If you are like me and like developing in Linux, then you will find this guide useful. When I was setting up everything for my Android development, I ran into the problem that Linux was not recognizing my Android phone, and took me some time figuring out how to make Linux recognize my phone. Finally, after some research I was able to put this little guide together and decided to share it with the rest of the world.

ADB (Android Debug Bridge) is a handy tool that comes with Android SDK that allows you to control and interface with your Android device.

Update: 02/04/11 – HTC changed its Vendor ID, older phones have different ID than newer phones. Refer to USB Vendor IDs table at the bottom of this tutorial to see the change.
Update: 01/02/11 – By mistake I had linked the ADB tool for OSX in step 3.1. Now it should be the correct one for Linux.
IMPORTANT Update 12/11/10 – There has been a change to the new Android SDK. ADB Tool has been moved to /android-sdk-linux_x86/plataform-tools, so if you have the old SDK, please download the new one and update your path (Step 9.2 of this tutorial). If this is your first time doing this, then disregard the update and continue with the tutorial.
Update: 09/21/10 – Working code with Ubuntu Lucid Lynx and added more USB vendor IDs.

1. Download the latest Android SDK from Google: Android SDK
2. Extract the TGZ file to your home/YOUR-USERNAME directory
3. To get ADB, you need to install the SDK: Installing the SDK
   • If you are not a developer and not planning to develop, then just download the following zip file containing only the ADB tool and proceed with the tutorial: ADB
4. On your phone, click Settings > Applications > Development and make sure USB Debugging is on.
5. Login as root and create this file: /etc/udev/rules.d/##-android.rules
   NOTE: In the above file replace ## with the number 50 if you are running Gusty/Hardy/Dapper (50-android.rules) or with the number 70 if you are running Karmic Koala/Lucid Lynx/Maverick Meerkat(70-android.rules)
   • Or simply type in terminal sudo gedit /etc/udev/rules.d/##-android.rules then enter your password
6. The file should read:
   • For Gusty/Hardy: SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, SYSFS{idVendor}==”0bb4″, MODE=”0666″
   • For Dapper: SUBSYSTEM==”usb_device”, SYSFS{idVendor}==”0bb4″, MODE=”0666″
   • For Karmic Koala: SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, SYSFS{idVendor}==”0bb4″, MODE=”0666″
   • For Lucid Lynx: SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, SYSFS{idVendor}==”0bb4″, MODE=”0666″
   • For Maverick Meerkat: SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0bb4″, MODE=”0666″

   NOTE: In the above lines the code ”0bb4″ refers to a HTC device. If your phone is from a different manufacturer, replace the code with the appropriate from the table below.
   NOTE: If you copy one of the lines mentioned above, make sure you replace the quotation marks with the ones in your keyboard, as these have different display code and it might give you a “no permissions” error.

7. Execute: sudo chmod a+rx /etc/udev/rules.d/70-android.rules
8. Reboot
9. To run ADB you need to add an environment variable to your bashrc file:
   • Open a terminal window and type: sudo gedit .bashrc
   • Add the following line at the end: export PATH=${PATH}:/home/YOUR-USERNAME/android-sdk-linux_x86/platform-tools
   • Save and close
10. You should be ready to go, type adb devices in a terminal window with your phone plugged in.
    If you see a serial number pop up that means you are done. Should look something like this:
    List of devices attached
    HT99PHF02521 device
11. If for some reasons when running adb devices gives you a “no permissions” error, try typing the following in terminal
    • adb kill-server
    • adb start-server

USB Vendor IDs

Common ADB Commands

- Lists which devices are currently attached to your computer

adb devices

- Drops you into a basic linux command shell on your phone with no parameters, or lets you run commands directly

adb shell

- Lets you install an Android application on your phone

adb install

- Remounts your system in write mode – this lets you alter system files on your phone using ADB

adb remount

- Rets you upload files to your phones filesystem

adb push

- Lets you download files off your phones filesystem

adb pull

- Starts dumping debugging information from your handset to the console – useful for debugging your apps

adb logcat

Now, as for the credits, I took TheUnlockr “How To” for Windows as a base for this guide.

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