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.

Phone is rooted but can't pull files from /data/data folder

My phone Samsung Galaxy S5 mini is rooted. I'm trying to pull files from /data/data/myapp.package/ to folder on my PC.
adb pull /data/data/myapp.package E:\myapp\myapp.package
it gives me this error
adb: error: failed to copy '/data/data/myapp.package' to 'E:\myapp\myapp.package': Permission denied
I found many questions like mine but no answer solved my problem. Some suggested to execute this command adb root before pulling files. Some suggested to install adbd insecure app to enable root access. In fact after installing that app, phone disappeared from adb terminal. Both solution didn't work for me.
BTW, I can copy files using cp command from adb shell but I have to copy files to sdcard and then pull from sdcard. I'm looking for solution which allows me to copy files directly from /data/data/myapp.package to my PC
Any solution?

For your adb to be able to access /data/data directly (for adb pull), your adbd should be running as root - which can generally be done by adb root command.
adb root would not work on commercial devices like Samsung Galaxy S5 mini as commercial devices have ro.secure=1, i.e., the adbd can't be restarted as root due to a check of property called ro.secure. adbd insecure app circumvents this and restarts adbd in root mode to enable adb pull, etc. to work.
In short, if adbd insecure app doesn't work for you, it's not possible to do adb pull from /data/data in your existing ROM. It might be possible if you change the ROM / do some boot.img tweaks, but I would probably suggest trying latest version / different versions of adbd insecure app before going for ROM changes.
Read more on rooting here.

First you need to hit these two command from command line
adb root
adb remount
then
adb pull /data/data/myapp.package E:\myapp\myapp.package

This is my example pulling DB file from the root directory
adb -e shell "run-as com.example.project cp /data/data/com.example.project/databases/project.db /sdcard"
The key is run-as

Here's a one-liner that lets you pull a file without installing anything else and without having to copy it to a public location on the device to then pull it to your computer:
adb exec-out su -c cat /data/data/myapp.package/my_file.apk > my_file.apk
What this does:
adb exec-out runs a command and outputs the raw binary output
su -c runs the provided command as root
cat <file> prints out the file contents
> <file> redirects the output from adb (i.e. the raw file contents) to a local file.

How to make system partition in AVD in emulator writable

This is fairly a very old question but I am surprised that none of the solutions are working for me. I need to run an android app as system app in an AVD (in emulator) created for Android version 7.0. For this, I want to push apk file to system partition but I keep getting error saying it is read only file system. I found many similar questions on stackoverflow but nothing is working for me. I restarted adb in root, executed it with remount as suggested in answers to similar questions, but system partition file system permissions do not change. Here is a sample session:
mvsagar#mvslt:~/sw/android_sdk/platform-tools$ ./adb root
restarting adbd as root
mvsagar#mvslt:~/sw/android_sdk/platform-tools$ ./adb remount
remount succeeded
mvsagar#mvslt:~/sw/android_sdk/platform-tools$ ./adb push /home/mvsagar/projects/AndroidStudioProjects/LcnApps/app/LCNUE.apk /system/app/LCNUE.apk
adb: error: failed to copy '/home/mvsagar/projects/AndroidStudioProjects/LcnApps/app/LCNUE.apk' to '/system/app/LCNUE.apk': couldn't create file: Read-only file system
I have tried manually remounting with read/write(rw) options using adb shell, but the remounting fails.
Is there any way to have read/write permission on system partition?
My dev env is Android Studio on Ubuntu.

In my case, I use a avd( Based on: Android 8.0 (Oreo) Tag/ABI: google_apis/x86_64 ).
$ emulator -avd Nexus_5X_API_26_APIs -writable-system
$ adb root
$ adb remount
Then, /system is writeable.
$ adb push somefile /system/bin/ is work.

When working with Q, this is the only solution that worked for me: https://stackoverflow.com/a/64397712/1898527
Adding here the steps for completion (kudos to the original author):
> emulator -avd Pixel_3a_XL_API_29 -writable-system
> adb shell avbctl disable-verification
> adb disable-verity
Now reboot your emulator so that the changes take effect.
> adb root
> adb remount
> adb shell "su 0 mount -o rw,remount /system"
Note: you will need an emulator without Google Play, otherwise this won't work. You can get it by following the steps described here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/45668555/1898527

use genymotion emulator, which is faster, light weight and pre rooted. (which means you can access system directory)

For the benefit of others, answer to the question was answered a long ago by #Ishamael in another stackoverflow question Read only file system on Android

ADB apk installation error "INSTALL_FAILED_INVALID_URI"

I use ADB tool and I want to install apk on my emulator. So I use this command
adb install /home/jody/myexample.apk
and I got this error
2841 KB/s (242867 bytes in 0.083s)
pkg: apk
ver: /data/local/tmp/concolicexample.apk
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_INVALID_URI]
I search this error and from https://mobiledevstories.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/android-adb-install_failed_invalid_uri/ I found out I should The solution is to change permissions to directory but the problem is I don't know where is /data/local/tmp and where should I change permissions?
I should mention that I use genymotion emulator on Linux.
please help me. Sorry if this problem is really primitive. I just begin to use adb.

There are more people with your problem here:
Cannot install package on rooted device : INSTALL_FAILED_INVALID_URI
I think that your device needs to be rooted for this to work, or you won't have sufficient rights. I don't have a rooted device here so don't remember if all steps are necessary:
So the /data/local/ directory is on the Android device, so using adb you need to access the device.
1) adb remount (This might not be necessary, this gives you more access rights to the device)
2) adb shell <- opens a shell on the device instead of your computer.
3) chmod 777 /data/local/
4) chmod 777 /data/local/tmp/
Hopefully it works for you!

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