Related
General information on Xposed has been moved to this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/xposed-installer-versions-changelog-t2714053
The FAQ has been moved to this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/-t2735540
Questions, suggestions, bug reports and so on can be posted in the Xposed General forum (for the installer/framework/development only) and in the Xposed Framework modules forum (for anything module-related).
Sounds interesting.I hope that you make a apk that simplifies things for simple user like rom control in AOKP
Keep up the good work my friend
That's great, decompiling/compiling apks is not really my cup of tea lol thanks rovo89
May be useful for my themes, keep working on it
Very interesting... Will try soon.
This looks like a really great idea and could help reduce the need for dev's being pestered by users for mod's every time a new rom is leaked/released, well done sir, hope to see this take off
I will definitely have a swing at this over the next few days. This looks like fun!
**This message will self-destruct**
Thanks for the "thanks" everyone. I decided to create an installer first before looking into the other things. This way, I hope a few people can test whether it works on their device (see first post for the APK).
Some notes about this:
The installer holds the app_process executable and the XposedBridge.jar as assets and can install it to the correct locations (root permissions required!).
It will automatically create a backup of /system/bin/app_process at /system/bin/app_process.orig, which can be restored either via the app or via shell (e.g. adb, works in recovery as well).
I have only tested it on ICS (LPQ Stock). Honestly, I do not have the time to test it with anything below that. If somebody wants to do this, I can help you to get started with the code. app_process was not changed very often, so chances are rather good that it will work with only few changes.
The installer requires SDK15 (4.0.3) for the same reason.
Improvements for any part of the code are welcome! It should be easy to use for both users and developers.
(Un-)Installing the installer app alone does not change anything (at least not now). Please use the buttons inside the app.
The next step should now really be to load modules dynamically, I hope I can use standard installable APKs for that (although the framework will probably request enabling confirmation for technical and security reasons).
siberian tiger said:
I hope that you make a apk that simplifies things for simple user like rom control in AOKP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I read, Rom Control seems to be something like the Settings app for ROM-specific stuff? I am not so sure yet whether I want to implement generic settings in the framework.
Having a standard interface for setting loading/saving (like or using Android's Shared Preferences) would probably make sense. But the settings themself can be very different from module to module, so I would rather let those bring their own settings menus.
What I did though was to implement an installer. My idea how it should ideally work for end users:
Install the Xposed Installer
Click the "Install/Update" button in the installer
Install one or more modules
Configure the modules (if necessary)
Have fun!
Where "install" would mean that you can download the app from the Play Store or a website and install it with the usual package manager. At least for steps 1 and 2, this is working already. For the others, I have to see.
Dynamic module loading is implemented now as well. Modules are normal apps with a special metadata tag and an asset describing which classes to load. You can look at my modifications for examples how this works. I think it is quite simple to develop and use.
I feel that Xposed is quite stable right now. It should be very easy to install both the framework and the modules without any knowledge about modding.
Also for developers, creating a new module is not too complicated. If anyone wants to give it a try, I'm happy to help you getting started. I'm convinced that Xposed is great alternative to APK modifying, but it will not work without developers creating modules for it.
Speaking of modules, I have published one for the famous CRT off effect: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1583963
The source code is also available at Github. See how it has less than 40 lines (and only about 10 LOC)? I think that this is awesome!
I was not able to install it as normal app hence pushed them to system/app using root explorer.
It works perfectly on XXLPS SENSATION ROM ICS V 3.2
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
OK you got me interested
What is currently holding me back is a lack of "documentation" about how to go about doing things...
Is there any reference info (even source code comments) that I should have a read of?
Or perhaps a little worked-through guide as to how you made the screen-off or red-clock one, complete with the "thinking" behind it all, just to learn the thought process.
This seems potentially hugely useful for me, just need to know what it can do!
Diliban said:
I was not able to install it as normal app hence pushed them to system/app using root explorer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Oh. Did you get any error message? I assume you have allowed installation of non-market apps?
@pulser_g2: Feedback taken! Until now, I focused on bringing Xposed to a level where it is actually doing something useful for end-users.
As there are some steps that can not be documented easily in the source code (e.g. how you mark an app as Xposed module), I will recreate a tutorial how you can create the clock example. I will try to give many details not only what to do, but also how you can know that you need to do this.
TUTORIAL - How to create an Xposed module
The tutorial has been moved to https://github.com/rovo89/XposedBridge/wiki/Development-tutorial
this is one of the most amazing projects made lately.
You are unleashed the best way to handle mods and possible some hacks.
very great work, robo89
Great concepts mate. Very powerful.
Wouldnt this also expose a device to malicious coders?
If a device has this implemented then is it possible that a simple theme could contain something nasty.
Not trying to stop progress of this project just throwing this out there for consideration.
