Android: adb: Permission Denied

Question

Whatever I type after adb shell it fails with Permission denied:

D:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools>adb shell find /data -name *.db
find: permission denied

D:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools>adb shell test
test: permission denied

D:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools>adb remount
remount failed: No such file or directory

Any ideas?

Where are you trying to run the adb shell, in emulator or target device; if on target device you cant access the /data folder until unless you have root permission. — Vamsi, Sep 13 '11 at 08:56
after `adb root` >> `adbd cannot run as root in production builds` what to do? — d.popov, Nov 14 '12 at 23:24
yes, I know. But, as you see currently I do not have the reputation to comment the Author's post, but i had this problem, so the only way was to add new post, or to open duplicate thread, so I decided to add a post. — d.popov, Jan 02 '13 at 10:19
the phone is was rooted, but something went wrong with the OS. It was freezing after loading the home screen on reboot. Anyway - nandroid flashing the phone with the stock ROM solved the problem. — d.popov, Jan 02 '13 at 10:23

Roman · Accepted Answer · 2016-07-21T07:42:09.577

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According to adb help:

adb root                     - restarts the adbd daemon with root permissions

Which indeed resolved the issue for me.

edited Jul 21 '16 at 07:42

answered Jun 05 '12 at 14:07

Roman

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You'll also need to enable root access for adb if you haven't done so already -- see @Macarse's answer. – Paul Whittaker Oct 20 '13 at 11:12
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This is not true. You just have to switch to the correct user. See my answer below: http://stackoverflow.com/a/38292436/342947 – Fabian Zeindl Jul 10 '16 at 13:34
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I'm getting `adbd cannot run as root in production builds` – Ricky Levi Jul 13 '23 at 08:07

Fabian Zeindl · Answer 2 · 2017-04-29T07:47:27.913

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Without rooting: If you can't root your phone, use the run-as <package> command to be able to access data of your application.

Example:

$ adb exec-out run-as com.yourcompany.app ls -R /data/data/com.yourcompany.app/

exec-out executes the command without starting a shell and mangling the output.

edited Apr 29 '17 at 07:47

answered Jul 10 '16 at 13:33

Fabian Zeindl

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This only works for apps built to be debuggable - ie, you can use it for apps you are developing but it should not work for production releases of your app, or anyone else's apps. – Chris Stratton Nov 24 '17 at 16:46
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This returns `run-as: Could not set capabilities: Operation not permitted` for me – Tom M Jan 08 '19 at 15:34
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It works for emulator API 29, and don't forget to put `.debug` prefix to the end of app's package for debug apps: – ultraon Aug 05 '20 at 21:59
I'm receiving: `run-as: package not an application: com.android.phone` – Ricky Levi Jul 13 '23 at 08:11

score 25 · Answer 3 · edited Nov 15 '12 at 14:09

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The reason for "permission denied" is because your Android machine has not been correctly rooted. Did you see $ after you started adb shell? If you correctly rooted your machine, you would have seen # instead.

If you see the $, try entering Super User mode by typing su. If Root is enabled, you will see the # - without asking for password.

edited Nov 15 '12 at 14:09

answered Aug 15 '12 at 09:46

wind

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Once you have correctly rooted your machine, you will need to have enabled adb root access and be running adb in root mode before your `su` step can work - see @Macarse's and @Roman's answers. – Paul Whittaker Oct 20 '13 at 11:21
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No. The reason for "permission denied" is that there is no `find` command. – Chris Stratton Nov 06 '14 at 18:18
@ChrisStratton You saved my life, I was also writting shell command from inside the adb shell already – Divyanshu Kushwaha Nov 24 '17 at 10:48
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I'm trying to see files in the Android simulator. I type 'su' after the '$' and it says: su: not found – Pete Alvin Dec 21 '19 at 15:41
Nothing in the question mentions a rooted device. Why does this answer require the device to be rooted? – Andrew Koster May 26 '21 at 16:39

score 6 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 04 '13 at 12:20

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You might need to activate adb root from the developer settings menu. If you run adb root from the cmd line you can get:

root access is disabled by system setting - enable in settings -> development options

Once you activate the root option (ADB only or Apps and ADB) adb will restart and you will be able to use root from the cmd line.

