How to use the command 'screencap' (with examples)

The ‘screencap’ command is used to take a screenshot of a mobile display. It is a command that can only be used through ‘adb shell’, which is a versatile command-line tool that lets you communicate with an Android device. With ‘screencap’, you can capture the current state of the device’s screen and save it as an image file.

Use case 1: Take a screenshot

If you want to take a screenshot of the current display on your mobile device, you can use the following code:

adb shell screencap path/to/file

Motivation: Taking a screenshot can be helpful in various scenarios, such as capturing a bug or error on the screen, saving an important message or image, or documenting a user interface for reference. This use case allows you to save a screenshot directly to a file on your mobile device.

Explanation:

• adb shell is the command used to execute commands on an Android device connected to a computer via USB debugging. It allows you to access a remote shell (command-line interface) on the device.
• screencap is the command used to capture a screenshot of the current display.
• path/to/file specifies the location and name of the file where the screenshot will be saved. You can choose the desired file path and name according to your preference.

Example output: Assuming you execute the command adb shell screencap /sdcard/screenshot.png, the screenshot will be saved as a PNG file named “screenshot.png” in the “/sdcard” directory of your Android device.

Conclusion: By using the ‘screencap’ command through ‘adb shell’, you can easily take a screenshot of your mobile device’s screen and save it as an image file. This allows you to capture and document important moments or issues happening on the display.