Run ADB from your browser with WebADB
WebADB is a tool/library that allows you to use ADB directly from your computer’s web browser, without having to set it up locally. It uses the WebUSB API to communicate with your Android device over a USB connection from any supported web browser.
By far, all latest Chromium-based browsers including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera support the WebUSB API (source). This means you can use WebADB on all these browsers.
Following is the list of features currently offered by WebADB:
- Device information
- Enable ADB over WiFi
- Interactive ADB Shell
- File Manager
- Install APK
- Screen Capture
- Scrcpy
The tool is fully open-source and its source code is available on Github. If you’re experienced with development and programming, you can also contribute to the project.
WebADB came into existence back in September, this year. And more recently, XDA member steel-toe introduced a website that’s an alternative online implementation (Web App) of the original library.
While it does work well functionally, it’s worth noting that this alternative website/web app isn’t open-source, compared to the original implementation.
When using WebADB, you’re essentially giving the webpage full control over your device. Since it’s not possible to verify what’s running in the background, it is wise to be precautions. A user over at the XDA thread also expressed concern about the website using an unskippable ad, which could be bad for the user experience.
Security Concerns
Malicious apps could abuse the WebUSB API to access the information on your device or perform certain actions, which are harmful. This is part of the reason why Mozilla didn’t implement the API in Firefox (See here).
However, there are a few things the developer had to say regarding this and as I quote:
- “Web apps, unlike native apps, can’t connect to your devices silently. Web apps must first get your permission through a browser-controlled UI, which it can’t alter.”
- “Web apps can be updated at any time, but native apps can also do this. So I consider this a tie.”
- “Only minimal and trustworthy dependencies are used by this website, to minimize the possibility of supply chain attacks.”
Furthermore, the online WebADB website by the original developer is completely open-source, transparent, and free of ads with its source code available on Github. If you’re an experienced programmer, you could easily verify it. Further, you could also compile the code and build it yourself to use. Be careful and only grant permissions to apps that are trusted and verified.