----------------------
GTI9100 KK5
aceofclubs said:
Wouldnt this also expose a device to malicious coders?
If a device has this implemented then is it possible that a simple theme could contain something nasty.
Not trying to stop progress of this project just throwing this out there for consideration.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an absolutely valid thought.
In a way: Yes, it is easier to do something malicious with this. With great power comes great risk. The thing is: How would you prevent that? I couldn't think of any way once a module has been loaded, because a) how do you identify something malicious and b) how can you block it when it could just circumvent the security measure taken?
So what I did was to require that you enable a newly installed module in the installer. This at least avoids that you install any normal app and it contains a hidden Xposed module.
And not trying to play this question down, but you could insert malicous code in a theme also when you post a new framework.jar or SystemUI.apk. You could just change the smali code, compile it and you have similar power. For example, modifiying the constructor of the Activity class would also get you into any app and you could as well do whatever you want. You wouldn't even find these modifications because of the hundreds of classes in the Android framework. In this point, Xposed modules are easier to check, because they will usually contain just one class with very few and short methods.
Or take Superuser. Yes, it is asking you every time whether you want to execute this command. But the command can as well be a script that could replace files as the root user. Same for the kernel. In any case, when you modify anything in your phone, there is a risk that it is malicous.
As I said, I'm not denying that there could be a misuse of this project. But I do not see a chance to prevent it without blocking even simple real-life modifications. If anybody has ideas, please let me know.
rovo89 said:
This is an absolutely valid thought.
In a way: Yes, it is easier to do something malicious with this. With great power comes great risk. The thing is: How would you prevent that? I couldn't think of any way once a module has been loaded, because a) how do you identify something malicious and b) how can you block it when it could just circumvent the security measure taken?
So what I did was to require that you enable a newly installed module in the installer. This at least avoids that you install any normal app and it contains a hidden Xposed module.
And not trying to play this question down, but you could insert malicous code in a theme also when you post a new framework.jar or SystemUI.apk. You could just change the smali code, compile it and you have similar power. For example, modifiying the constructor of the Activity class would also get you into any app and you could as well do whatever you want. You wouldn't even find these modifications because of the hundreds of classes in the Android framework. In this point, Xposed modules are easier to check, because they will usually contain just one class with very few and short methods.
Or take Superuser. Yes, it is asking you every time whether you want to execute this command. But the command can as well be a script that could replace files as the root user. Same for the kernel. In any case, when you modify anything in your phone, there is a risk that it is malicous.
As I said, I'm not denying that there could be a misuse of this project. But I do not see a chance to prevent it without blocking even simple real-life modifications. If anybody has ideas, please let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is so refreshing to see someone take such a mature approach as this.
I greatly appreciate your time on that tutorial, and I will take a proper read through it while working it out myself later... (on vacation right now, this seems like a good thing to try if it rains )
Regarding security, I guess you could add a way to protect WHAT was being edited... Such that your package needed to declare edit access to package X and Y, and if it doesn't have permission, it can't do it... This way, if I want to interfere in Gmail, the user must agree, and he/she will say "well... Why is my no battery sound tweak touching gmail?" But this obviously doesn't help for frameworks and services where they are all in the one file... :/
pulser_g2 said:
Regarding security, I guess you could add a way to protect WHAT was being edited... Such that your package needed to declare edit access to package X and Y, and if it doesn't have permission, it can't do it... This way, if I want to interfere in Gmail, the user must agree, and he/she will say "well... Why is my no battery sound tweak touching gmail?" But this obviously doesn't help for frameworks and services where they are all in the one file... :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe.. I could rather easily implement something in hookMethod that checks the method to be hooked against a whitelist defined in an asset in the module (which could of course contain wildcards). Then when you enable a module, I could display this whitelist, with a warning if it includes some very central classes/packages/methods (but how to create such a list?).
However, this cannot control the following:
What you do inside the handling method. If you change anything in SystemUI (and that might be only the battery icon or the clock color), this method will be executed in the context of the SystemUI, which has a large set of Android standard permissions.
Calling any methods of the framework and modifying any available variables, as this can be done via standard reflection.
Basically anything that is not handled through XposedBridge, but using standard techniques.
Wanted to install the framework, but i am getting:
sh: /data/data/de.robv.android.xposed.installer/cache/install.sh: no such file or directory
What am i doing wrong ?
[Feature request] Add a "Bookmark this Module" (or similar) to the Xposed Installer
Hey,
I just installed Xposed on my Nexus and browsed though the available modules, but as I am relatively new to the whole topic of rooting / Xposed etc. I am currently unsure which module to install so I thought it would be great to have some kind of function to put a module to a bookmark / watchlist / wishlist section similar to the Play Store instead of installing it right away. That button could be placed next to the download button e.g.
