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Version: 1.0

ADB Setup for Android Development

This guide will walk you through setting up Android Debug Bridge (ADB) on your development machine. ADB is a command-line tool that allows you to communicate with Android devices for debugging, installing apps, and accessing device features.

What is ADB?

Android Debug Bridge (ADB) is a versatile command-line tool that lets you:

  • Install and debug Android applications
  • Access a Unix shell on your Android device
  • Transfer files between your computer and device
  • View device logs and system information
  • Enable USB debugging and manage device connections

Prerequisites

  • An Android device (phone or tablet) running Android 4.0 or higher
  • A USB cable to connect your device to your computer
  • Administrator/sudo access on your development machine

Installation

macOS

brew install android-platform-tools

Option 2: Manual Installation

  1. Download the Command Line Tools from Android Developer website
  2. Extract the ZIP file to a location like ~/Library/Android/sdk
  3. Add ADB to your PATH by editing ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile:
export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Library/Android/sdk
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/tools
  1. Reload your shell configuration:
source ~/.zshrc  # or source ~/.bash_profile

Windows

Option 1: Using Chocolatey

choco install adb

Option 2: Using Scoop

scoop install adb

Option 3: Manual Installation

  1. Download the Command Line Tools from Android Developer website

  2. Extract the ZIP file to a location like C:\Android\sdk

  3. Add ADB to your PATH:

    • Open System Properties > Environment Variables
    • Under System Variables, find and select Path, then click Edit
    • Click New and add: C:\Android\sdk\platform-tools
    • Click OK to save

  4. Open a new Command Prompt or PowerShell window

Linux

Option 1: Using Package Manager

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot

Fedora:

sudo dnf install android-tools

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S android-tools

Option 2: Manual Installation

  1. Download the Command Line Tools from Android Developer website
  2. Extract the ZIP file to a location like ~/Android/sdk
  3. Add ADB to your PATH by editing ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:
export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Android/sdk
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/tools
  1. Reload your shell configuration:
source ~/.bashrc  # or source ~/.zshrc

Verify Installation

After installation, verify that ADB is working correctly:

adb version

You should see output like:

Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.41
Version 33.0.3-8952118

Setting Up Your Android Device

Step 1: Enable Developer Options

  1. Open Settings on your Android device
  2. Navigate to About phone (or About device)
  3. Find Build number and tap it 7 times
  4. You'll see a message saying "You are now a developer!"

Step 2: Enable USB Debugging

  1. Go back to Settings
  2. Navigate to Developer options (usually under System or Advanced)
  3. Enable USB debugging
  4. If prompted, tap OK to confirm

Step 3: Connect Your Device

  1. Connect your Android device to your computer using a USB cable
  2. On your device, you may see a prompt asking "Allow USB debugging?"
  3. Check "Always allow from this computer" (optional but recommended)
  4. Tap OK

Step 4: Verify Connection

Run the following command to verify your device is connected:

adb devices

You should see output like:

List of devices attached
ABC123XYZ456    device

If you see unauthorized instead of device, you need to:

  1. Check your device screen for the USB debugging authorization prompt
  2. Tap Allow on the prompt
  3. Run adb devices again

Common ADB Commands

Here are some useful ADB commands for development:

Check Connected Devices

adb devices

Install an APK

adb install path/to/app.apk

This is particularly useful for installing Formulus APK files or other ODE applications for testing.

Install with Replace (upgrade existing app)

adb install -r path/to/app.apk

Uninstall an App

adb uninstall com.example.package

View Device Logs

adb logcat

Filter Logs by Tag

adb logcat -s TAG_NAME

Clear Logs

adb logcat -c

Pull File from Device

adb pull /sdcard/file.txt ~/Desktop/

Push File to Device

adb push ~/Desktop/file.txt /sdcard/

Open Shell on Device

adb shell

Reboot Device

adb reboot

Reboot to Bootloader

adb reboot bootloader

Port Forwarding (Reverse)

adb reverse tcp:LOCAL_PORT tcp:DEVICE_PORT

This forwards a port from your Android device to your local machine. Very useful for connecting to local development servers (see ODE Development Workflow below).

