Develop Reference

Run customised android monkey test from adb shell

I have written a monkey test .py file and I just want to run that file from "adb shell" rather then using monkeyrunner so is there any way to run monkey test python file from adb shell?
Below is the monkey --help section where I can see we can run scriptfile too
usage: monkey [-p ALLOWED_PACKAGE [-p ALLOWED_PACKAGE] ...]
[-c MAIN_CATEGORY [-c MAIN_CATEGORY] ...]
[--ignore-crashes] [--ignore-timeouts]
[--ignore-security-exceptions]
[--monitor-native-crashes] [--ignore-native-crashes]
[--kill-process-after-error] [--hprof]
[--match-description TEXT]
[--pct-touch PERCENT] [--pct-motion PERCENT]
[--pct-trackball PERCENT] [--pct-syskeys PERCENT]
[--pct-nav PERCENT] [--pct-majornav PERCENT]
[--pct-appswitch PERCENT] [--pct-flip PERCENT]
[--pct-anyevent PERCENT] [--pct-pinchzoom PERCENT]
[--pct-permission PERCENT]
[--pkg-blacklist-file PACKAGE_BLACKLIST_FILE]
[--pkg-whitelist-file PACKAGE_WHITELIST_FILE]
[--wait-dbg] [--dbg-no-events]
[--setup scriptfile] [-f scriptfile [-f scriptfile] ...] >> This might be helpful to run the file if i am not wrong
[--port port]
[-s SEED] [-v [-v] ...]
[--throttle MILLISEC] [--randomize-throttle]
[--profile-wait MILLISEC]
[--device-sleep-time MILLISEC]
[--randomize-script]
[--script-log]
[--bugreport]
[--periodic-bugreport]
[--permission-target-system]
COUNT
I tried to run the file using command adb shell monkey -f test_monkey.py
but is showing error ** Error: Count not specified'
Please suggest the right direction need to follow. Thanks.

monkey does not accept python scripts, as I may guess your intention was from the extension used.
The scripts are something like
type= raw events
count= 10
speed= 1.0
start data >>
captureDispatchPointer(5109520,5109520,0,230.75429,458.1814,0.20784314,0.06666667,0,0.0,0.0,65539,0)
captureDispatchKey(5113146,5113146,0,20,0,0,0,0)
captureDispatchFlip(true)
take a look at MonkeySourceScript.java.
Besides that, COUNT is not optional, so you should at least specify 1.

meaning of "1" in monkey command

I recently read a book about android.In that book for running the monkey script the bellow command introduced:
adb shell monkey -f myscript.txt 1
I searched this command and find out what f meaning. but when I searched about "1", I can not find anything about it. what does this "1" meaning?

root#droid:/ # monkey
monkey
usage: monkey [-p ALLOWED_PACKAGE [-p ALLOWED_PACKAGE] ...]
[-c MAIN_CATEGORY [-c MAIN_CATEGORY] ...]
[--ignore-crashes] [--ignore-timeouts]
[--ignore-security-exceptions]
[--monitor-native-crashes] [--ignore-native-crashes]
[--kill-process-after-error] [--hprof]
[--pct-touch PERCENT] [--pct-motion PERCENT]
[--pct-trackball PERCENT] [--pct-syskeys PERCENT]
[--pct-nav PERCENT] [--pct-majornav PERCENT]
[--pct-appswitch PERCENT] [--pct-flip PERCENT]
[--pct-anyevent PERCENT] [--pct-pinchzoom PERCENT]
[--pkg-blacklist-file PACKAGE_BLACKLIST_FILE]
[--pkg-whitelist-file PACKAGE_WHITELIST_FILE]
[--wait-dbg] [--dbg-no-events]
[--setup scriptfile] [-f scriptfile [-f scriptfile] ...]
[--port port]
[-s SEED] [-v [-v] ...]
[--throttle MILLISEC] [--randomize-throttle]
[--profile-wait MILLISEC]
[--device-sleep-time MILLISEC]
[--randomize-script]
[--script-log]
[--bugreport]
[--periodic-bugreport]
COUNT
1 is the COUNT. Meaning that only 1 "random" command will be executed. The first command that monkey runs is starting of the default activity. This trick is being used for starting an app by providing only the package name without having to specify the exact activity name.