Many thanks for thinking about it And thanks for providing such awesome work with the framework.
Morning,
what do you think? Would it be possible to add some kind of "watchlist" to Xposed?
With a hopefully ever growing list of modules it could be quite handy.
Thanks for considering it.
My way of bookmarking: I download and install a module but don't enable it in Xposed. So I could try it later
I could imagine that feature some kind in the future. It could be integrated into the "Settings" tab of the module. Not high prio for me though...
rovo89 said:
I could imagine that feature some kind in the future. It could be integrated into the "Settings" tab of the module. Not high prio for me though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you also please add a 5th state "dont remind for updates" to this settings tab?
defim said:
Can you also please add a 5th state "dont remind for updates" to this settings tab?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. But do you think this makes sense as an option for the Stable/Beta/Experimental choice? It would mean that the module would be treated as if there weren't any versions at all. I think it would be better to make this a separate setting, so you would still see all the versions, but it wouldn't trigger the "updates available" texts on the welcome screen. This would be even better if it (optionally) remembered the latest version at the time you selected it, and would disable itself when there's a newer version available. So that would be a "skip this version" setting.
@rovo89: "Skip this version" is even!
It fits my user case: Version 1.5 and 1.6 of an app doesnt work correctly, but 1.4 does. So it would be great to be informed of a 1.7, but do't show all the time "updated available"
I pretty much do the same as defim but run into problems on my tablet that doesn't have as much space to install to and it reserves 500 meg and blocks installs but if I want I could fill that space with download, music or whatever. Only way to install at that point is to delete stuff/uninstall to get above 500 mb free to install something and not really feasible on that device just to remember a module I want to try later or keep an eye on so I'd love a wish list type feature.
Sent from my XT1080 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Hello,
The bookmark feature of xposed, could be an xposed module in itself, hooking the Xposed app and expanding its features Just a thought.
Kind Regards
TwinAdk
TwinAdk said:
The bookmark feature of xposed, could be an xposed module in itself, hooking the Xposed app and expanding its features Just a thought.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be very ugly...
Xposed is open-source for a reason. I don't see Xposed as the solution for everything. If you have the chance to change the software at it's origin, do that. It's less work and much more sustainable.
Hello!
I am sorry if this may be confusing as I am quite sure I don't use the right terms. What I want to do is hook native library calls/syscalls made from native code within an app. I want to use xposed to launch the code that hooks the library/system call - but I do not know how to do and how the android system will complicate things for me.
Also, it seems to me that this has not been done. So my main thought with this thread is to get some input that can help me avoid some obvious pitfalls before I start trial and error.
What would my options be if I want to modify/interact with native code from a xposed module?
If it was a normal program I could simply use ptrace or LD_PRELOAD to get the kind of access I need. But as I want to do this from an xposed module I get worried by the android system.
If I for example hook the startup of the app, and then from the xposed hook use jni to ptrace myself - would that be possible, would I need to give the original app sudo permissions, and would my ptrace survive hiding/opening the app again?
Another thought was to, as previously at the startup of the app launch jni code. But in this case find the local symbol table and modify it to jump to my hook - but I am not sure if different jni code run in the same memory space and have access to mess with each other. [And also, how often would I need to redo this modification, would android reload/restart of the app destroy my changes]
Hopefully I didn't come off as too confusing. Thanks for the help!
I think you asked me this in my thread but Ill answer it here.
Also, it seems to me that this has not been done. So my main thought with this thread is to get some input that can help me avoid some obvious pitfalls before I start trial and error.
I have hooked native code with xposed and LD_PRELOAD, you can manipulate the data via your LD_PRELOAD lib. I do not know if its been linked to public code yet. LD_PRELOAD does not require Xposed to work(just makes it easier to manage imo). Also note that i have not tested this using the newer Android OS'es(>4.4). Not (yet)necessary for my use case. I would recommend getting LD_PRELOAD to work without Xposed first. Then add the Xposed integration
What would my options be if I want to modify/interact with native code from a xposed module?
If it was a normal program I could simply use ptrace or LD_PRELOAD to get the kind of access I need. But as I want to do this from an xposed module I get worried by the android system.
I have not tried via ptrace, also note that some apps will ptrace itself for protection against reversing. LD_PRELOAD works fine for me. Personally I use LD_PRELOAD to modify the arguments and the return values but most of the time just for logging information.
If I for example hook the startup of the app, and then from the xposed hook use jni to ptrace myself - would that be possible, would I need to give the original app sudo permissions, and would my ptrace survive hiding/opening the app again?
Ptrace to me sounds more complex but it does sound cool to attempt. No sudo is needed for the app that you are hooking using LD_PRELOAD.
t436h05t said:
I think you asked me this in my thread but Ill answer it here.
