The Android Debug Bridge (adb) shell command opens an interactive Linux shell terminal directly inside an attached Android device or emulator. Through adb shell, developers and QA engineers inspect running services, manage app packages, and execute low-level diagnostics.

Essential ADB Shell Command Cheatsheet

ADB Terminal Referencebash
# Open interactive shell on Android device
adb shell
 
# List all installed application packages
adb shell pm list packages -3
 
# Force-stop an application
adb shell am force-stop com.example.myapp
 
# Launch an Activity via Intent Manager
adb shell am start -n com.example.myapp/.MainActivity
 
# Inspect battery status via dumpsys
adb shell dumpsys battery
 
# Capture screenshot and save directly to device SD card
adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/screenshot.png