turboadb 0.9.38

TurboADB — Android ADB + scrcpy device toolkit for automotive/embedded (Android Automotive OS / IVI) & general Android: Python API, CLI, and a full PyQt5 GUI.

TurboADB

An Android ADB + scrcpy device toolkit for automotive/embedded Android (Android Automotive OS / IVI head units) and general Android work.

TurboADB wraps Google's adb and scrcpy behind one robust, structured layer you can drive three ways from a single pip install turboadb:

1. Python API — import turboadb for scripts and test frameworks.
2. CLI — turboadb …, fully argument-driven (argparse).
3. Desktop GUI — turboadb-gui, a full PyQt5 app shipped as a prebuilt Windows .exe (PyQt5 baked in) so it runs even where PyQt5 has no wheel (e.g. Windows ARM64) — no PyQt5 install required.

Every action returns a structured result (CommandResult / TransferResult / StreamResult), with a safe mode that returns an OperationResult instead of raising, and a typed exception hierarchy (ADBError base). All blocking work can run on background threads, so it never blocks or crashes the caller.

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Table of contents

• Install
• The GUI
• Quick start (API)
• Connecting — USB vs network (Wi-Fi / Ethernet)
• Running shell commands
• Live logcat (continuous logs)
• File transfer (push / pull)
• App management
• Media — screenshot & screen record
• Port forwarding (forward / reverse)
• scrcpy mirroring (the visual session)
• Automotive (Android Automotive OS / IVI)
• Result objects & error handling
• CLI reference
• API map
• Building the GUI exe & releasing
• License

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Install

pip install turboadb

That gives you the Python API, the turboadb CLI, and turboadb-gui (which launches the bundled Windows exe; on other platforms install the GUI extra: pip install "turboadb[gui]").

TurboADB needs Google's platform-tools (adb) and, for mirroring, scrcpy. It auto-detects them on your PATH, in the Android SDK, or in common install locations. If they're missing, let TurboADB fetch them for you:

turboadb fetch-tools     # downloads adb (+scrcpy) into ~/.turboadb/tools
turboadb doctor          # shows where adb / scrcpy were found

It's automatic, too. The first time you run TurboADB after an install or upgrade, it downloads the latest platform-tools + scrcpy into a per-user cache (~/.turboadb/tools/), which is first in the detection order — so a fresh pip install -U turboadb always gives you current tools with zero setup. Each new version re-fetches the latest. Disable with TURBOADB_AUTO_FETCH=0 (for offline/CI/locked-down machines), then fetch manually with turboadb fetch-tools.

• GUI: downloads automatically on launch (progress bar), or use the ribbon's Get tools button to refresh.
• Python: turboadb.fetch_tools() (explicit) or it happens on first device use.

Why not at pip install time? Wheels don't run code on install, and downloading during install breaks offline/CI/proxy setups and can hang pip. First-run/on-upgrade fetch (the Playwright model) gives the same "just works" result while keeping the wheel small and license-clean — you fetch Google's adb (under its SDK terms); TurboADB never redistributes it. scrcpy is Apache-2.0.

• adb: https://developer.android.com/tools/releases/platform-tools
• scrcpy: https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy (Windows: winget install scrcpy · macOS: brew install scrcpy · Linux: apt install scrcpy)

Override detection any time with ADBConfig(adb_path=..., scrcpy_path=...), the TURBOADB_ADB / TURBOADB_SCRCPY environment variables, or the GUI's Settings dialog.