Also, it seems to me that this has not been done. So my main thought with this thread is to get some input that can help me avoid some obvious pitfalls before I start trial and error.
I have hooked native code with xposed and LD_PRELOAD, you can manipulate the data via your LD_PRELOAD lib. I do not know if its been linked to public code yet. LD_PRELOAD does not require Xposed to work(just makes it easier to manage imo). Also note that i have not tested this using the newer Android OS'es(>4.4). Not (yet)necessary for my use case. I would recommend getting LD_PRELOAD to work without Xposed first. Then add the Xposed integration
What would my options be if I want to modify/interact with native code from a xposed module?
If it was a normal program I could simply use ptrace or LD_PRELOAD to get the kind of access I need. But as I want to do this from an xposed module I get worried by the android system.
I have not tried via ptrace, also note that some apps will ptrace itself for protection against reversing. LD_PRELOAD works fine for me. Personally I use LD_PRELOAD to modify the arguments and the return values but most of the time just for logging information.
If I for example hook the startup of the app, and then from the xposed hook use jni to ptrace myself - would that be possible, would I need to give the original app sudo permissions, and would my ptrace survive hiding/opening the app again?
Ptrace to me sounds more complex but it does sound cool to attempt. No sudo is needed for the app that you are hooking using LD_PRELOAD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Is there a nice way to set LD_PRELOAD on app startup using Xposed or do you simply run the shell command when configuring which apps to hook?
Wropzter said:
Thanks! Is there a nice way to set LD_PRELOAD on app startup using Xposed or do you simply run the shell command when configuring which apps to hook?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hooking the app and setting your native hooks is easy in Xposed, after you hook your package just load your lib with your hooks.
System.load("/data/data/org.xxx.app/lib/xxx.so");
The application will default use the preloaded lib you injected(same as LD_PRELOAD without the mess of bash).
It took more time to write code that would enable and disable the hooks inside the hook lib.
Now I have got it working with LD_PRELOAD manually, but using Xposed I do not seem to be able to load the library before libc - that is my replacement function is never called as the symbol was already loaded. Are you using the deprecated IXposedHookCmdInit to be able to load the package earlier? [If I remember correctly you were also hooking libc]
This is my code for the Xposed App.
if (lpparam.packageName.equals("app.to.hook")) {
System.load("/data/data/app.to.hook/lib/hook.so");
XposedBridge.log("Loaded native hook");
}
I have installed XPOSED and with that XPRIVACY to control what information apps like FACEBOOK and MESSENGER leaks over the internet, and what information they can access on my phone....
But recently my banking app was updated, and it now detect the XPRIVACY Module, if that module is ACTIVE inside XPOSED INSTALLER... If i deactivate the XPRVACY Module, and restart, then I can start the banking app with no problem...
Obviously its a drag to DISABLE MODULE-->RESTART-->DO BANKING-->ENABLE MODULE-->RESTART-->BE PROTECTED AGAIN
So can anyone point me in the right direction on how to keep XPRIVACY enabled, while still being able to use the banking app...
The banking app in question is:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=no.spv.mobilbank
So if you have XPOSED and XPRIVACY, you can download this app, and see that it FORCE CLOSES as long as the XPRIVACY Module is active inside XPOSED...
If you disable XPRIVACY you will see the app starting up, and displaying some login screen...
Can anyone help me in this endavour??
I've tried using SudoHide & MinMinHide, but those did not work for this... as long as the module is active inside XPOSED, then the app will force close...
Rootcloack did also not do anything for this specific problem...
Im not sure what method the app uses to detect that the module is installed and active... but the app does not care, if the XPRIVACY module is installed, but not active, also it doesn't seem to care about XPOSED itself, and the rest of XPOSED's modules... Its just when XPRIVACY Module is activated inside XPOSED...
Please give me suggestions as where to go... what to do... what to test...
Since Xprivacy is freeware, I was considering downloading it, and renaming all the files and the code in the files, to not include "xprivacy" text or "bikhorst" text (package name), but building the app, seems to be my problem...
My pc is old, and does not support the never versions of android studio...
Is there something in the banking app itself, that i could edit, using APK EDITOR perhaps... (or similar programs) to stop the app from checking for XPRIVACY (active) Module...
Is there some other apps that I could try, that might somehow stop only that one app from detecting that I use XPRIVACY to protect my privacy where I can....
I have tried:
"No Device Check"
"RootCloack"
"SudoHide" & "MinMinHide"
What I seem to need is some XPOSED MODULE, or other app that can "hide the presence of the active XPRIVACY module"...
