Recording a device screen

The screenrecord command is a shell utility for recording the display of devices running Android 4.4 (API level 19) and higher. The utility records screen activity to an MPEG-4 file, which you can then download and use as part of a video presentation. This utility is useful for developers who want to create promotional or training videos without using a separate recording device.

To use the screenrecord from the command line, type the following:

$ adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/demo.mp4

Stop the screen recording by pressing Ctrl-C, otherwise the recording stops automatically at three minutes or the time limit set by --time-limit.

Here's an example recording session, using the adb shell to record the video and the pull command to download the file from the device:

$ adb shell
shell@ $ screenrecord --verbose /sdcard/demo.mp4
(press Ctrl-C to stop)
shell@ $ exit
$ adb pull /sdcard/demo.mp4

The screenrecord utility can record at any supported resolution and bit rate you request, while retaining the aspect ratio of the device display. The utility records at the native display resolution and orientation by default, with a maximum length of three minutes.