ADB Concepts : How to Capture Screenshots of Android Devices Using ADB Commands

Get a step-by-step walkthrough in the video below!

To take a screenshot of the current display on our mobile device, we can use the following command:

Command:

adb shell screencap <path_to_file>

Example1:

adb shell screencap /sdcard/download/appiumguide.png

Explanation:

adb shell: is the command used to execute commands on an Android device.

Screencap: is the command used to capture a screenshot of the current display.

Path_to_file: specifies the location and name of the file where the screenshot will be saved

Output: Screenshot

Example2:

Steps to Capture a Screenshot

1. Connect your device

adb devices

This should list your connected device. If not, ensure USB Debugging is enabled and authorized.

2. Capture the screenshot

$ adb shell
shell@ $ screencap /sdcard/download/appiumguide.png 
shell@ $ exit

This command tells the device to take a screenshot and save it to the internal storage.

Example:

3. Pull the screenshot to your computer

$ adb pull /sdcard/download/appiumguide.png C:\Users\SWETHARAMESH\Desktop\AppiumGuide\Inprogress\adbconcepts\PullFile\ramesh.png

This copies the screenshot to your current directory on your computer.

Example:

Output: Screenshot

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