I've tried to use XPRIVACY itself to deny the https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=no.spv.mobilbank (no.spv.mobilbank) app from checking the system for the presence of XPRIVACY, and if I put checkmarks on categories "IPC" and "SHELL" inside XPRIVACY for the "no.spv.mobilbank" then XPRIVACY starts up, and asks if I want to allow or deny access to shell/ipc and then the app crashes... (as it detects xprivacy if allowed that access, or it just crashes fast, if denied that access, so what can i do inside XPRIVACY to force a false check and then avoid a crash, so that the app keeps loading)
I've also tried to use APKTOOL to reverse engineer the app, since there is a config.xml file that contains the two following lines of code, that seems to have something to do with the checking, but the apktool fails at rebuilding the edited apk file, so those changes cannot so far be saved (by me) to that apk file...
(the file with the xml I want to change: c:\OUTPUTFOLDER\res\xml\confiig.xml)
(correct path if you let APKTOOL decompile the app to c:\OUTPUTFOLDER\)
And the CHANGES i think will stop the behavoiur:
(when i set the ONLOAD to FALSE in these two paragraphs)
<feature name="Whitelist">
<param name="android-package" value="org.apache.cordova.whitelist.WhitelistPlugin" />
<param name="onload" value="false" />
</feature>
<feature name="ExternalAppBlock">
<param name="android-package" value="no.spv.mobilbank.lib.SPVExternalAppBlock" />
<param name="onload" value="false" />
</feature>
Too bad there is no way to try this for me, ass I cannot get the APKTOOL to reassemble the files back to an APK file... It only does the decompiling correctly (im using APKTOOL 2.2.1)
Anyone with any good ideas, or suggestions as what to try, or what to do different?
If anyone could build an XPOSED module that somehow disabled this check, performed by no.spv.mobilbank then I'd be most gradeful !! (but I don't know how to build that myself)
alexdata said:
I have installed XPOSED and with that XPRIVACY to control what information apps like FACEBOOK and MESSENGER leaks over the internet, and what information they can access on my phone....
But recently my banking app was updated, and it now detect the XPRIVACY Module, if that module is ACTIVE inside XPOSED INSTALLER... If i deactivate the XPRVACY Module, and restart, then I can start the banking app with no problem...
Obviously its a drag to DISABLE MODULE-->RESTART-->DO BANKING-->ENABLE MODULE-->RESTART-->BE PROTECTED AGAIN
So can anyone point me in the right direction on how to keep XPRIVACY enabled, while still being able to use the banking app...
The banking app in question is:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=no.spv.mobilbank
So if you have XPOSED and XPRIVACY, you can download this app, and see that it FORCE CLOSES as long as the XPRIVACY Module is active inside XPOSED...
If you disable XPRIVACY you will see the app starting up, and displaying some login screen...
Can anyone help me in this endavour??
I've tried using SudoHide & MinMinHide, but those did not work for this... as long as the module is active inside XPOSED, then the app will force close...
Rootcloack did also not do anything for this specific problem...
Im not sure what method the app uses to detect that the module is installed and active... but the app does not care, if the XPRIVACY module is installed, but not active, also it doesn't seem to care about XPOSED itself, and the rest of XPOSED's modules... Its just when XPRIVACY Module is activated inside XPOSED...
Please give me suggestions as where to go... what to do... what to test...
Since Xprivacy is freeware, I was considering downloading it, and renaming all the files and the code in the files, to not include "xprivacy" text or "bikhorst" text (package name), but building the app, seems to be my problem...
My pc is old, and does not support the never versions of android studio...
Is there something in the banking app itself, that i could edit, using APK EDITOR perhaps... (or similar programs) to stop the app from checking for XPRIVACY (active) Module...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried to post this question on the XPrivacy thread?
Sent using the d2vzw Communicator from the Bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise (N.C.C. 1701).
Ibuprophen said:
Have you tried to post this question on the XPrivacy thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, not yet.... mostly because asking the same question, several places in the same forum, is not so much liked in the other forums I use...
There is no bug with Xprivacy itself, nor with Xposed, but since this is a setup that runs Xposed, i found it most logically to ask it here first...
As more people might visit the Xposed part, than the Xprivacy part of the forum...
But... I might repost the question in Xprivacy aswell...
Would you perhaps have a direct link to the Xprivacy part of this forum (im still quite new on this forum) ??
alexdata said:
Well, not yet.... mostly because asking the same question, several places in the same forum, is not so much liked in the other forums I use...
There is no bug with Xprivacy itself, nor with Xposed, but since this is a setup that runs Xposed, i found it most logically to ask it here first...
As more people might visit the Xposed part, than the Xprivacy part of the forum...
But... I might repost the question in Xprivacy aswell...
Would you perhaps have a direct link to the Xprivacy part of this forum (im still quite new on this forum) ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here it is but, keep in mind that if there's a support thread for something, it's better to post within that thread so a dev or someone else can help you out.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2320783
Sent using the d2vzw Communicator from the Bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise (N.C.C. 1701).