How to fix Error: Unknown component while launching activity when pushing the app to a device?

Sometimes (not all times) when I try to push (simply run) the code the from android-studio to my phone (Motorola 3G, though not phone specific), I am getting this error :-
04/22 23:00:14: Launching app
No local changes, not deploying APK
$ adb shell am start -n "com.xxxx.test/com.horntell.test.MainActivity" -a android.intent.action.MAIN -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER
Error while executing: am start -n "com.horntell.test/com.horntell.test.MainActivity" -a android.intent.action.MAIN -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER
Starting: Intent { act=android.intent.action.MAIN cat=[android.intent.category.LAUNCHER] cmp=com.horntell.test/.MainActivity }
usage: am [subcommand] [options]
usage: am start [-D] [-W] [-P <FILE>] [--start-profiler <FILE>]
[--sampling INTERVAL] [-R COUNT] [-S] [--opengl-trace]
[--user <USER_ID> | current] <INTENT>
am startservice [--user <USER_ID> | current] <INTENT>
am stopservice [--user <USER_ID> | current] <INTENT>
am force-stop [--user <USER_ID> | all | current] <PACKAGE>
am kill [--user <USER_ID> | all | current] <PACKAGE>
am kill-all
am broadcast [--user <USER_ID> | all | current] <INTENT>
am instrument [-r] [-e <NAME> <VALUE>] [-p <FILE>] [-w]
[--user <USER_ID> | current]
[--no-window-animation] [--abi <ABI>] <COMPONENT>
am profile start [--user <USER_ID> current] [--sampling INTERVAL] <PROCESS> <FILE>
am profile stop [--user <USER_ID> current] [<PROCESS>]
am dumpheap [--user <USER_ID> current] [-n] <PROCESS> <FILE>
am set-debug-app [-w] [--persistent] <PACKAGE>
am clear-debug-app
am set-watch-heap <PROCESS> <MEM-LIMIT>
am clear-watch-heap
am monitor [--gdb <port>]
am hang [--allow-restart]
am restart
am idle-maintenance
am screen-compat [on|off] <PACKAGE>
am package-importance <PACKAGE>
am to-uri [INTENT]
am to-intent-uri [INTENT]
am to-app-uri [INTENT]
am switch-user <USER_ID>
am start-user <USER_ID>
am stop-user [-w] <USER_ID>
am stack start <DISPLAY_ID> <INTENT>
am stack movetask <TASK_ID> <STACK_ID> [true|false]
am stack resize <STACK_ID> <LEFT,TOP,RIGHT,BOTTOM>
am stack split <STACK_ID> <v|h> [INTENT]
am stack list
am stack info <STACK_ID>
am task lock <TASK_ID>
am task lock stop
am task resizeable <TASK_ID> [true|false]
am task resize <TASK_ID> <LEFT,TOP,RIGHT,BOTTOM>
am get-config
am set-inactive [--user <USER_ID>] <PACKAGE> true|false
am get-inactive [--user <USER_ID>] <PACKAGE>
am send-trim-memory [--user <USER_ID>] <PROCESS>
[HIDDEN|RUNNING_MODERATE|BACKGROUND|RUNNING_LOW|MODERATE|RUNNING_CRITICAL|COMPLETE]
am start: start an Activity. Options are:
-D: enable debugging
-W: wait for launch to complete
--start-profiler <FILE>: start profiler and send results to <FILE>
--sampling INTERVAL: use sample profiling with INTERVAL microseconds
between samples (use with --start-profiler)
-P <FILE>: like above, but profiling stops when app goes idle
-R: repeat the activity launch <COUNT> times. Prior to each repeat,
the top activity will be finished.
-S: force stop the target app before starting the activity
--opengl-trace: enable tracing of OpenGL functions
--user <USER_ID> | current: Specify which user to run as; if not
specified then run as the current user.
am startservice: start a Service. Options are:
--user <USER_ID> | current: Specify which user to run as; if not
specified then run as the current user.
am stopservice: stop a Service. Options are:
--user <USER_ID> | current: Specify which user to run as; if not
specified then run as the current user.
am force-stop: force stop everything associated with <PACKAGE>.
--user <USER_ID> | all | current: Specify user to force stop;
all users if not specified.
am kill: Kill all processes associated with <PACKAGE>. Only kills.
processes that are safe to kill -- that is, will not impact the user