---

The GUI

turboadb-gui            # or: python -m turboadb.gui   (from source)
turboadb-shortcut       # make a Desktop shortcut (Windows)

A tabbed, multi-device workspace:

• Tabbed multi-device sessions — each device opens its own tab; tabs are closable, movable, and there's a + new-tab button. A Split/tile view shows several devices at once.
• Sidebar device manager — saved targets plus a LIVE adb devices list that auto-refreshes; a Quick connect filter box; right-click context menu (New / Open / Edit / Duplicate / Delete). Double-click a live device to open it.
• Ribbon toolbar with colorful buttons: Device, Shell, Logcat, Files, Apps, Scrcpy (mirror), Screenshot, Split, Settings, Help, Exit.
• Per-device panels (tabs):
  • Shell — type straight into the terminal; one Enter runs the command (reliable cooked line-editing, with Up/Down history and Ctrl+C). Full native text selection + copy/paste, save output to file, a right-click menu (Copy / Paste / Save / Send-key: Tab/Esc/Ctrl-C/D/Z…), scrollback, and auto-reconnect — after a reboot or unplug it detects the dropped shell and reconnects when the device comes back.
  • Logcat — live viewer with regex + level filter, pause, clear, save, and instant stop.
  • Files — adb push/pull browser with file and folder pickers for both directions and a progress bar.
  • Apps — install (incl. split APKs), list, uninstall, clear, start, stop.
  • Controls — navigation (Home/Back/Recents/DPAD), volume, media (via the active media session), brightness (via settings), Wi-Fi / Bluetooth / Airplane / Hotspot, screen on/off; app & web shortcuts (open any URL, web-search, launch Browser / YouTube / Spotify / Maps / Play Store / Settings); and a text-send box that types into the device's focused field — a keyboard for head units / devices with no on-screen keyboard.
  • Phone — a phone simulation: a dialler (dial / call / answer / end), the call log, and SMS messages (read + compose), all over adb.
  • Root / Mount header menu — adb root, remount, mount -o remount,rw /, disable-verity (auto sync + reboot prompt).
  • Mirror — scrcpy with a display picker and compatibility mode. By default it opens a reliable separate window; tick embed (experimental) to host the scrcpy screen inside the tab (Windows). Embedding is opt-in because reparenting a foreign window can be flaky on some setups / over Remote Desktop.
• A ribbon Upgrade button checks for newer adb/scrcpy and downloads only if a newer version exists.
• A dark, color-coded log dock at the bottom.
• Settings (persisted to ~/.turboadb/settings.json, applied live): dark/light theme, terminal font + size, default scrcpy options, adb/scrcpy paths, logcat format. Defaults to a clean black dark theme; the light theme isn't glaring.
• Crash-proof: a startup-failure native popup + crash log, a global exception hook that logs and shows a non-fatal popup, and clean thread shutdown when a tab closes.

The window/app icon is an automotive speedometer fused with the Android robot and a terminal prompt.

---

Quick start (API)

from turboadb import ADBHandler, ADBConfig

# USB: the only attached device (or pass serial="..." to pick one)
with ADBHandler() as dev:
    print(dev.device_info().value if False else dev.shell("getprop ro.build.version.release").text)
    dev.push("app.apk", "/data/local/tmp/app.apk")
    dev.install("app.apk", grant_perms=True)

    # live logs, with a regex match + tee to a file
    dev.logcat(tag="ActivityManager", match=r"ANR|FATAL",
               on_line=print, save_to="boot.log", stop_on_match=True)

    dev.screenshot("shot.png")
    dev.mirror(max_size=1280)            # launch scrcpy

The raw adb path is always available at dev.adb_path, and any adb command is a call away: dev.adb("shell", "wm", "size").

---

Connecting — USB vs network (Wi-Fi / Ethernet)

USB (local):

from turboadb import ADBHandler, ADBConfig, list_devices

for d in list_devices():
    print(d)                              # serial, state, model…

with ADBHandler(ADBConfig(serial="emulator-5554")) as dev:
    ...

Network (remote head unit / IVI on the bench LAN):

# Enable TCP mode once while on USB, then connect wirelessly:
with ADBHandler() as usb:
    usb.tcpip(5555)

with ADBHandler(ADBConfig(host="192.168.1.50", port=5555)) as hu:
    print(hu.shell("getprop ro.build.characteristics").text)

Remote machine (device plugged into another PC — e.g. an RDP/bench host):

Drive a device that's physically attached to a different machine by talking to that machine's adb server — you see and control the devices attached over there, with your local files used for push/pull.