I know this is an old thread, but people still come here from google search looking for solutions to their issues. So, here is what you can try:
I think you have tried it, but still. On the main window of xprivacy, uncheck the 2 boxes beside the banking app. Xprivacy will not block anything for this app. Now clear all the data of the banking app from settings > applications or wherever it is on your phone. Check it the app works now.
If the above does not work do this. Go back to xprivacy > tap the icon of the banking app on left side. This will let you change permissions only for that app. Make sure all the boxes are clear. Go to bottom > check the first box next to System > tap the arrow on the left side of system. Now, check the first box of these 6 sub-permissions under system:
getInstalledApplications
getInstalledPackages
getRecentTasks
getRunningAppProcesses
getRunningServices
getRunningTasks
Now clear all the data of the banking app like in the 1st step and check if it works.
One of these 2 steps should work.
NOTE: Just installing Rootcloak does not do anything. You need to add the package name of the banking app to make it work. Which can be done by opening Rootcloak and going to manage apps and adding it from the list.
Hi everyone!
I just created my first Tasker plug-in. This plug-in enables you to send an adb shell command to any other device on the network that has adb over wifi enabled. I for example use it to turn my androidtv on or off by sending it the command "input keyevent POWER". You can also open specific activities in apps for example or simulate touch input.
Please read the description before using it and don't hesitate to leave feedback/bug reports/tips! This is my first app ever published so I still have a lot to learn.
You can download it for free from the play store:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ADBPlugin
Edit: It's now also available on XDA Labs! You can find it here
First update is live!
This includes proper (cat)logs and Tasker errors if something went wrong, so if you run in any problems, you can now tell me . It also plays a lot nicer with the Tasker timeout system.
@Humpie
Thanks for this plugin. I allready made a project for my sony android tv. Start apps and controll media play.
But to make the plugin better I have some featur requests:
It would be nice to be able to work with tasker variables. e.g input text "%mytext".
Another feature reqest would be to get a output variable for commands with output like adb shell pm list packages.
MartelKombat said:
@Humpie
Thanks for this plugin. I allready made a project for my sony android tv. Start apps and controll media play.
But to make the plugin better I have some featur requests:
It would be nice to be able to work with tasker variables. e.g input text "%mytext".
Another feature reqest would be to get a output variable for commands with output like adb shell pm list packages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tips! Will definitely add variable support and I'll also have a look at output variables. They are visible in the logs already, but not yet to tasker.
Why can't we use the built-in code Acton in Tasker? Is there a difference?
loogielv said:
Why can't we use the built-in code Acton in Tasker? Is there a difference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In fact there is, since android 4.something google removed adb from android devices, so you can't perform adb commands from your phone, well aside from my plugin that is.
There would however be no difference if your remote device did have Tasker and you programmed it so that a certain action does something with code. However, you would have to figure out a way to contact that device etc...
Second update! The Plugin now has Tasker variable support!
(enjoy @MartelKombat btw I'm still thinking about how to implement your other request!)
I doont understand. I can type the code, but i do have to remove the "adb sell" part of the code but it's good to go… is that not what this plugin does?
Humpie said:
Thanks for the tips! Will definitely add variable support and I'll also have a look at output variables. They are visible in the logs already, but not yet to tasker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Humpie said:
Second update! The Plugin now has Tasker variable support!
(enjoy @MartelKombat btw I'm still thinking about how to implement your other request!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any news on the output variable? I have high hopes since you mentioned you already see the output in the logs...
Thanks a lot for this plugin! It makes an unrooted phone much easier to control!
How to run root commands on an unrooted device with this plugin
I just wanted to share how I use this plugin, just to give others an example of what this nice plugin is capable of.
Recently, I bought a new device and for now, I have no intention of rooting it. Coming from a rooted OnePlus One, this means some of my Tasker profiles do not work as expected anymore and I have to find workarounds.
On LineageOS (and CyanogenMod before that), we have the option to display left/right cursor arrows in the navigation bar when typing text. I always loved this feature, since placing the cursor in the right position by tapping will always be a hit&miss game. Since my new device (S7 Edge) has no onscreen navigation bar, I was searching for a replacement solution to move the cursor. I came up with the idea that it would be quite handy to use the volume buttons for this. So, the idea was the following:
IF the keyboard is shown THEN use the volume keys to move the cursor (and suppress any volume changes, if possible).
It took me a while to figure out how to determine whether the keyboard is out (solution: install another keyboard and intercept the "change input method" notification as a trigger). Suppressing the volume keys' usual behaviour was easy (AutoInput -> Key Suppress) but the final step turned out to be quite difficult: How to move the cursor?
After doing some extensive research, I always came to the same point: "not possible without root". Damn.
