Android Debugging Using — dumpsys

How to use $ dumpsys and what information it can provide for debugging

The dumpsys command in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is a tool that provides detailed information about system services and other aspects of the Android system. It allows developers and users to access information about various system components, view system state, and diagnose issues. For example, you can use dumpsys to get information about battery, memory usage, connectivity, and more. It’s a powerful tool for debugging and analyzing the Android system.

Photo by James Wainscoat on Unsplash

The dumpsys command in Android works by interacting with the system’s service manager and various system services. When you run dumpsys followed by a specific service name or a category, it triggers the corresponding service to provide a detailed dump of its current state.

For example:

adb shell

dumpsys activity

Part of output to understand:

ACTIVITY MANAGER LAST ANR (dumpsys activity lastanr)
  <no ANR has occurred since boot>

ACTIVITY MANAGER STARTER (dumpsys activity starter)
mLastHomeActivityStartResult=0
mLastHomeActivityStartRecord:
  packageName=com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher processName=com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher
  launchedFromUid=0 launchedFromPackage=null launchedFromFeature=null userId=0
  app=ProcessRecord{f5a3e4d 1343:com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher/u0a135}
  Intent { act=android.intent.action.MAIN cat=[android.intent.category.SECONDARY_HOME] flg=0x10000100 pkg=com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher cmp=com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher/com.android.launcher3.secondarydisplay.SecondaryDisplayLauncher (has extras) }
  rootOfTask=true task=Task{f942907 #22 type=home A=10135:com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher}
  taskAffinity=10135:com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher
  mActivityComponent=com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher/com.android.launcher3.secondarydisplay.SecondaryDisplayLauncher
  baseDir=/system_ext/priv-app/NexusLauncherRelease/NexusLauncherRelease.apk
  dataDir=/data/user/0/com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher
  stateNotNeeded=false componentSpecified=false mActivityType=home
  compat={560dpi} labelRes=0x7f130068 icon=0x7f080276 theme=0x7f140012

You can check the full output with this command, I am trying to highlight the crucial details “ACTIVITY MANAGER LAST ANR” and “ACTIVITY MANAGER STARTER”, so these details can be very crucial for resolving the very critical issues in the Android subsystem.

One more instance to understand:

emu64xa:/ $ dumpsys package com.android.inputdevices | grep userId
    userId=1000
    userId=1000

Dumpsys command provides a bulk of details and different services dump different details as per AOSP source implementation so it is based on the issue of what to filter and debug the process.

Here is the list of all the services which dumpsys support!