# 1) ON the machine with the device, expose its adb server once:
adb -a nodaemon server start          # listens on all interfaces (port 5037)

# 2) From your machine, point TurboADB at it:
turboadb devices --adb-host 192.168.1.20            # 'adb devices' THERE
turboadb -s SERIAL --adb-host 192.168.1.20 shell -- getprop ro.product.model
turboadb -s SERIAL --adb-host 192.168.1.20 logcat --match "ANR|FATAL"

from turboadb import ADBHandler, ADBConfig, remote_devices

print(remote_devices("192.168.1.20"))          # devices on that machine
with ADBHandler(ADBConfig(adb_server_host="192.168.1.20", serial="SERIAL")) as dev:
    print(dev.shell("getprop ro.product.model").text)
    dev.logcat(match="ANR|FATAL", on_line=print)
    dev.mirror()                               # scrcpy via the remote server

In the GUI: Device ▾ → Connect to a remote PC's ADB (devices there)… — enter the machine's IP, pick from the devices attached over there, and it opens a full tab (Shell / Logcat / Files / Apps / Mirror) driven through that server. Save it as a target with type "Remote ADB server". (Keep it on a trusted network/VPN — the adb server is unauthenticated; or tunnel 5037 over SSH.)

Android 11+ wireless pairing:

dev = ADBHandler(ADBConfig(host="192.168.1.50", port=5555))
dev.pair("192.168.1.50", 37123, "482913")    # host:pairing_port + code
dev.connect()

connect() auto-runs adb connect host:port for network targets, waits for the device, and verifies it's device (not unauthorized/offline) with a clear, actionable error if not.

---

Running shell commands

res = dev.shell("pm list packages -3")
print(res.ok, res.exit_code, res.duration)
for line in res.lines:
    print(line)

dev.shell("settings put global development_settings_enabled 1", check=True)
dev.shell("svc power stayon true", su=True)      # wrap in su -c for rooted devices

# an interactive shell session (used by the GUI terminal, usable in scripts)
sh = dev.open_shell()
sh.send_line("top -n 1")
import time; time.sleep(1)
print(sh.read().decode(errors="replace"))
sh.close()

---

Live logcat (continuous logs)

Stream logcat live, line by line, cleanly formatted, with regex matching, match callbacks, stop-on-match, and tee-to-file — plus tag/priority filters and buffer selection.

# tag + minimum priority, collect ANR/FATAL, save everything, stop on first hit
res = dev.logcat(tag="ActivityManager", priority="I",
                 match=r"ANR|FATAL", on_match=lambda l: print("HIT:", l),
                 save_to="session.log", stop_on_match=True,
                 buffers=["main", "system", "crash"], clear_first=True)
print(res.lines, "lines,", len(res.matches), "matches")

# arbitrary streaming command + a stop event from another thread
import threading
stop = threading.Event()
dev.logcat(on_line=print, stop_event=stop)       # stop.set() to end

dev.logcat_clear()                                # adb logcat -c

fmt= sets the -v format (default threadtime); dump=True does -d (dump current buffer and exit); filterspecs=[...] passes explicit TAG:LEVEL specs. Lines are ANSI/control-char cleaned by default (clean=True).

---

File transfer (push / pull)

Files and folders, with a live percent callback (the GUI shows a progress bar):

dev.push("local_dir/", "/sdcard/local_dir", on_progress=lambda p: print(p, "%"))
dev.pull("/sdcard/Download", "out/", on_progress=print)

tr = dev.push("big.bin", "/data/local/tmp/big.bin")
print(tr.human_size, tr.human_speed, tr.duration)   # 12.0MB 48.0MB/s 0.25

