Files on the device

Why: to test an “attach a document” form you need a PDF on the phone, and to check what the app really saved after onboarding you need its settings file. On a normal phone neither is easy. Here it’s the Files tab.

What happens

1. Open the Files tab next to DevTools.

2. App data is the app’s private folder, /data/data/<package>:

   • shared_prefs holds the app’s settings as small XML files;
   • databases holds its SQLite databases;
   • app_webview holds the WebView’s cookies, local storage and IndexedDB.

   Then download a file to open it on your computer.

3. Shared storage is what other apps see: Download, Pictures, DCIM. That’s where a file picker looks.

4. Open Download and press Upload, or drop files from your computer onto the list. The file appears on the device, ready to pick in the app.

Good to know

• You can also create folders and delete files, for example to check how the app reacts when its database is gone. These two buttons show up only where the provider lets ADB run any command (redroid.shell: full on emulators, adb.shell: full on phones).
• /data/local/tmp is a scratch folder anyone can write to; handy for test files that shouldn’t show up in the gallery.
• Everything you change disappears with the device when the session stops. To keep the app’s own data, use Save app data.

If it doesn’t work

• The app doesn’t see the uploaded file: on recent Android versions apps see shared storage only through the system file picker or after the user allowed access. Pick the file from the app’s own “choose file” button.
• The tab is missing or waiting for ADB: Files works over the device’s ADB, which isn’t available to you in someone else’s session.

More details: Files, ADB tools.