But then, this plugin came in. The keyword "remote" in its name might suggest that you can use this plugin only to act from one device to another, but that's not true. Actually, you can use this plugin to run adb commands on the same device.
What does that mean? It means that you can run an adb shell command like "adb shell input keyevent xy" on your phone WITHOUT ROOT. In my case, I can run "input keyevent 21" and "input keyevent 22" to move the cursor. So, how can we do that?
Prerequisites:
Connect your device via ADB to a PC (google it if you don't know how) and run the command "adb tcpip 5555". That's it, you can disconnect your device now.
Then in Tasker, create an action with this plugin and type in the following:
IP Address: localhost
Port: 5555
ADB Shell Command: input keyevent POWER
Hit the play button to test this action. If you've done everything right, your screen will turn off.
Congrats, you just executed a command on an unrooted device which usually requires root privileges!
Important:
The only downside is, the tcpip setting does not survive a reboot, so you have to set the port 5555 again via PC after rebooting the device.
I hope I explained the important part well enough. If that's not the case, don't hesitate to quote me and I'll answer here.
digitalpig82 said:
Any news on the output variable? I have high hopes since you mentioned you already see the output in the logs...
Thanks a lot for this plugin! It makes an unrooted phone much easier to control!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry for my absence, really busy with school etc. (honestly, I also completely forgot, I hope you can forgive me). I'll try to look into it soon (this week or the next) and see how far I get. I really like that you like my plugin! I just found out myself last week that I can let unrooted phones send shell commands to themselves using my plugin, so I'm glad to see you found it out as well! (I used it for snapchat to simulate volume key presses, which is also possible without root indeed: https://www.reddit.com/r/tasker/comments/699sav/project_share_handsfree_snapchat_picture_and/ It also works for other camera apps that require you to hold the button to film, like whatsapp etc)
Edit: I hope it pleases you to hear that today I started working on it again. I already have the responses bundled in a list in Java, now I just need to parse them to Tasker
loogielv said:
I doont understand. I can type the code, but i do have to remove the "adb sell" part of the code but it's good to go… is that not what this plugin does?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you have to remove the "adb shell" part since all my plugin does is access the adb shell part. This means commands like adb pull etc won't work, that requires a different type of connection, that for now I can't achieve with Tasker. But running any remote shell command should be fine (like how you would run it if you were directly running the commands from a terminal on your phone)
digitalpig82 said:
I just wanted to share how I use this plugin, just to give others an example of what this nice plugin is capable of.
Recently, I bought a new device and for now, I have no intention of rooting it. Coming from a rooted OnePlus One, this means some of my Tasker profiles do not work as expected anymore and I have to find workarounds.
On LineageOS (and CyanogenMod before that), we have the option to display left/right cursor arrows in the navigation bar when typing text. I always loved this feature, since placing the cursor in the right position by tapping will always be a hit&miss game. Since my new device (S7 Edge) has no onscreen navigation bar, I was searching for a replacement solution to move the cursor. I came up with the idea that it would be quite handy to use the volume buttons for this. So, the idea was the following:
IF the keyboard is shown THEN use the volume keys to move the cursor (and suppress any volume changes, if possible).
It took me a while to figure out how to determine whether the keyboard is out (solution: install another keyboard and intercept the "change input method" notification as a trigger). Suppressing the volume keys' usual behaviour was easy (AutoInput -> Key Suppress) but the final step turned out to be quite difficult: How to move the cursor?
After doing some extensive research, I always came to the same point: "not possible without root". Damn.
But then, this plugin came in. The keyword "remote" in its name might suggest that you can use this plugin only to act from one device to another, but that's not true. Actually, you can use this plugin to run adb commands on the same device.
What does that mean? It means that you can run an adb shell command like "adb shell input keyevent xy" on your phone WITHOUT ROOT. In my case, I can run "input keyevent 21" and "input keyevent 22" to move the cursor. So, how can we do that?
Prerequisites:
Connect your device via ADB to a PC (google it if you don't know how) and run the command "adb tcpip 5555". That's it, you can disconnect your device now.
Then in Tasker, create an action with this plugin and type in the following:
IP Address: localhost
Port: 5555
ADB Shell Command: input keyevent POWER
Hit the play button to test this action. If you've done everything right, your screen will turn off.
Congrats, you just executed a command on an unrooted device which usually requires root privileges!
Important:
The only downside is, the tcpip setting does not survive a reboot, so you have to set the port 5555 again via PC after rebooting the device.
I hope I explained the important part well enough. If that's not the case, don't hesitate to quote me and I'll answer here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So...is it possible to create a version of the plugin that runs locally and doesn't disappear on a reboot?
kenkiller said:
So...is it possible to create a version of the plugin that runs locally and doesn't disappear on a reboot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to be able to create such a think but I don't think Google would allow it since it's a big security flaw to have adb opened to the world at all time without notifying the user. Some devices however have a debug over wifi function hidden in the developer options (like the nvidia shield android tv), there you can just enable it and it will probably survive a reboot.