experience.
--user <USER_ID> | all | current: Specify user whose processes to kill;
all users if not specified.
am kill-all: Kill all background processes.
am broadcast: send a broadcast Intent. Options are:
--user <USER_ID> | all | current: Specify which user to send to; if not
specified then send to all users.
--receiver-permission <PERMISSION>: Require receiver to hold permission.
am instrument: start an Instrumentation. Typically this target <COMPONENT>
is the form <TEST_PACKAGE>/<RUNNER_CLASS>. Options are:
-r: print raw results (otherwise decode REPORT_KEY_STREAMRESULT). Use with
[-e perf true] to generate raw output for performance measurements.
-e <NAME> <VALUE>: set argument <NAME> to <VALUE>. For test runners a
common form is [-e <testrunner_flag> <value>[,<value>...]].
-p <FILE>: write profiling data to <FILE>
-w: wait for instrumentation to finish before returning. Required for
test runners.
--user <USER_ID> | current: Specify user instrumentation runs in;
current user if not specified.
--no-window-animation: turn off window animations while running.
--abi <ABI>: Launch the instrumented process with the selected ABI.
This assumes that the process supports the selected ABI.
am profile: start and stop profiler on a process. The given <PROCESS> argument
may be either a process name or pid. Options are:
--user <USER_ID> | current: When supplying a process name,
specify user of process to profile; uses current user if not specified.
am dumpheap: dump the heap of a process. The given <PROCESS> argument may
be either a process name or pid. Options are:
-n: dump native heap instead of managed heap
--user <USER_ID> | current: When supplying a process name,
specify user of process to dump; uses current user if not specified.
am set-debug-app: set application <PACKAGE> to debug. Options are:
-w: wait for debugger when application starts
--persistent: retain this value
am clear-debug-app: clear the previously set-debug-app.
am set-watch-heap: start monitoring pss size of <PROCESS>, if it is at or
above <HEAP-LIMIT> then a heap dump is collected for the user to report
am clear-watch-heap: clear the previously set-watch-heap.
am bug-report: request bug report generation; will launch UI
when done to select where it should be delivered.
am monitor: start monitoring for crashes or ANRs.
--gdb: start gdbserv on the given port at crash/ANR
am hang: hang the system.
--allow-restart: allow watchdog to perform normal system restart
am restart: restart the user-space system.
am idle-maintenance: perform idle maintenance now.
am screen-compat: control screen compatibility mode of <PACKAGE>.
am package-importance: print current importance of <PACKAGE>.
am to-uri: print the given Intent specification as a URI.
am to-intent-uri: print the given Intent specification as an intent: URI.
am to-app-uri: print the given Intent specification as an android-app: URI.
am switch-user: switch to put USER_ID in the foreground, starting
execution of that user if it is currently stopped.
am start-user: start USER_ID in background if it is currently stopped,
use switch-user if you want to start the user in foreground.
am stop-user: stop execution of USER_ID, not allowing it to run any
code until a later explicit start or switch to it.
-w: wait for stop-user to complete.
am stack start: start a new activity on <DISPLAY_ID> using <INTENT>.
am stack movetask: move <TASK_ID> from its current stack to the top (true) or bottom (false) of <STACK_ID>.
am stack resize: change <STACK_ID> size and position to <LEFT,TOP,RIGHT,BOTTOM>.
am stack split: split <STACK_ID> into 2 stacks <v>ertically or <h>orizontally
starting the new stack with [INTENT] if specified. If [INTENT] isn't
specified and the current stack has more than one task, then the top task
of the current task will be moved to the new stack. Command will also force
