export-android-tabs

export-android-tabs is a PowerShell script that exports open tabs from Google Chrome on an Android device to a Windows computer, producing both JSON and CSV outputs for easy analysis in Excel or BI tools.

Features

• Export currently open Chrome tabs from Android to JSON and CSV on Windows, suitable for spreadsheets and automation pipelines.
• Automatic download and extraction of Android Platform Tools if not already installed locally; root is not required.
• Graceful error handling when Chrome isn’t open on the device, with a clear prompt to open it and retry.

Prerequisites

• USB debugging enabled on the Android device and the computer marked as trusted when prompted.
• Windows with PowerShell available (included since Windows 7 SP1 / Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1).
• Google Chrome Browser open on the device.
• Android Debug Bridge (ADB) from Android Platform Tools (~6 MB). If not found, the script will download it automatically during execution.

Quick start

1. Connect the Android phone to the Windows PC via USB and ensure Chrome is open on the device.
2. Open export-android-tabs.ps1 in an editor and configure:
   • Output folder: $outFolder.
   • (optional) ADB path: $pathToADB (the script downloads ADB if not found at the path).
   • (optional) output names: $pathToJsonFile and $pathToOutputFile.
3. Run the script in PowerShell (for example, from the script directory): ./export-android-tabs.ps1.

Output

• tabs [datetime].json: raw DevTools tab list, including title and url fields.
• tabs [datetime].csv: a flat table suitable for Excel and other spreadsheet software.

Example JSON fields

• "description": ""
• "devtoolsFrontendUrl": "https://chrome-devtools-frontend.appspot.com/serve_internal_file/@6aa76cc02752c25ffead4a19a03e13cdda08db6a/inspector.html?ws=localhost:9223/devtools/page/19939",
• "id": "19939",
• "title": "Удачный переход Netflix на GraphQL / Хабр",
• "type": "page",
• "url": "https://habr.com/ru/companies/otus/articles/785672/",
• "webSocketDebuggerUrl": "ws://localhost:9223/devtools/page/19939"

Encoding notes

The script uses UTF‑8 when reading and writing, ensuring correct handling of umlauts (ä, ö, ü), accents (é, â, ê), and Cyrillic (привет) in tab titles and URLs.

Behavior and device notes

On some devices (e.g., Xiaomi 11T) export may work with the screen locked, but keeping Chrome active on the device generally yields more reliable results.

Troubleshooting

• Script prints “Chrome should be opened on your device. Is it now?” and exits gracefully:
  • Open Chrome on the device and rerun the script.
• Device not listed as “device” in adb devices:
  • Reconnect USB and confirm the RSA trust prompt on the phone; ensure USB debugging is enabled.
• CSV looks empty or shows wrong characters:
  • Verify write access to $outFolder and ensure Excel is correctly opening a CSV encoded with UTF-8.

Credits

Inspired by a StackExchange answer and subsequent discussion; direct references are linked in the script comments.