How do you use adb to capture mobile app screenshots and screen recordings?

If you are a mobile tester, you might want to capture screenshots and screen recordings of your app to document bugs, demonstrate features, or share feedback. One of the tools you can use for this purpose is adb, or Android Debug Bridge, a command-line utility that lets you communicate with your Android device or emulator. In this article, you will learn how to use adb to capture mobile app screenshots and screen recordings in a few simple steps.

1 Install and configure adb

Before you can use adb, you need to install and configure it on your computer. You can download adb from the Android SDK Platform-Tools package, which is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. After you extract the package, you need to add the platform-tools folder to your system path, so that you can run adb commands from any terminal. You also need to enable USB debugging on your Android device or emulator, and connect it to your computer via USB cable or Wi-Fi.

Add your perspective

2 Capture a screenshot

To capture a screenshot of your app, you can use the adb shell screencap command, which saves the image as a PNG file in your device or emulator. You can specify the file name and location, or use the default /sdcard/screenshot.png. For example, to save a screenshot as /sdcard/myapp.png, you can run:

adb shell screencap /sdcard/myapp.png

To transfer the screenshot from your device or emulator to your computer, you can use the adb pull command, which copies the file to your current working directory. For example, to copy the screenshot to your desktop, you can run:

adb pull /sdcard/myapp.png ~/Desktop

Add your perspective

Piotr Wicherski

Expert Mobile Applications Quality Assurance Engineer | Mobile Apps QA Consultant
Report contribution
Instead of saving the screenshot to the device and then pulling it, you can stream the screenshot directly to your PC by piping the output. This can be done with the following command: adb shell screencap -p | sed 's/\r$//' > myapp.png Also if your device has multiple displays (like a foldable phone or a device connected to an external display), you can specify which display to capture: adb shell screencap --display <id> /sdcard/myappdisplay1.png

Like

3 Capture a screen recording

To capture a screen recording of your app, you can use the adb shell screenrecord command, which saves the video as an MP4 file in your device or emulator. You can specify the file name and location, or use the default /sdcard/screenrecord.mp4. You can also customize the recording options, such as the resolution, bit rate, time limit, and rotation. For example, to record a 10-second video with a resolution of 720x1280 and a bit rate of 4 Mbps, you can run:

adb shell screenrecord --size 720x1280 --bit-rate 4000000 --time-limit 10 /sdcard/myapp.mp4

To transfer the screen recording from your device or emulator to your computer, you can use the adb pull command, as in the previous section. For example, to copy the screen recording to your desktop, you can run:

adb pull /sdcard/myapp.mp4 ~/Desktop

Add your perspective

Piotr Wicherski

Expert Mobile Applications Quality Assurance Engineer | Mobile Apps QA Consultant
Report contribution
Instead of saving the video on the device, you can stream the recording directly to your PC. This can be done by piping the output of the screenrecord command over ADB to a file on your computer. For example: css adb shell screenrecord --output-format=h264 - | ffmpeg -i - -vcodec copy myapp.mp4 Same thing here, if your device has multiple displays (e.g., a device with a dual screen or connected to an external monitor), you can specify which display to record from: adb shell screenrecord --display <id> /sdcard/myappdisplay1.mp4

Like

4 View and edit the screenshots and screen recordings

Once you have transferred the screenshots and screen recordings to your computer, you can view and edit them with your preferred software. For example, you can use an image editor like Paint or Photoshop to crop, resize, annotate, or highlight the screenshots. You can use a video editor like VLC or iMovie to trim, merge, add subtitles, or adjust the sound of the screen recordings. You can also share the screenshots and screen recordings with your team members, clients, or users via email, chat, or cloud storage.

Add your perspective

5 Troubleshoot common issues

Sometimes, you might encounter some issues when using adb to capture screenshots and screen recordings. To ensure that adb can find your device or emulator, make sure it is connected and USB debugging is enabled. Additionally, you will need to check that there is enough storage space and permission on your device or emulator and computer. If the screenshots or screen recordings are distorted, corrupted, or incomplete, make sure you are using the correct options and formats for the adb shell screencap and adb shell screenrecord commands. You can use the --help flag for available options and examples.

Add your perspective

6 Learn more about adb

adb is a powerful and versatile tool that can help you debug, test, and optimize your mobile app. Besides capturing screenshots and screen recordings, you can use adb to install and uninstall apps, run shell commands, log messages, access device information, and more. To learn more about adb, you can check the official documentation, online tutorials, or books on Android development and testing.

Add your perspective

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Add your perspective

How do you use adb to capture mobile app screenshots and screen recordings?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Install and configure adb

2 Capture a screenshot

3 Capture a screen recording

4 View and edit the screenshots and screen recordings

5 Troubleshoot common issues

6 Learn more about adb

7 Here’s what else to consider

Mobile Testing

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

More articles on Mobile Testing

More relevant reading