installing-and-managing-apps

What problem does it solve?

This Skill prevents flaky Android test scaffolding caused by stale app state and incorrect APK installation flows, by giving you deterministic commands to install, inspect, and reset app data on a device.

Core Features & Use Cases

• Install APKs with the right flags: Handles repeat installs, downgrades, test-only APKs, runtime permission grants, split APKs, and multi-user installs using adb install and install-multiple.
• Manage packages via on-device PackageManager: Lists packages, finds paths, clears data, grants/revokes runtime permissions, enables/disables components, and uninstalls safely using pm and cmd package tooling.
• Use the hermetic reset pattern correctly: Recommends pm clear as the equivalent of a clean install between tests and explains why am force-stop does not clear persistent data.
• Diagnose common install failures: Maps common INSTALL_FAILED_* errors to the correct remediation (e.g., -d for version downgrade, uninstall-first for signing conflicts, -t for android:testOnly).
• Use correct quoting rules: Ensures Platform Tools 23+ ssh-style double-quoting for shell metacharacters and spaced arguments in adb shell commands.

Quick Start

Use the installing-and-managing-apps skill to reinstall your app-debug APK with the correct flags, then run pm clear to ensure a fresh state before the next test run.