Running vi in adb under Windows

Question

Very occasionally, I will want to edit a file, say /system/build.prop or /etc/hosts on my Android device. I find that the easiest way to do it is:

c:\> adb shell
$ su
# vi /etc/hosts

This works fine if I'm using Linux. However, attempting to run vi on my phone when using Windows results in a borked vi screen with strange characters. I'm assuming this is because cmd doesn't support ANSI control characters.

Is there any way to fix this (e.g., a cmd alternative that does the job)?

[ConEmu](http://superuser.com/a/446320/144961) looks like it should do the job. — Michael Hampton, Jul 10 '12 at 21:57
@MichaelHampton: This _nearly_ works, but doesn't handle the key correctly, making it impossible to enter normal mode. — Chinmay Kanchi, Jul 11 '12 at 14:41

Volo · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-12T01:05:46.157

10

You can do it with PuTTYTray. It's an improved version of PuTTY which features a number of additional features. One of such feature is Android adb support. To use it:

Select Adb as Connection type
Enter -d (for single usb device) or device serial number in the host field
???
PROFIT!!!

PuTTYTray configuration

edited Dec 12 '15 at 01:05

answered Mar 13 '15 at 13:05

Volo

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Only this answer solved my problem of attempting to use full screen applications through the adb listener under Windows 7. As far as I can tell, ConEmu does nothing to resolve the described problem. I also tried running `adb shell` under bash from Windows to no avail. I suspect the problem is with Windows' `adb shell` command itself. PuTTYTray implements its own connection to the adb listener, which apparently includes full screen terminal emulation where `adb shell` doesn't. **Note:** Above, you say use -d in the host field, but your snapshot shows -a as the option. I used -a successfull. – CODE-REaD May 31 '16 at 20:49
@Code-Read yes, `-d` and `-a` are equivalents when there is only one device connected. Regarding `adb shell` you are right as well. AFAIK, PuTTYTray is the only reliable way to use `vi` and other full screen apps on the Android device when connecting from Windows. – Volo Jun 01 '16 at 15:09
What if your android is on WiFi. What option do you use then? I tried entering the IP address in the field where `-a` or `-d` etc are but it would crash as soon as I opened it. – Frak Jan 19 '20 at 06:34

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 30 '17 at 18:57

This is a late answer to your question in 2012. I found that if I run Windows PowerShell, I can do "vi" under the adb shell.

Launch PowerShell (use your Android SDK location, not mine)

PS C:\Users\Me> cd Downloads\Android\Sdk\Platform-Tools
PS C:\Users\Me\Downloads\Android\Sdk\Platform-Tools> .\adb shell
root@vbox86p:/ # cd data/data/com.mycorporation.myproj/shared_prefs
root@vbox86p:/data/data/com.mycorporation.myproj/shared_prefs # vi log_prefs

I only used simple vi commands like 'o', 'esc', and ':wq', but it worked well using the full screen (none of the garbage you would see in the Windows Command Prompt).

I still have garbage as you say in Windows Server 2012 R2 powershell terminal. — Christophe, Dec 24 '20 at 09:55

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 10 '12 at 22:21

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I've never had your exact problem, but it seems like Cygwin would be a good bet.

answered Jul 10 '12 at 22:21

strange quark

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I don't really like cygwin, so I was hoping to avoid it. But it looks like the only viable choice here. – Chinmay Kanchi Jul 11 '12 at 14:40
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I was not able to use `ESC` key in `vi` within Cygwin terminal – Volo Mar 13 '15 at 13:16

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:02

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What you basically need is a real commandline... Unix-style tools on Windows? MinGW http://www.mingw.org/ is a alternative to Cygwin that's worth looking into.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:02

Community

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answered Mar 19 '15 at 22:42

Tulsi Leathers

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would be good but there's no adb for those and the normal windows ADB still sucks in a cygwin shell and MSYS. – Wyatt Ward Jun 15 '16 at 20:25

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 24 '20 at 10:00

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I finally found a tool working in Windows 2012 R2. You need to run cmder Download can be found here

Then run

cmder

Go to adb folder,

cd XXX

then

adb shell
su
cd /system/etc
vi hosts

displays correctly

answered Dec 24 '20 at 10:00

Christophe

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Running vi in adb under Windows

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