Android Debug Bridge (ADB) is a handy command-line tool that lets developers and enthusiasts tweak various aspects of their Android device from a computer. While you can install ADB on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS, there exists a new website dubbed WebADB that lets you use ADB right from the comfort of your web browser. Today, we will be taking a look at how you can use WebADB from your browser.
History of WebADB
WebADB is a website created by XDA member steeltoe. According to steeltoe’s post on XDA forums, the website is based on an open-source project ‘ya-webadb’ by web developer Simon Chan. In other words, WebADB website is essentially a prettier version of the original ‘ya-webadb’ project.
History of WebADB
Features of WebADB
Get Your Android Device Ready for ADB
Get Your PC Ready for ADB
Connect Your Phone to WebADB
Run ADB from Your Browser
APK Installation
Interactive Shell
Screen Recording
Scrcpy Screen Mirroring
Device Information
File Manager
Enabling ADB over Wi-Fi
Get Your Android Device Ready for ADB
- The first step to use ADB is to prepare your device for utilizing it. Hence, you should first activate developer options on your phone. To do so, head to your phone’s ‘About phone’ section in Settings and tap on ‘Build number’ seven times.
If you’re planning to use WebADB from a Windows PC, you should enable a feature flag. The flag in question is ‘Enable new USB backend’. From the looks of it, this flag is likely to make its way to our list of best Chrome flags.
- From this page, search for ‘Enable new USB backend’ and choose ‘Enabled’ from the dropdown list. Alternatively, you can paste the below URL in your browser’s address bar to directly access it.
Now that your phone and PC are ready to use ADB, let’s get to the execution part. This section will walk you through the setup process on the browser end and how you can use the tool from the browser.
- Soon after you click the Connect button, a prompt will appear in your Android phone urging you to allow USB debugging access. If you’re planning to use WebADB quite often, do not forget to check the ‘Always allow from this computer’ checkbox. You can start using WebADB after granting access.
As you can see below, I can now access my phone’s file manager, install apps, run ADB shell commands, capture screenshots, and more without having a full-fledged installation of ADB on my computer. You can switch between various features from the left side menu on the website.
