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Seeking help with how to escape "&" in ADB command line -- any guidance would be much appreciated!

I am attempting to extract .epub book files from an Android tablet running B&N Nook app. The NOOK app stores ebook files in "/data/data/bn.ereader/files/B&N Downloads/Books" The "B&N Downloads" string is causing problems in ADB shell commands. I have tried escaping the "&" and "space" in the following ways ...

$ ./adb shell cd ./data/data/bn.ereader/files/B&N Downloads/Books (original command)
$ ./adb shell cd ./data/data/bn.ereader/files/B\&N\ Downloads/Books
$ ./adb shell cd ./data/data/bn.ereader/files/'B&N Downloads'/Books
$ ./adb shell cd './data/data/bn.ereader/files/B&N Downloads/Books'
$ ./adb shell cd ./data/data/bn.ereader/files/"B&N Downloads"/Books
$ ./adb shell cd ./data/data/bn.ereader/files/B^&N^ Downloads/Books
(that last from suggestion in another answer: Trying to give "&" as part of adb shell input text)

always resulting in the same error ...

/system/bin/sh: N: not found
/system/bin/sh: cd: /data/data/bn.ereader/files/B: No such file or directory

ADB computer:
MacBookPro 9,2 (mid-2012)
System Version: macOS 10.14.6 (18G9323) "Mojave"
Kernel Version: Darwin 18.7.0.

Target Android device:
B&N Nook HD+ (running CyanogenMod)
Android version: 7.1.1
Kernel version: 3.0.101 (dmaces@gc-xenial #1)
Build Number: cm_ovation-userdebug 7.1.1 NMF26Q 161222 test keys

Also tried this on a Lenovo Tab M10 Plus 3rd Gen with the same results:
Android version: 12
Kernel version: 4.14.186-ga2e751134649
Build Number: TB125FU_S000118_220927_ROW

[NOTE: I have completed my original task by simply executing a "pull" of the whole darn directory tree above the problem "B&N Downloads" folder, but the issue of how to escape "&" remains]

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  • Have you considered putting the whole shell command in single quotes (and escaping the & ? I believe youneed to escape everything twice. An alternative might be to double escape thr & character - ie \\\& so the single escaped & is passed to the shell, where it is escaped. ( all of this untested as Im not near a PC - so its a comment)
    – davidgo
    Dec 2, 2022 at 19:58
  • Thank you @davidgo -- as soon as I saw your suggestion I realized that was exactly what I needed to do: escape the escape so it would get passed on to the Android shell. Worked great! Thanks.
    – tbroad
    Dec 4, 2022 at 22:33

2 Answers 2

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See the post adb shell input text does not take & ampersand character.

The accepted answer says this :

You need to encapsulate your string in quotes and escape your ampersand `"hello&hello"

Another answer was : hello1"&"hello2.

Still another answer remarked this :

( ) < > | ; & * \ ~ " ' and space all need escaping.
Space can be replaced with %s.

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Solution to this problem was posted as a comment by @davidgo ...
Double escape the & character - ie \\\& so the single escaped & is passed to the shell, where it is escaped. Hence the command is:
./adb shell cd ./data/data/bn.ereader/files/B\\\&N\\\ Downloads/Books
Works great!

Alternative #2 that I discovered is:
$ ./adb shell (which puts the console into shell mode on the Android device)
# cd data/data/bn.ereader/files/B\&N\ Downloads/Books/

An bonus to alternative #2 is that tab auto-complete on the Android now works also. Caution: ANY error in the Android shell mode appears to abort that mode and return the console control to client terminal.

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