all current tasks in both stacks to be resizeable.
am stack list: list all of the activity stacks and their sizes.
am stack info: display the information about activity stack <STACK_ID>.
am task lock: bring <TASK_ID> to the front and don't allow other tasks to run.
am task lock stop: end the current task lock.
am task resizeable: change if <TASK_ID> is resizeable (true) or not (false).
am task resize: makes sure <TASK_ID> is in a stack with the specified bounds.
Forces the task to be resizeable and creates a stack if no existing stack
has the specified bounds.
am get-config: retrieve the configuration and any recent configurations
of the device.
am set-inactive: sets the inactive state of an app.
am get-inactive: returns the inactive state of an app.
am send-trim-memory: Send a memory trim event to a <PROCESS>.
<INTENT> specifications include these flags and arguments:
[-a <ACTION>] [-d <DATA_URI>] [-t <MIME_TYPE>]
[-c <CATEGORY> [-c <CATEGORY>] ...]
[-e|--es <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_STRING_VALUE> ...]
[--esn <EXTRA_KEY> ...]
[--ez <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_BOOLEAN_VALUE> ...]
[--ei <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_INT_VALUE> ...]
[--el <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_LONG_VALUE> ...]
[--ef <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_FLOAT_VALUE> ...]
[--eu <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_URI_VALUE> ...]
[--ecn <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_COMPONENT_NAME_VALUE>]
[--eia <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_INT_VALUE>[,<EXTRA_INT_VALUE...]]
(mutiple extras passed as Integer[])
[--eial <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_INT_VALUE>[,<EXTRA_INT_VALUE...]]
(mutiple extras passed as List<Integer>)
[--ela <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_LONG_VALUE>[,<EXTRA_LONG_VALUE...]]
(mutiple extras passed as Long[])
[--elal <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_LONG_VALUE>[,<EXTRA_LONG_VALUE...]]
(mutiple extras passed as List<Long>)
[--efa <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_FLOAT_VALUE>[,<EXTRA_FLOAT_VALUE...]]
(mutiple extras passed as Float[])
[--efal <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_FLOAT_VALUE>[,<EXTRA_FLOAT_VALUE...]]
(mutiple extras passed as List<Float>)
[--esa <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_STRING_VALUE>[,<EXTRA_STRING_VALUE...]]
(mutiple extras passed as String[]; to embed a comma into a string,
escape it using "\,")
[--esal <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_STRING_VALUE>[,<EXTRA_STRING_VALUE...]]
(mutiple extras passed as List<String>; to embed a comma into a string,
escape it using "\,")
[--grant-read-uri-permission] [--grant-write-uri-permission]
[--grant-persistable-uri-permission] [--grant-prefix-uri-permission]
[--debug-log-resolution] [--exclude-stopped-packages]
[--include-stopped-packages]
[--activity-brought-to-front] [--activity-clear-top]
[--activity-clear-when-task-reset] [--activity-exclude-from-recents]
[--activity-launched-from-history] [--activity-multiple-task]
[--activity-no-animation] [--activity-no-history]
[--activity-no-user-action] [--activity-previous-is-top]
[--activity-reorder-to-front] [--activity-reset-task-if-needed]
[--activity-single-top] [--activity-clear-task]
[--activity-task-on-home]
[--receiver-registered-only] [--receiver-replace-pending]
[--selector]
[<URI> | <PACKAGE> | <COMPONENT>]
Error: Unknown component: com.horntell.test/com.horntell.test.MainActivity
Error while Launching activity
This problem occur mostly when I try to push the code for the first time. i.e. App is not already present in the phone.
Sometimes, I have to restart the IDE, or phone or both to resolve this issue and it gets really frustrating sometimes.

