Develop Reference

Which Android Emulator image do contain 'su'?

How to know which Emulator image will contain su?
I can see that often it only contains su or google play

Run adb root and you get a root shell ... otherwise su needs to be manually installed.
However, when already having a root shell available, installing it isn't much of a problem.
All images are rooted, but SDK apps requesting escalation of privileges do rely upon su.
This question here generally duplicates: How to get root access on Android emulator?
adb shell scripting must:
start the emulator
run adb root
run adb shell
remount system partition
adb push the su binary
chmod to set permissions
exit
Or to answer the question:
start the emulator
and check if the file exists, eg. with adb shell stat /usr/bin/su
Where stat gives this response, when it's not installed:
stat: '/usr/bin/su': No such file or directory
One could even loop all Android images installed in $ANDROID_SDK_HOME...
there's no "one click" solution, but adb can be fully automated with Bash or Batch. And one wouldn't even have to run the emulator, but can mount QCOW2 as a nbd network block device.

Is it possible to Root Visual Studio Emulator Android?

I am currently using 'Visual Studio Emulator for Android' to run android apps on my computer, i find that after using multiple types of emulators bluestacks, genymotion, andy etc. That VS is the most stable and easy-to-use out of them all.
The only problem that i have compared to the other emulators is running apps that require root permission, with this being an emulator i know that its not possible to go the route of rooting via fastboot/recovery, this is the only method i know of rooting as thats how i normally do it on my phone.
I have tried most of the 'rooting' APK's (kingo,towel,frama etc) and none of those have worked.
So would anybody happen to know how i can get root access on Visual Studio Android Emulator?
I am trying to run a touch-replication app (Frep & RepetiTouch) but all of them seem to require root access.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

Yes, you can. Here are some basics before the steps. Fundamentally all Visual Studio Emulator has root access; if you do adb shell you will get a root prompt. The only thing that is missing is the su binary and access for applications to connect to root shell through su. You can get the su binary from superuser apk from clockworkmod and the access to the root shell through the su daemon.
Installing su binary
Download superuser apk from clockworkmod. Ideal way is to download the app from google play store and navigate to /data/app/ and copy com.koushikdutta.superuser to your pc through adb pull /data/app/com.koushikdutta.superuser <local_path_in_your_system>
Change the .apk extension to .zip.
Navigate to assets/x86/ and copy the su binary to /system/xbin in your emulator
adb push <location_of_su> /system/xbin
chmod with suid and rwx
adb shell
chmod 6777 /system/xbin/su
symlink to /system/bin
ln -s /system/xbin/su /system/bin/su
Run the su daemon
/system/xbin/su --daemon
Giving Access to Applications through su
Install the superuser binary by either dragging and dropping into
the emulator or using adb install <path_to_superuser_apk>
Download rootchecker free\basic or even a terminal emulator for that
matter. We just want to check if our device is rooted.
Run the rootchecker app to check root and you should be able to get
the prompt from superuser.

adb shell su works but adb root does not

I rooted my unlocked Galaxy S3 (SGH-T999)
Now, I'm trying to run adb root from Windows Command Prompt, however, I'm getting adbd cannot run as root in production builds error. So, the very first thing I checked was whether my phone was really rooted?
So I tried the following:
Open Command prompt
$adb devices // lists my device
$adb shell //goes to shell
$su // opens a 'SuperSu' prompt on my phone and I 'Grant' permission
# // Before following the rooting instructions, I was getting 'no su command found' in the previous step. So, I believe my phone is ROOTED. **Correct me if I'm wrong.**
However, when I do adb root, I get adbd cannot run as root in production builds error.
So, I thought, I might have to do some additional stuff beyond what I did above. I tried all the solutions in the following SO questions:
Launch a script as root through ADB
adb remount permission denied, but able to access super user in shell -- android
Unable to run 'adb root' on a rooted Android phone
None of the above worked for me. All they do is give the ROOT access INSIDE of SHELL. I want adb root to work so that I can execute various adb commands WITHOUT going into shell.

By design adb root command works in development builds only (i.e. eng and userdebug which have ro.debuggable=1 by default). So to enable the adb root command on your otherwise rooted device just add the ro.debuggable=1 line to one of the following files:
/system/build.prop
/system/default.prop
/data/local.prop
If you want adb shell to start as root by default - then add ro.secure=0 as well.
Alternatively you could use modified adbd binary (which does not check for ro.debuggable)
From https://android.googlesource.com/platform/system/core/+/master/adb/daemon/main.cpp
#if defined(ALLOW_ADBD_ROOT)
// The properties that affect `adb root` and `adb unroot` are ro.secure and
// ro.debuggable. In this context the names don't make the expected behavior
// particularly obvious.
//
// ro.debuggable:
// Allowed to become root, but not necessarily the default. Set to 1 on
// eng and userdebug builds.
//
// ro.secure:
// Drop privileges by default. Set to 1 on userdebug and user builds.