---

App management

dev.install("app.apk", replace=True, grant_perms=True)        # adb install -r -g
dev.install_multiple(["base.apk", "split_config.en.apk"])     # split APKs
dev.uninstall("com.example.app", keep_data=False)

dev.list_packages(third_party=True)              # -> ["com.foo", ...]
dev.clear_app("com.example.app")                 # pm clear
dev.start_app("com.example.app")                 # launcher intent
dev.start_activity("com.example.app/.MainActivity")
dev.stop_app("com.example.app")                  # am force-stop
dev.grant("com.example.app", "android.permission.CAMERA")
dev.revoke("com.example.app", "android.permission.CAMERA")
print(dev.current_activity())                    # foreground component

---

Media — screenshot & screen record

dev.screenshot("shot.png")                       # exec-out screencap -p
png_bytes = dev.screenshot()                     # raw PNG bytes if no path

# record on-device, then pull it (stop early with a stop_event)
dev.screen_record("clip.mp4", time_limit=20, size="1280x720", bit_rate="8M")

---

Port forwarding (forward / reverse)

Stoppable handles (adb forward / adb reverse):

fwd = dev.forward("tcp:9222", "localabstract:chrome_devtools_remote")
# ... use 127.0.0.1:9222 on the host ...
fwd.close()                                       # adb forward --remove

with dev.reverse("tcp:8000", "tcp:8000"):         # device reaches your PC:8000
    ...
print(dev.list_forwards())

---

scrcpy mirroring (the visual session)

Launch real-time screen mirroring + control — the visual analog of opening a remote desktop for a host:

from turboadb import ScrcpyOptions

sess = dev.mirror(max_size=1280, bit_rate="8M", stay_awake=True)
# ... a scrcpy window is now mirroring & controlling the device ...
sess.stop()

# full control via ScrcpyOptions (crop is great for IVI displays):
opts = ScrcpyOptions(crop="1920x1080:0:0", display_id=0,
                     record="drive.mp4", turn_screen_off=True)
dev.mirror(opts)

---

Automotive (Android Automotive OS / IVI)

with ADBHandler(ADBConfig(host="192.168.1.50")) as hu:
    info = hu.device_info()
    print(info["manufacturer"], info["model"], "Android", info["android_version"])
    if hu.is_automotive():
        print("This is an Android Automotive OS head unit.")

    # head units expose several displays (center stack, cluster, passenger):
    for d in hu.list_displays():
        print("display", d["id"], d["size"])
    hu.mirror(display_id=2)                  # mirror a specific IVI display

    # "scrcpy won't work" on this unit? use the automotive compatibility profile
    # (forces H.264, caps size/fps, disables audio — fixes most IVI encoders):
    hu.mirror(compat=True)

device_info() includes an automotive flag (from the automotive hardware feature / build characteristics), so you can branch IVI-specific flows.

In the GUI, automotive devices show a Mirror (IVI) split-button with: Mirror (default), Mirror a specific display… (lists the head unit's displays to choose from), and Mirror (compatibility mode). If a mirror fails, the error suggests trying compatibility mode or a different display. The default scrcpy video codec is configurable in Settings (auto / h264 / h265 / av1).

Why scrcpy sometimes fails on IVI — and what TurboADB does about it

Symptom on a head unit	TurboADB's fix
Black screen / wrong screen mirrored	list_displays() + display_id= to pick the right one
"Could not open video stream" / encoder error	compat=True → forces --video-codec h264, caps size/fps
Audio init fails / no video on Android <11	audio is off by default; compat mode keeps it off
Bandwidth/lag over Wi-Fi	max_size=, bit_rate=, max_fps=

---

Result objects & error handling

Every operation returns a structured result:

Result	Key fields / props
CommandResult	.ok, .exit_code, .stdout, .stderr, .duration, .text, .lines
TransferResult	.size_bytes, .duration, .files, .human_size, .human_speed
StreamResult	.lines, .matches, .matched, .saved_to
OperationResult	.success/bool, .value, .error, .unwrap() (safe mode)

Raise mode (default) — great for test automation:

try:
    dev.shell("false", check=True)
except ADBError as exc:
    print("failed:", exc)

Safe mode — great for GUIs (never throws):

dev = ADBHandler(cfg, safe=True)
res = dev.install("app.apk")
if res:                      # OperationResult is falsy on failure
    print("ok:", res.value)
else:
    print("error:", res.error)

Exception hierarchy (catch ADBError for everything): ADBNotFoundError, ADBConnectionError, ADBTimeoutError, ADBNotConnectedError, ADBCommandError, ADBTransferError, ADBInstallError, ScrcpyError.