However what I would advise to do if this option is not available, is to create a .bat file on your desktop containing "adb tcpip 5555". That way after a reboot you can just plug in your phone, click the bat file and be done!
Humpie said:
I would like to be able to create such a think but I don't think Google would allow it since it's a big security flaw to have adb opened to the world at all time without notifying the user. Some devices however have a debug over wifi function hidden in the developer options (like the nvidia shield android tv), there you can just enable it and it will probably survive a reboot.
However what I would advise to do if this option is not available, is to create a .bat file on your desktop containing "adb tcpip 5555". That way after a reboot you can just plug in your phone, click the bat file and be done!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm....But there's this custom nav bar app where it allows users to grant it adb shell permissions, and the permission survives over reboots. Auto tools and Securetask relies on the same process as well.
I guess what we're asking for is something that's not as encompassing as your plugin. Me, I just want to execute the power command without root in a way that respects smart lock, which is possible now with your app but doesn't survive a reboot, or with the custom nav bar app, which survives a reboot, but restricts me to using it in a tiny button on the nav bar, as the dev doesn't seem interested in exposing the commands to external usage.
---------- Post added at 07:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:28 AM ----------
We discussed it in this part here....
https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...avigation-bar-customize-t3590967/post72212488
kenkiller said:
Hmm....But there's this custom nav bar app where it allows users to grant it adb shell permissions, and the permission survives over reboots. Auto tools and Securetask relies on the same process as well.
I guess what we're asking for is something that's not as encompassing as your plugin. Me, I just want to execute the power command without root in a way that respects smart lock, which is possible now with your app but doesn't survive a reboot, or with the custom nav bar app, which survives a reboot, but restricts me to using it in a tiny button on the nav bar, as the dev doesn't seem interested in exposing the commands to external usage.
---------- Post added at 07:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:28 AM ----------
We discussed it in this part here....
https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...avigation-bar-customize-t3590967/post72212488
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems this app uses specific android permissions to be able to send events etc. However my plugin has no direct access to the android system (only by using the adb bridge), so granting my plugin these permissions won't help. What however would help is if I could find a way to enable adb over wifi using only some permissions... I have no clue whether this is possible though as the app would have to call service.adb.tcp.port 5555 for itself and that needs root or an adb connection (so it still requires a laptop XD). I'm still trying though.
Humpie said:
It seems this app uses specific android permissions to be able to send events etc. However my plugin has no direct access to the android system (only by using the adb bridge), so granting my plugin these permissions won't help. What however would help is if I could find a way to enable adb over wifi using only some permissions... I have no clue whether this is possible though as the app would have to call service.adb.tcp.port 5555 for itself and that needs root or an adb connection (so it still requires a laptop XD). I'm still trying though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries. It's just that it's so close yet so far, heheh.... I guess I'll have to reboot only when home.
kenkiller said:
No worries. It's just that it's so close yet so far, heheh.... I guess I'll have to reboot only when home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found out it is in fact possible to have wireless adb survive a reboot! However it requires a build.prop edit.
in \system\build.prop "service.adb.tcp.port=5555" needs to be added at the end of the file and then after a reboot adb over wifi will still be enabled (at least it was in my case).
The downside is that this modification can't be done via adb without root unless you have a custom recovery like TWRP and run adb while having that opened and /System/ mounted.
I'm trying to create a zip that modifies the build.prop how it should be modified, but I don't think it's possible to run it through a non-custom recovery...
Edit: I added my .bat file for modifying the build.prop adding that line. It uses an adb connection that requires more rights than what android allows when booted, but should probably work if you are able to access adb from recovery and you are of course booted in recovery mode (using recoveries like TWRP or even some stock manufacturer ones).
Update 4.3 is live!
As requested you can now access the output from the console directly in Tasker.
I tried to order everything neatly in a list, with each line in the console being an item in the list, but this does mean that the initial "device\sdcard $" et cetera get added as an item as well.
But since I didn't want to cut off anything important I just kept it that way. You can just modify the list in any way you want (AutoTools has some handy Array handling tools built in).
I also added some hints in the main screen just for fun.
If you run into any strange behaviour, bugs or have tips, please tell me!
digitalpig82 said:
Any news on the output variable? I have high hopes since you mentioned you already see the output in the logs...
Thanks a lot for this plugin! It makes an unrooted phone much easier to control!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Enjoy
Since most people are using my Plugin locally instead of remotely, I'm thinking of renaming it to just 'ADB Shell [Tasker]'. It would make it simpler when googling it. What do you think?