emu64xa:/ $ dumpsys -l
Currently running services:
  DockObserver
  SurfaceFlinger
  SurfaceFlingerAIDL
  accessibility
  account
  activity
  activity_task
  adb
  alarm
  ambient_context
  android.frameworks.stats.IStats/default
  android.hardware.camera.provider.ICameraProvider/internal/0
  android.hardware.drm.IDrmFactory/clearkey
  android.hardware.drm.IDrmFactory/widevine
  android.hardware.identity.IIdentityCredentialStore/default
  android.hardware.light.ILights/default
  android.hardware.power.IPower/default
  android.hardware.radio.config.IRadioConfig/default
  android.hardware.radio.data.IRadioData/slot1
  android.hardware.radio.messaging.IRadioMessaging/slot1
  android.hardware.radio.modem.IRadioModem/slot1
  android.hardware.radio.network.IRadioNetwork/slot1
  android.hardware.radio.sim.IRadioSim/slot1
  android.hardware.radio.voice.IRadioVoice/slot1
  android.hardware.rebootescrow.IRebootEscrow/default
  android.hardware.security.keymint.IKeyMintDevice/default
  android.hardware.security.keymint.IRemotelyProvisionedComponent/default
  android.hardware.security.secureclock.ISecureClock/default
  android.hardware.security.sharedsecret.ISharedSecret/default
  android.hardware.vibrator.IVibrator/default
  android.hardware.vibrator.IVibratorManager/default
  android.hardware.wifi.supplicant.ISupplicant/default
  android.security.apc
  android.security.authorization
  android.security.compat
  android.security.identity
  android.security.legacykeystore
  android.security.maintenance
  android.security.metrics
  android.security.remoteprovisioning
  android.security.remoteprovisioning.IRemotelyProvisionedKeyPool
  android.system.keystore2.IKeystoreService/default
  android.system.suspend.ISystemSuspend/default
  app_binding
  app_hibernation
  app_integrity
  app_prediction
  app_search
  appops
  appwidget
  attestation_verification
  audio
  auth
  autofill
  backup
  battery
  batteryproperties
  batterystats
  binder_calls_stats
  biometric
  blob_store
  bluetooth_manager
  bugreport
  cacheinfo
  carrier_config
  clipboard
  cloudsearch
  color_display
  companiondevice
  connectivity
  connectivity_native
  connmetrics
  consumer_ir
  content
  content_capture
  content_suggestions
  country_detector
  cpuinfo
  crossprofileapps
  dataloader_manager
  dbinfo
  device_config
  device_identifiers
  device_policy
  device_state
  deviceidle
  devicestoragemonitor
  diskstats
  display
  domain_verification
  dreams
  drm.drmManager
  dropbox
  dynamic_system
  emergency_affordance
  external_vibrator_service
  file_integrity
  fingerprint
  font
  game
  gfxinfo
  gpu
  graphicsstats
  hardware_properties
  imms
  incidentcompanion
  incremental
  input
  input_method
  inputflinger
  ions
  iphonesubinfo
  ipsec
  isms
  isub
  jobscheduler
  launcherapps
  legacy_permission
  lights
  locale
  location
  location_time_zone_manager
  lock_settings
  logcat
  looper_stats
  manager
  media.audio_flinger
  media.audio_policy
  media.camera
  media.camera.proxy
  media.extractor
  media.metrics
  media.player
  media.resource_manager
  media.resource_observer
  media_communication
  media_metrics
  media_projection
  media_resource_monitor
  media_router
  media_session
  meminfo
  memtrack.proxy
  midi
  mount
  music_recognition
  nearby
  netd_listener
  netpolicy
  netstats
  network_management
  network_score
  network_stack
  network_time_update_service
  network_watchlist
  notification
  otadexopt
  overlay
  pac_proxy
  package
  package_native
  people
  performance_hint
  permission
  permission_checker
  permissionmgr
  phone
  pinner
  platform_compat
  platform_compat_native
  power
  powerstats
  print
  processinfo
  procstats
  reboot_readiness
  recovery
  resources
  restrictions
  role
  rollback
  runtime
  safety_center
  scheduling_policy
  sdk_sandbox
  search
  search_ui
  sec_key_att_app_id_provider
  secure_element
  selection_toolbar
  sensor_privacy
  sensorservice
  serial
  servicediscovery
  settings
  shortcut
  simphonebook
  slice
  smartspace
  soundtrigger
  soundtrigger_middleware
  speech_recognition
  stats
  statsbootstrap
  statscompanion
  statsmanager
  statusbar
  storaged
  storaged_pri
  storagestats
  system_config
  system_server_dumper
  system_update
  tare
  telecom
  telephony.registry
  telephony_ims
  testharness
  tethering
  textclassification
  textservices
  texttospeech
  thermalservice
  time_detector
  time_zone_detector
  tracing.proxy
  translation
  transparency
  trust
  uimode
  updatelock
  uri_grants
  usagestats
  usb
  user
  vcn_management
  vibrator_manager
  virtualdevice
  voiceinteraction
  vpn_management
  wallpaper
  wallpaper_effects_generation
  webviewupdate
  wifi
  wifinl80211
  wifip2p
  wifiscanner
  window
emu64xa:/ $

You can use the dumpsys for debugging, I am open to answering or discussing any query you have related to any service mentioned above so please let me know in the comments.

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