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CLI reference

turboadb doctor                      # is adb / scrcpy installed?
turboadb fetch-tools [--adb-only|--scrcpy-only --force]   # download into the cache
turboadb upgrade-tools [--check]     # update adb/scrcpy only if a newer version exists
turboadb devices                     # list attached/known devices
turboadb info        [-s S]          # device identity / build / automotive flag
turboadb shell       [-s S] -- CMD…  # one-shot adb shell (use --su to wrap in su -c)
turboadb logcat      [-s S] [--tag T --priority I --match RE --save F --stop-on-match --clear --dump]
turboadb logcat-clear[-s S]
turboadb push        [-s S] LOCAL REMOTE
turboadb pull        [-s S] REMOTE LOCAL
turboadb install     [-s S] APK [APK…] [--grant --downgrade --no-replace]
turboadb uninstall   [-s S] PKG [--keep-data]
turboadb packages    [-s S] [--third-party --system] [FILTER]
turboadb clear       [-s S] PKG
turboadb start|stop  [-s S] PKG
turboadb screenshot  [-s S] PATH
turboadb record      [-s S] PATH [--time-limit 30 --size 1280x720 --bit-rate 8M]
turboadb forward     [-s S] LOCAL REMOTE      # stays until Ctrl+C
turboadb reverse     [-s S] REMOTE LOCAL
turboadb scrcpy      [-s S] [--max-size 1280 --bit-rate 8M --record F --turn-screen-off --no-control --wait]
turboadb connect     HOST:PORT
turboadb restart-server               # kill+start adb server (device-not-visible fixes)
turboadb disconnect  [HOST:PORT]
turboadb tcpip       [-s S] [PORT]
turboadb pair        HOST:PAIRPORT CODE
turboadb reboot      [-s S] [recovery|bootloader|sideload]
turboadb root        [-s S]
# device controls (same as the GUI Controls tab):
turboadb key         [-s S] home|back|recents|vol_up|play_pause|…
turboadb text        [-s S] hello world          # type into the focused field
turboadb scroll      [-s S] up|down|left|right    # swipe-scroll (works on touch)
turboadb tap         [-s S]
turboadb media       [-s S] play-pause|next|previous|stop
turboadb brightness  [-s S] 0.6                   # live, 0.0-1.0
turboadb wifi|bluetooth|airplane  [-s S] on|off
turboadb open        [-s S] youtube.com           # VIEW intent (app or browser)
turboadb search      [-s S] weather today
turboadb camera | close-apps | battery | build-info   [-s S]
turboadb remount | disable-verity | enable-verity     [-s S]
# phone:
turboadb dial NUMBER | call NUMBER | answer | end-call   [-s S]
turboadb call-log [--limit N] | sms [--limit N] | send-sms NUMBER message…  [-s S]
turboadb gui                          # launch the desktop GUI

-s accepts a USB serial or a host:port network target. Add --json to most commands for machine-readable output. Examples:

turboadb -s 192.168.1.50:5555 shell -- dumpsys power | findstr mWakefulness
turboadb logcat --tag ActivityManager --priority I --match "ANR|FATAL" --save boot.log
turboadb install base.apk split_config.en.apk --grant
turboadb screenshot dash.png
turboadb scrcpy --max-size 1280 --bit-rate 8M

Other console scripts: turboadb-gui, turboadb-docs, turboadb-shortcut.