In some developer-friendly ROMs you could just enable Root Access in Settings > Developer option > Root access. After that adb root becomes available. Unfortunately it does not work for most stock ROMs on the market.

I ran into this issue when trying to root the emulator, I found out it was because I was running the Nexus 5x emulator which had Google Play on it. Created a different emulator that didn't have google play and adb root will root the device for you. Hope this helps someone.

I use for enter su mode in abd shell
adb shell "su"

I have a rooted Samsung Galaxy Trend Plus (GT-S7580).
Running 'adb root' gives me the same 'adbd cannot run as root in production builds' error.
For devices that have Developer Options -> Root access, choose "ADB only" to provide adb root access to the device (as suggested by NgaNguyenDuy).
Then try to run the command as per the solution at Launch a script as root through ADB.
In my case, I just wanted to run the 'netcfg rndis0 dhcp' command, and I did it this way:
adb shell "su -c netcfg rndis0 dhcp"
Please check whether you are making any mistakes while running it this way.
If it still does not work, check whether you rooted the device correctly.
If still no luck, try installing a custom ROM such as Cyanogen Mod in order for 'adb root' to work.

You need to replace the adbd binary in the boot.img/sbin/ folder to one that is su capable. You will also have to make some default.prop edits too.
Samsung seems to make this more difficult than other vendors. I have some adbd binaries you can try but it will require the knowledge of de-compiling and re-compiling the boot.img with the new binary. Also, if you have a locked bootloader... this is not gonna happen.
Also Chainfire has an app that will grant adbd root permission in the play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.adbd&hl=en
Lastly, if you are trying to write a windows script with SU permissions you can do this buy using the following command style... However, you will at least need to grant (on the phone) SU permissions the frist time its ran...
adb shell "su -c ls" <-list working directory with su rights.
adb shell "su -c echo anytext > /data/test.file"
These are just some examples. If you state specifically what you are trying to accomplish I may be able to give more specific advice
-scosler

adbd has a compilation flag/option to enable root access: ALLOW_ADBD_ROOT=1.
Up to Android 9: If adbd on your device is compiled without that flag, it will always drop privileges when starting up and thus "adb root" will not help at all.
I had to patch the calls to setuid(), setgid(), setgroups() and the capability drops out of the binary myself to get a permanently rooted adbd on my ebook reader.
With Android 10 this changed; when the phone/tablet is unlocked (ro.boot.verifiedbootstate == "orange"), then adb root mode is possible in any case.

If you really need to have ADB running as root, the quickest and easiest way is to install Android Custom ROMs and the most popular is CyanogenMod for it has the Root Access options in developer options menu where you can choose to give root access to apps and ADB. I used CM before but since it wasn't developed anymore, I tried looking for some solutions out there. Although CyanogenMod is still a good alternative because it does not have bloatware.
One alternative I found out from a friend is using adbd insecure app which you could try from here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1687590. In my case, it works perferct with an Android custom kernel, but not with the Android stock ROM (vanilla android only). You may try other alternatives too like modifying boot.img of the Android ROM.

in my case, ( device is rooted )
linux$ adb shell # in linux shell
mobile$ su root #=> notice the $ will become #
mobile# whoami #=> root
if you installed "adb root" module in Magisk, you still have to manually switch to root by su root, otherwise, it just LOOKS LIKE you are root, but actually you are NOT root.

I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 running Android 7.0.
Here's how I rooted it today:
Root the device using Odin
Read Alex P.'s answer in this thread regarding editing system\build.prop file.
download onto your tablet: v1.3.9 System Tools Android: All-In-One toolbox
run the app; under "System Utilities" confirm your Odin root worked using "Root Check"
in the same app goto "Root Manager" and use the "Build.prop editor" to effect the changes in the system\build.prop (as specified by Alex P.).
Final Confirmation:
C:\Android\sdk\platform-tools>adb shell
gts28vewifi:/ $ whoami
shell
gts28vewifi:/ $ su
gts28vewifi:/ # su root
gts28vewifi:/ # whoami
root
Upvote Alex P.'s answer.
Further info
and here
and here too

Root Access in Windows Command: adb shell su
Root Access in MacOS Command: ./adb shell su

Android: Difference between User vs System App development [duplicate]

I need create my app as system, because i need get permission android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS.
After install to virtual device (Eclipse) my app appears in '/data/app'. I try manually move him to '/system/app', set rights 644, but when i launch my app - toast 'App isn't installed'. After reboot (close virtual device and restart) my app disappeared from '/system/app'.
Add:
- 1. Why android can not see my application in '/system/app'?
- 2. Why after restart virtual device my app disappeared from '/system/app'?
What the best way make my app system on Eclipse Emulator and real devices?