I am not sure but I faced a similar problem with Moto mobiles. In Motorola there are user profiles. So if I had more than one user profile then I got similar error in the case when the app was uninstalled from one of the profiles but not the other.
So you should try uninstalling the app from all the user profiles before installing it again.

ADB Shell: Error: Unknown command: display-density when executing adb shell am display-density?

I'm running Linux Mint, and the device connected is a ZTE HSUSB, which runs on Android v4.1.2.
The screen re-sizing command seems to work: I executed adb shell am display-size 640x480 and it correctly resized the screen.
However, when I tried to adjust the screen density with adb shell am display-density 160 I got
administrator-LenovoPC ~ # adb shell am display-density 160
usage: am [subcommand] [options]
usage: am start [-D] [-W] [-P <FILE>] [--start-profiler <FILE>]
[--R COUNT] [-S] [--opengl-trace] <INTENT>
am startservice <INTENT>
am force-stop <PACKAGE>
am kill <PACKAGE>
am kill-all
am broadcast <INTENT>
am instrument [-r] [-e <NAME> <VALUE>] [-p <FILE>] [-w]
[--no-window-animation] <COMPONENT>
am profile start <PROCESS> <FILE>
am profile stop [<PROCESS>]
am dumpheap [flags] <PROCESS> <FILE>
am set-debug-app [-w] [--persistent] <PACKAGE>
am clear-debug-app
am monitor [--gdb <port>]
am screen-compat [on|off] <PACKAGE>
am display-size [reset|MxN]
am to-uri [INTENT]
am to-intent-uri [INTENT]
am start: start an Activity. Options are:
-D: enable debugging
-W: wait for launch to complete
--start-profiler <FILE>: start profiler and send results to <FILE>
-P <FILE>: like above, but profiling stops when app goes idle
-R: repeat the activity launch <COUNT> times. Prior to each repeat,
the top activity will be finished.
-S: force stop the target app before starting the activity
--opengl-trace: enable tracing of OpenGL functions
am startservice: start a Service.
am force-stop: force stop everything associated with <PACKAGE>.
am kill: Kill all processes associated with <PACKAGE>. Only kills.
processes that are safe to kill -- that is, will not impact the user
experience.
am kill-all: Kill all background processes.
am broadcast: send a broadcast Intent.
am instrument: start an Instrumentation. Typically this target <COMPONENT>
is the form <TEST_PACKAGE>/<RUNNER_CLASS>. Options are:
-r: print raw results (otherwise decode REPORT_KEY_STREAMRESULT). Use with
[-e perf true] to generate raw output for performance measurements.
-e <NAME> <VALUE>: set argument <NAME> to <VALUE>. For test runners a
common form is [-e <testrunner_flag> <value>[,<value>...]].
-p <FILE>: write profiling data to <FILE>
-w: wait for instrumentation to finish before returning. Required for
test runners.
--no-window-animation: turn off window animations will running.
am profile: start and stop profiler on a process.
am dumpheap: dump the heap of a process. Options are:
-n: dump native heap instead of managed heap
am set-debug-app: set application <PACKAGE> to debug. Options are:
-w: wait for debugger when application starts
--persistent: retain this value
am clear-debug-app: clear the previously set-debug-app.
am monitor: start monitoring for crashes or ANRs.
--gdb: start gdbserv on the given port at crash/ANR
am screen-compat: control screen compatibility mode of <PACKAGE>.
am display-size: override display size.
am to-uri: print the given Intent specification as a URI.
am to-intent-uri: print the given Intent specification as an intent: URI.
<INTENT> specifications include these flags and arguments:
[-a <ACTION>] [-d <DATA_URI>] [-t <MIME_TYPE>]
[-c <CATEGORY> [-c <CATEGORY>] ...]
[-e|--es <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_STRING_VALUE> ...]
[--esn <EXTRA_KEY> ...]
[--ez <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_BOOLEAN_VALUE> ...]
[--ei <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_INT_VALUE> ...]
[--el <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_LONG_VALUE> ...]
[--ef <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_FLOAT_VALUE> ...]
[--eu <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_URI_VALUE> ...]
[--ecn <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_COMPONENT_NAME_VALUE>]
[--eia <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_INT_VALUE>[,<EXTRA_INT_VALUE...]]
[--ela <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_LONG_VALUE>[,<EXTRA_LONG_VALUE...]]
[--efa <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_FLOAT_VALUE>[,<EXTRA_FLOAT_VALUE...]]
[-n <COMPONENT>] [-f <FLAGS>]
[--grant-read-uri-permission] [--grant-write-uri-permission]
[--debug-log-resolution] [--exclude-stopped-packages]
[--include-stopped-packages]
[--activity-brought-to-front] [--activity-clear-top]
[--activity-clear-when-task-reset] [--activity-exclude-from-recents]
[--activity-launched-from-history] [--activity-multiple-task]
[--activity-no-animation] [--activity-no-history]
[--activity-no-user-action] [--activity-previous-is-top]
[--activity-reorder-to-front] [--activity-reset-task-if-needed]
[--activity-single-top] [--activity-clear-task]
[--activity-task-on-home]
[--receiver-registered-only] [--receiver-replace-pending]
[--selector]
[<URI> | <PACKAGE> | <COMPONENT>]
Error: Unknown command: display-density
Does anybody know the reason to this, and how to possibly fix it?

