Shizuku

Project Overview

Shizuku is a tool that allows normal apps to call system APIs directly with adb or root privileges. Traditional root apps operate by executing commands in the su shell, which has major disadvantages: extremely slow (multiple process creations), highly unreliable (text processing), and limited to available commands. Shizuku takes a completely different approach. It guides users to run a Shizuku server process first, using root or ADB. When the app starts, it receives a Binder reference to the Shizuku server. Shizuku acts as a middleman — receiving requests from the app, forwarding them to the system server, and returning the results. To the app, it feels almost identical to using system APIs directly.

Key Features

• Call system APIs with higher permissions: Enables normal apps to perform system-level operations with adb or root privileges
• Binder IPC proxy mechanism: Acts as a middleman between the app process and system_server process
• Supports both ADB and Root startup methods: Works even without root (requires ADB)
• Two implementations: Shizuku (standard Android app) and Sui (Magisk module)
• Supports Android 6.0+ devices
• Maven dependency available: dev.rikka.shizuku:api
• MIT licensed, open-source and free

Target Audience

• Android developers who need system-level API access
• Power users who want to run system-level operations via ADB privileges (not root)
• Developers building apps that integrate with Shizuku (e.g., Ice Box, Black Hole)

Quick Start

1. Visit the User Guide & Download page for installation instructions
2. Install the Shizuku manager app on your Android device
3. Start the Shizuku service via ADB (non-root) or with root privileges
4. Integrate the Shizuku API into your app to call system-level functions

Core Advantages

• No root required to call system APIs (ADB is sufficient)
• Much faster, more reliable, and feature-rich compared to traditional su shell methods
• For app developers, the experience is nearly identical to calling system APIs directly
• Apache 2.0 licensed (with specific restrictions)

System Requirements

• OS: Android 6.0+
• Non-root devices require ADB to start the service (needs to be re-run after each reboot)
• Root is not required, but basic Android debugging knowledge is helpful

Notes

• ADB permissions have limitations and vary across system versions
• Android 9 and above restrict the use of hidden APIs
• On Android 8.0 (API 26), ADB lacks registerUidObserver permission; processes may not automatically receive the Binder
• When using transactRemote directly, be aware of API differences across Android versions
• License restrictions: you may not use manager/src/main/res/mipmap*/ic_launcher*.png (except for displaying Shizuku itself), nor may you name your app Shizuku or use moe.shizuku.privileged.api as the application ID