Troubleshooting

Device Not Showing Up

Issue: adb devices shows no devices or shows unauthorized

Solutions:

  1. Check USB cable: Try a different USB cable (some cables are charge-only)
  2. Check USB port: Try a different USB port on your computer
  3. Check USB mode: On your device, when connected, pull down the notification shade and ensure USB mode is set to File Transfer or MTP (not Charge only)
  4. Revoke USB debugging: In Developer options, tap Revoke USB debugging authorizations, then reconnect
  5. Restart ADB server: 
    adb kill-server
adb start-server
adb devices

macOS: "adb: command not found"

Solution: Make sure you've added ADB to your PATH and reloaded your shell:

echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/Library/Android/sdk/platform-tools' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Windows: "adb is not recognized"

Solution:

  1. Verify ADB is in your PATH by checking C:\Android\sdk\platform-tools\adb.exe exists
  2. Open a new Command Prompt window (PATH changes require a new session)
  3. Try the full path: C:\Android\sdk\platform-tools\adb.exe devices

Linux: Permission Denied

Solution: Create a udev rule for your device:

  1. Find your device's vendor ID:

    lsusb

    Look for your device and note the ID (e.g., 18d1:4ee2)

  2. Create a udev rule file:

    sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules

  3. Add a line (replace 18d1 with your vendor ID):

    SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="18d1", MODE="0664", GROUP="plugdev"

  4. Set permissions:

    sudo chmod a+r /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger

  5. Add your user to the plugdev group:

    sudo usermod -aG plugdev $USER

    (You'll need to log out and back in for this to take effect)

Device Shows as "Offline"

Solutions:

  1. Disconnect and reconnect the USB cable
  2. Restart ADB server: 
    adb kill-server
adb start-server
  3. On your device, toggle USB debugging off and on again
  4. Try a different USB cable or port

Wireless ADB (Advanced)

For wireless debugging (Android 11+), you can connect via Wi-Fi:

  1. Connect your device via USB first
  2. Enable Wireless debugging in Developer options
  3. Note the IP address and port shown
  4. Run: 
    adb connect IP_ADDRESS:PORT
  5. You can now disconnect the USB cable

Next Steps

Now that ADB is set up, you can:

  • Install and test Android applications
  • Debug apps using adb logcat
  • Transfer files between your computer and device
  • Access device shell for advanced operations

Developing Formulus with React Native

Once ADB is configured and your Android device is connected, you can develop Formulus using React Native:

  1. Navigate to the Formulus folder in your terminal:

    cd path/to/formulus

  2. Run the React Native app on your connected Android device:

    npx react-native run-android

    This command will:

    • Build the React Native app
    • Install it on your connected Android device via ADB
    • Start the Metro bundler

  3. Enable Hot Reload (optional): In a separate terminal window, start the Metro bundler:

    npx react-native start

    The app will automatically update (hot reload) whenever you modify the React Native code, just like a website would refresh in a browser.

Note: Make sure your device is connected and visible with adb devices before running the React Native commands.

Connecting to Local Synkronus Server

When developing with ODE, you often need to connect Formulus running on your Android device to a local Synkronus server running on your development machine. Use ADB port forwarding to make this seamless:

  1. Start your local Synkronus server on your development machine (e.g., on port 8080)

  2. Forward the port from your Android device to your local machine:

    adb reverse tcp:8080 tcp:8080

    This command forwards port 8080 on your Android device to port 8080 on your local machine.

  3. Configure Formulus to use http://localhost:8080 as the server URL. The app will connect to your local Synkronus server through the forwarded port.

Example Workflow:

# Terminal 1: Start Synkronus server locally
./synkronus  # Running on localhost:8080

# Terminal 2: Forward the port
adb reverse tcp:8080 tcp:8080

# Now Formulus on your Android device can connect to http://localhost:8080
# and it will reach your local Synkronus server

This setup allows you to develop and test the full ODE stack locally without deploying to a remote server.

Other ODE Development Tasks

For ODE-specific development, you can now:

  • Install Formulus APK files for testing
  • View logs from Synkronus server interactions
  • Debug custom applications built with ODE

Additional Resources

Need Help?

If you encounter issues not covered here, please:

  1. Check the Android Developer Forums
  2. Reach out to the ODE community at [email protected]