The apps installed on your Android devices can be broadly categorized as system apps or user apps, based on their installation location. The user apps are just all your normal app installations through the Google Play Store, Amazon Appstore or sideloading. These go into the /data partition of your Android phone, which is the part of the internal memory made available for user data and apps.
System apps are basically the apps that come pre-installed with your ROM. In a standard Android user environment, the user doesn’t have write access to the /system partition and thus, installing or uninstalling system apps directly isn’t possible. The process isn’t as hard as it may sound. However, there is a catch.
In order to install an app as a system app on your Android device, your device must either be rooted, or have a custom recovery installed (or both). Usually pretty much everyone who has a custom recovery installed uses a rooted ROM, so we’ll just be using the method for rooted phones.
Go to below tutorial.it might help you.
Make Your app System App

You cannot make your app by default as the system app. There are some other ways though through which you could make other normal apps as system apps on rooted phones.
You can install an APK to /system/app with following steps.
Push APK to SD card.
$ adb push SecureSetting.apk /sdcard/
Enter the console and get the shell
$ adb shell
Switch to superuser. If your device is not rooted, get it rooted first. (If you don't know how to do that, just Google.)
$ su
Remount the system partition with WRITE permission.
$ mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
Cat your APK from /sdcard/ to /system/ , some guys get a fail with cp command due to cp is not supported. So use cat instead.
$ cat /sdcard/SecureSetting.apk > /system/app/SecureSetting.apk
Remout /system partition back to READ-ONLY, and exit
$ mount -o remount,ro -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
$ exit
Then reboot your device, the APK should have been installed on /system/app.
As stated here.

You can't make an application as system app on emulator.But you can make an app as system app on device.For that, you need to have the git repo set up on your pc,and after setting up repo, copy the app folder in repo folder/packages/apps and put it for compile.and you will get system.img in out folder of repo.Then you can flash the system.img on sd card, so that you will get your app as a system app.And this is the only way is there to make an app as system app.

If the device is not rooted, you cannot copy anything to the System or Data partitions.
With root do the following commands in a command prompt or linux shell and all should be fine:
adb push fileName /data/local/tmp
adb shell
su
mount -o remount, rw /system
cp /data/local/tmp/fileName /system/folderOfYourChoise
chmod 644 (if its an apk and you want the system to use it as a system app)
exit (exits the su shell)
exit (exits the adb shell)
adb reboot (to apply and see changes on the device)

Stop Android OS auto-update

We have a variety of devices for testing purposes, and now that Froyo is being pushed (to the Nexus One so far at least), we have to constantly dismiss upgrade requests. There is no apparent "stop asking me" button.
So, is there any way I can disable OTA OS updates? We want a number of these phones to stay on old OS versions.

Remove SystemUpdater.apk from /system/app. From terminal (with ADB)
adb pull /system/app/SystemUpdater.apk C:/Path/to/your/desktop //Backup the file (just in case)
adb remount //Remount the system partition to read-write
adb shell rm /system/app/SystemUpdater.apk //Remove the apk
Warning - this will permanently disable system updates, until you push SystemUpdater back to /system/app

For XOOM running android 3 honeycomb. You have to remove Upgrader.apk (not SystemUpdater).
adb pull /system/app/Upgrader.apk C:/Path/to/your/desktop //Backup the file (just in case)
adb remount //Remount the system partition to read-write
adb shell rm /system/app/Upgrader.apk //Remove the apk

From ADB with root access:
adb shell pm disable com.google.android.systemupdater
Not need delete apk.

I have a very old Lenovo Yoga 2 1050F tablet, Android 5.0.1(Lollipop). Today year 2020 it made an unexpected OTA firmware download. After downloading a file reboot gives a signature error which may relate to my root and half broken recovery boot app. This is how I disabled a system update
adb devices | adb shell | su | pm disable com.lenovo.ota