Develop Reference

ADB command to show Remove account screen

I want to add and remove google account from device. Programmatically I heard was difficult. I used following command to show screen to add an account, which is working. However, i am not able to find command which removes / manages accounts. Please suggest correct app/intent to launch from adb (or other alternate possibilities to remove account)
I have tried ACCOUNT_TYPES, EXTRA_ACCOUNT_TYPES etc. abd says - Activity not started, unable to resolve Intent
This command launches add account settings screen
adb shell am start -a android.settings.ADD_ACCOUNT_SETTINGS

Running a command as a shell user from an Android app

I am trying to execute an fopen() function on a file that is given permissions only to "shell" from a native (C++) application that is triggered from a service on my Android application. When I run the native code as a PIE from the shell, I am able to open the file for reading, but if I try from the Android application, it fails to open the file as the Android application is run in a different user space and so I am not able to open the file. My question is, is it possible to run the command as a "shell" user or a child of "shell" from the Android application. I want to be able to do this without rooting the device so su is out of question.

You can't change the user ID of your app without a rooted device. If you could, the security model wouldn't be very useful. If your app needs access to the file, you will need to grant appropriate permissions.
The other common workaround is to have a service, running as the "shell" user, whose job is to open the file and hand back a file descriptor. The tricky part is that you need a way to launch that service as the "shell" user, which brings us back to needing "su".
FWIW, the situation is the same whether you're coding in Java or C++.

Using adb to launch apps - using file as input and lacking activity name?

I would like to be able to launch specific apps over adb, reading them from a file.
For example - say I wish to launch 'com.ebay.mobile'. I have a file that has simply 'com.ebay.mobile' as the contents, and I'd then like to use a batch file to launch the contents of that file, for instance filling the rest of the command.
Obviously, this runs into difficulty with the lack of an activity name, so additionally, would it also be possible for the app to launch without specifying this, so the default activity launches?
Thanks for your help!

You can use the following 2 commands (you need to use both) to run an app - if you don't specify an Activity, it will use the Main one defined in the AndroidManifest file.
adb install yourAPKFile.apk
adn run com.your.package

monkeyrunner script - starting an activity that requires a permission

in a monkeyrunner script while launching an activity, is there a way to mimic yourself having a certain permission that the starting activity requires?
I am using "device.startActivity(component='com.package/.MyActivity)" but the activity MyActivity requires a permission, and hence device.startActivity fails. Is there a way to give this permission to the script?

When I had this problem, I solved it by creating a very small application(with the correct permissions in the manifest) that I pushed to the phone. All the application did was re-send intents sent to it, but to a different destination. My application also had a gui for triggering events manually, but that's optional.

You can add permissions in AndroidManifest.xml file.
I don't know what monkeyRunner script is, and do we talk about the same permissions here, but in Android, all permissions you want to give to the app, you go to Manifest file.

Running an activity through monkeyrunner is not exactly different than running it manually. So, when it asks for permission, you can verify it right after installation by sending an extra command like:
device.press('KEYCODE_ENTER', MonkeyDevice.DOWN_AND_UP)
or
device.press('KEYCODE_BUTTON_SELECT', MonkeyDevice.DOWN_AND_UP)
You can also get your application have system privilages by pushing it into a special folder with these commands:
>adb remount
>adb push your\local\apk\path.apk system/priv-app
>adb shell stop
>adb shell start
Hope it works for you...

How can I get root permissions through the Android SDK?

I'm learning Android programming, and I want to make an application which has to run as root. The logical thing would be to add a root permission in the Android Manifest.
I saw this link in the documentation, and especially noted the FACTORY_TEST permission:
public static final String FACTORY_TEST
Since: API Level 1
Run as a manufacturer test
application, running as the root user.
Only available when the device is
running in manufacturer test mode.
Constant Value:
"android.permission.FACTORY_TEST"
Is that the best way?
If it's not possible using the SDK, how can I make a "root" application work?

What you need to do is something like:
Process root = Runtime.getRuntime().exec("su");
That causes SuperUser to show, which lets you either Allow or Block it from root access. This approach might not work if the user is not rooted. Here is a way you can test it.

First lets us get the basics right. Android run Linux kernel underneath. Now if you have to run your process on it with super user privileges(run it as root) the only way is to execute your process is via command line because it is the only way you can directly interact with the kernel. Also you need to use su before running any command. Also as Chris has mentioned in his comment on the 1st answer
Process process = Runtime.getRuntime().exec("su");
will accomplish nearly nothing. It will just ask for super use privilege using dialog. What you can do is instead of just executing su you can execute your process with su as following
Process process = Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[] { "su", "-c", yourCommand});
The -c Option
Among the most commonly used of su's few options is -c, which tells su to execute the command that directly follows it on the same line. Such command is executed as the new user, and then the terminal window or console from which su was run immediately returns to the account of the former user after the command has completed execution or after any program that it has launched has been closed.(More details)
Alternate Option
Alternative to above method one another way that might work is to use command line to copy you app to /system/app/ directory. Then your application will run automatically with root privileges(same as System apps)

The SDK does not offer a way to run an app as root.