How to Install ADB on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS

Android Debug Bridge (ADB), as the name suggests, is a command line utility that allows developers to debug various parts of their applications. However, it is not limited to developers only. If you want to access some otherwise inaccessible features of the Android platform, you can also use ADB commands by installing ADB on your computer, such as Windows, macOS, Linux or Chrome OS. Once you have it installed, there are tons of cool things you can do with ADB on your Android device. Also, there are various apps that require ADB permissions to run. So, if you’re confused about how to install and use ADB on Windows, macOS, Linux or Chrome OS, we’ve got you covered.

Set Up Your Android Device for ADB

Even if you install ADB on your computer, it won’t do you any good if you don’t set up your Android device to work with ADB first. So, if you are not sure how to do this, follow the steps below to find out.

• Open Settings on your Android device and go to “About Phone”. Here, Tap on “Build number” 7 times repeatedly. Note that the ‘Build Number’ page may be kept below some other pages as the Android devices skin is different.

• This will enable “Developer options” on your Android device. Go to “System” and then open Developer Options and Enable usb debugging”. Now, when you will connect your Android device to the computer, select the “File transfer (MTP)” mode. You’re done with the front of the device. Now, the next step is to install ADB on your computer.

Install ADB on Windows

• First, download ADB Platform Tools for Windows From Google’s official page. After downloading, extract the contents of this file to your Windows PC using a file archiver utility like WinRAR.

• Now go to the extracted folder and click on the address bar. Now type “cmd” and press enter. Instantly, a command prompt window will open in the ADB directory.

• After that, connect your Android device to Windows PC and run adb devices to command.

• It will prompt a “USB debugging” on your smartphone. Enable the “Always allow” checkbox and then tap on “Allow”.
• You should now see your device’s serial number in the Command Prompt window. If it doesn’t detect your device, run adb devices again and this time it will definitely detect your device. Congratulations! ADB is now successfully installed on your Windows PC.

Install ADB on macOS

Here we will take a slightly different way to install ADB on macOS. We will need to install Homebrew on macOS first and then we can easily install the Android platform tools. Homebrew is an open source package manager that installs missing packages. So with all that said, here we go.

• First, open Terminal on your Mac and execute the following command. It will install Homebrew on your Mac. It may ask for your password during installation. The entire installation will take about 10 minutes.

ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

• After that, install ADB platform tools from below command.

brew install android-platform-tools --cask

• Now connect your Android device to your Mac and adb devices to command. You will get a prompt to allow USB debugging on your Android device. So, enable the checkbox and tap “Allow”.

• You should now see your device’s serial number on the Mac. This indicates that ADB has been successfully installed on your Mac.

Install ADB on Linux

• Download ADB Platform Tools for Linux Extract it from Google’s official page and unzip the file to a suitable location such as your home directory.
• After that, open the Linux terminal and navigate to the extracted folder location. Execute the following command to navigate to a specific folder. Make sure to replace the username with your real Linux username.

cd /home/arjun/platform-tools

• Connect your Android device and adb devices command in linux terminal. Check the “Always allow” box on your Android device and then tap the “OK” button.

• Finally, your Android device will appear in the Linux Terminal with its serial number. This is how you can install and install ADB on Linux systems.

Install ADB on Chrome OS

Before continuing, let me clarify that your Chromebook must have Play Store support; Chrome OS must be in the Developer Channel and have Linux enabled on your machine. To switch to the Developer Channel, open Settings -> About Chrome OS -> Additional Details -> Change Channel to Development. Now having said all that, let’s learn how to set up ADB on Chrome OS.

• First, open Settings and go to Linux -> Develop Android Apps -> Enable ADB Debug toggle. Now, restart your Chromebook and after reboot an ADB prompt will appear. Click “Allow” and proceed to the next step.
• Now, open the Linux Terminal from the app drawer and run the following command. Install ADB platform tools. Also, press the “Y” key to allow the installation.

sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb

• Connect your Android device to Chromebook after installation. You will get a prompt to detect a USB device on your Chromebook. Now, click on the “Connect to Linux” option.

• Go back to Linux Terminal, execute adb devices command and a prompt will appear on your Android device. Enable the “Always allow” checkbox and then tap the “OK” button. Congratulations, you have successfully installed ADB on Chrome OS.

• If the terminal shows “Permission Denied” or “Command Not Found” error followed by adb start-server first issue the command and then adb devices to command.

How to Use ADB on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS

Once you have successfully installed ADB on your Windows PC, Mac, Linux system or Chromebook, it is just a matter of using it. executing various ADB commands In the terminal. Make sure to connect your Android device to your computer with USB debugging enabled. After that, you can try different commands and experience Android in a very different way. Here’s what’s given below to help you get started some of the most commonly used ADB commands.

Easily Install ADB on Windows, macOS, Linux and Chrome OS

ADB is a very useful utility for all Android programmers. Even if you’re not yourself, you now know how to set up ADB on your PC or Mac and use it with your Android device. And if you’re new to this, I’ve already listed some common ADB commands above. This lets you experience Android like never before. Speaking of ADB commands, which are your favourites? I would love to hear from you in the comments section below.