debugging an app startup with android maven plugin

I'm working with the latest version of android maven plugin. I use android:deploy and android:run to launch my app on my device. When I want to debug, I go into DDMS in eclipse and check the green bug icon for my app. Everything works fine... but I can only debug a running app, ie it has already started. If I put a breakpoint in my application constructor or onCreate, it wont stop (obviously because the application has started and the debugging didn't been activated... yet).
So my question is: how can I start my app in debug mode directly from maven like I would do for an app that I start from eclipse ?
thanks ahead

Thanks to Lukasz, I found the command in Idea that is launched to trigger the debug mode.
Basically, the application is deployed with android:deploy but instead of android:run, I launch a shell "am" command with -D. Here's the usage for anyone interested.
ovh-ybi$ adb shell
# am
usage: am [subcommand] [options]
start an Activity: am start [-D] <INTENT>
-D: enable debugging
send a broadcast Intent: am broadcast <INTENT>
start an Instrumentation: am instrument [flags] <COMPONENT>
-r: print raw results (otherwise decode REPORT_KEY_STREAMRESULT)
-e <NAME> <VALUE>: set argument <NAME> to <VALUE>
-p <FILE>: write profiling data to <FILE>
-w: wait for instrumentation to finish before returning
start profiling: am profile <PROCESS> start <FILE>
stop profiling: am profile <PROCESS> stop
<INTENT> specifications include these flags:
[-a <ACTION>] [-d <DATA_URI>] [-t <MIME_TYPE>]
[-c <CATEGORY> [-c <CATEGORY>] ...]
[-e|--es <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_STRING_VALUE> ...]
[--ez <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_BOOLEAN_VALUE> ...]
[-e|--ei <EXTRA_KEY> <EXTRA_INT_VALUE> ...]
[-n <COMPONENT>] [-f <FLAGS>] [<URI>]

Instead of android:deploy and android:run you could just launch your application in debug by eclipse and not by maven. You have to have your project configured properly to do this.

You can deploy and start it using this post. To debug I guess and hope you only need to change some parameters.