Use input keyevent 84 to trigger search in many apps.
• Wait: Use sleep <seconds> between commands to allow the UI to update.
• Coordinates: Calculate the center of [x1,y1][x2,y2] for reliable taps.