Android Shell Command Reference

#The Android Shell

A "shell" is a program that listens to keyboard input from a user and performs actions as directed by the user. Android devices come with a simple shell program. This shell program is mostly undocumented. Since many people are curious about it I thought I'd write up some documentation for it.

#Built in Commands

The Android shell will run any program it finds in its PATH. The PATH is a list of directories. You can find out what your shell's PATH is set to by using the built-in echo command:

$ echo $PATH
/data/local/bin:/sbin:/vendor/bin:/system/sbin:/system/bin:/system/xbin

Depending upon your shell, you may see a different result.

To find out what commands you have available to you, use the "ls" command on each of the directories in the PATH variable:

$ ls /data/local/bin
/data/local/bin: No such file or directory

Notice that by default there is no /data/local/bin directory. You can create this directory using the "mkdir" command if you like.

$ ls /sbin
opendir failed, Permission denied

The /sbin directory exists, but you don't have permission to access it. You need root access. If you have a developer phone, or otherwise have root access to your phone you can see what's in this directory.

$ su
# ls /sbin
ueventd
adbd
# exit
$ 

Notice that the shell prompt changes from a '$' to a '#' to indicate that you have root access.

Notice also that neither of the /sbin commands are useful to the shell -- the adb and ueventd files are 'daemon' programs used to implement the Android Debugger "adb" program that is used by developers.

$ ls /vendor/bin
gpsd
pvrsrvinit

Vendor/bin is where device vendors can put device-specific executables. These files are from a Nexus S.

$ ls /system/sbin
/system/sbin: No such file or directory

This directory does not exist on a Nexus S.

$ ls /system/bin
am
amix
aplay
app_process
applypatch
arec
audioloop
bluetoothd
bmgr
bootanimation
brcm_patchram_plus
bugreport
cat
chmod
chown
cmp
dalvikvm
date
dbus-daemon
dd
debuggerd
dexopt
df
dhcpcd
dmesg
dnsmasq
dumpstate
dumpsys
dvz
fsck_msdos
gdbserver
getevent
getprop
gzip
hciattach
hd
id
ifconfig
iftop
ime
input
insmod
installd
ioctl
ionice
iptables
keystore
keystore_cli
kill
linker
ln
log
logcat
logwrapper
ls
lsmod
lsof
make_ext4fs
mediaserver
mkdir
monkey
mount
mtpd
mv
nandread
ndc
netcfg
netd
netstat
newfs_msdos
notify
omx_tests
pand
ping
pm
pppd
printenv
ps
qemu-props
qemud
racoon
radiooptions
reboot
record
renice
rild
rm
rmdir
rmmod
route
rtp_test
run-as
schedtest
schedtop
sdcard
sdptool
sendevent
service
servicemanager
setconsole
setprop
setup_fs
sh
showlease
sleep
smd
stagefright
start
stop
surfaceflinger
svc
sync
system_server
tc
testid3
toolbox
top
umount
uptime
vdc
vmstat
vold
watchprops
wipe
wpa_cli
wpa_supplicant
$ ls /system/xbin
add-property-tag
btool
check-lost+found
dexdump
dhdutil
hcidump
latencytop
librank
opcontrol
oprofiled
procmem
procrank
rawbu
scp
showmap
showslab
sqlite3
strace
su

#Versions of the Android Shell

• Android 1.0 used a shell that had no tab completion or history editing.
• Android 2.3 added history editing. You can for example use the up/down arrows to edit previous commands.

#Other shells

#Busybox

Busybox is a program that contains a shell and a set of command line utilities. Search Android Market for "Busybox" and you should find some versions you can install. The Busybox shell includes tab completion and history editing. Some versions of Busybox for Android do not require that you root your phone.

#Debian utilities

You can install the full Debian shell and utilities. (Debian is a popular desktop Linux distribution.) I don't know the details, and it may require a "rooted" phone. Try a web search for "Debian Android install".

#Custom ROMs

Some custom ROMs come with their own shells and utilities. If you are using a custom ROM, check its documentation to find out what's available.