---

API map

turboadb
├── ADBHandler(config=ADBConfig|None, *, serial=, safe=, quiet=, log_callback=)
│   ├── connect() / disconnect() / is_connected / get_state() / wait_for_device()
│   ├── tcpip(port) / connect_tcp(host, port) / pair(host, port, code)
│   ├── reboot(mode) / root() / unroot() / remount()
│   ├── getprop(name?) / device_info() / is_automotive()
│   ├── shell(cmd, su=, check=) / shell_many() / open_shell() -> ShellSession
│   ├── iter_lines(args) / stream(args, …) / logcat(…) / logcat_clear()
│   ├── push(local, remote, on_progress=) / pull(remote, local, on_progress=)
│   ├── install() / install_multiple() / uninstall() / list_packages()
│   ├── clear_app() / start_app() / start_activity() / stop_app()
│   ├── grant() / revoke() / current_activity()
│   ├── keyevent(name|code) / input_text(text) / tap() / swipe()
│   ├── set_wifi() / set_bluetooth() / set_airplane() / set_hotspot() / screen_on/off()
│   ├── remount() / mount_rw() / disable_verity() / enable_verity()
│   ├── screenshot(path?) / screen_record(path, …)
│   ├── forward(local, remote) / reverse(remote, local) -> ForwardHandle
│   ├── list_forwards() / remove_all_forwards()
│   ├── list_displays()  ·  mirror(options?|**opts, compat=) -> ScrcpySession
│   └── adb(*args)  ·  adb_path  ·  serial
├── ADBConfig / ScrcpyOptions
├── Device / list_devices() / first_online()
├── launch_scrcpy() / ScrcpySession
├── find_adb() / find_scrcpy() / adb_available() / scrcpy_available() / diagnose()
├── fetch_tools() / download_platform_tools() / download_scrcpy() / tools_dir()
├── CommandResult / TransferResult / StreamResult / OperationResult / strip_ansi
└── ADBError + ADBNotFoundError / ADBConnectionError / ADBTimeoutError /
    ADBNotConnectedError / ADBCommandError / ADBTransferError /
    ADBInstallError / ScrcpyError

---

Building the GUI exe & releasing

python scripts/make_icon.py        # (re)generate the icon
python scripts/build_exe.py        # -> dist/turboadb-gui.exe (PyQt5 baked in)
# copy the exe into turboadb/bin/ so the wheel ships it, then:
python scripts/release.py patch    # bump -> test -> build -> twine check -> upload

turboadb-gui runs the bundled exe when present and falls back to running from source (turboadb[gui]) otherwise. The release helper reads the PyPI token from TWINE_PASSWORD (never hard-coded) and supports --wheel-only if a flaky network makes the sdist+wheel upload hang.

---

Troubleshooting (incl. Remote Desktop / RDP)

Running TurboADB on a machine you reach over RDP

• adb works over RDP — it's just a local process on the RDP host. But a device plugged into your laptop is not visible on the remote host unless USB is redirected. Easiest path — in the GUI use Device ▾ → Connect wirelessly (IP / host:port) (or turboadb connect HOST:5555):
  • Network adb (recommended for IVI/head units): on the device do adb tcpip 5555 once over USB, then connect by IP from the RDP host — no USB redirection needed. Android 11+: Device ▾ → Pair device.
  • If a device is plugged into the remote host but shows offline/missing, use Device ▾ → Restart ADB server (or turboadb restart-server) — that clears the common adb-version-mismatch that hides devices.
  • Or enable USB redirection in your RDP client (mstsc → Local Resources → More → your device).
• scrcpy over RDP often can't open its video stream (no local GPU/decoder in the RDP session). The embedded Mirror tab detects scrcpy exiting early and tells you so; try compatibility mode (forces H.264), and if it still fails, mirroring isn't available in that RDP session — use it from a local session.

"scrcpy won't work" on a head unit → use Mirror → compatibility mode, or pick the right display from Mirror → display picker (see the automotive table above).

adb not found / outdated → turboadb doctor shows what's resolved; turboadb upgrade-tools updates to the latest only if newer; set TURBOADB_AUTO_FETCH=0 to stop automatic downloads.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.