answered Mar 04 '13 at 12:20

Macarse

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If you can't see the 'Developer options' item in your Settings menu, see [this answer](http://stackoverflow.com/a/16866430/647939) for details of how to make it visible. (In short: Settings > About phone > Build number > Tap 7 times(!).) – Paul Whittaker Oct 20 '13 at 11:16
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But once in, I don't see anything here! What should it say? – JohnyTex Oct 28 '14 at 14:00
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**This option does not exist in stock Android builds** - if it exists at all, it would be confined to someone's aftermarket ROM. – Chris Stratton Nov 06 '14 at 18:14
Is there a way to do this without a GUI? I would guess there is an option for it in `/system/build.prop`, but I can't find it. – Jeroen Aug 16 '17 at 11:40
Where do I find the menu to look for settings? – martinkunev Dec 10 '17 at 16:34

score 6 · Answer 5 · answered Apr 21 '21 at 12:39

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None of the previous solutions worked for me but I was able to make it work using this command

adb shell "run-as com.yourcompany.app cat /data/data/com.yourcompany.app/shared_prefs/SHARED_PREF_PROTECTED.xml" > SHARED_PREF_PROTECTED.xml

answered Apr 21 '21 at 12:39

Darien Alvarez

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This is great, however for binary files such as images or localDBs, the encoding seems to change. How would one copy binary files to windows? – raw May 14 '22 at 11:35

Golil · Answer 6 · 2022-10-29T04:39:18.417

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The data partition is not accessible for non-root users, if you want to access it you must root your phone.

ADB root does not work for all product and depend on phone build type.

in the new version of android studio, you can explore /data/data path for debuggable apps.

update 2022

Android Studio new versions have some tools like Device Explorer and App Inspection to access application data. (app must be debuggable).

edited Oct 29 '22 at 04:39

answered Dec 19 '18 at 04:30

Golil

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Confirm the```permission denied``` on Android emulator with API 30. I was working on getting on disk a sqlite file via ```$adb pull``` which also requires ```adb root``` – Gleichmut Oct 27 '22 at 13:49
you cannot directly access to data folder or DB location from ADB in non-rooted device. but you can use Android Studio tools like Device Explorer or App Inspection to access debuggable app data like SQLite DB. – Golil Oct 29 '22 at 04:26
`Device Explorer` worked for me, in Android Studio Chipmunk (2021.2.1) . I found my application files in `/data/data/com.mycompany.myapp/files`. I think this it equivalent to `adb run-as` because for other apps at the same level if I try to open the folder I get an error `run-as ...`. – Stephen Hosking Jul 11 '23 at 01:53
The app is built with Debug. The phone is a Nokia with Android 11 Go and not rooted (and not rootable, as with most modern phones.) – Stephen Hosking Jul 11 '23 at 01:54

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Oct 24 '22 at 21:53

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if you are looking to get /data/anr/ as I was, you can use an easy approach

adb bugreport

source: this answer

answered Oct 24 '22 at 21:53

Henrique Vasconcellos

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score -4 · Answer 8 · answered Sep 13 '11 at 08:50

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Do adb remount. And then try adb shell

answered Sep 13 '11 at 08:50

Pavankumar Vijapur

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`adb remount` gives: `remount failed: No such file or directory` – Caner Sep 13 '11 at 08:54
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No. This has nothing to do with the problem. – Chris Stratton Nov 06 '14 at 18:17

score -5 · Answer 9 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:55

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Solution for me was (thx to David Ljung Madison post)

Root the phone & be sure it is rooted
Adb server (adbd) was not run as root so downloaded & installed the adbd insecure app
Restart adb adb kill-server
Run it & worked like a flower!

edited May 23 '17 at 11:55

Community

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answered Jan 29 '16 at 14:45

Pipo

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score -8 · Answer 10 · answered Nov 06 '17 at 07:43

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Run your cmd as administrator this will solve my issues. Thanks.

answered Nov 06 '17 at 07:43

Kishan Oza

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No. The question concerns a refusal from Android, not from Windows. – Chris Stratton Nov 24 '17 at 16:47

Android: adb: Permission Denied

10 Answers10

update 2022

Linked