Google makes ADB and fastboot available without Android Studio or SDK

Google has made ADB, fastboot, and other Android developer tools available as a standalone download. Previously, accessing these tools necessitated that users download Android Studio or the Android SDK, which meant grabbing files between 290 MB and 1.6 GB in size. Now you can download the platform tools (which contains ADB, fastboot and more) for Windows, MAC and Linux in .zip folders ranging from 3.4-3.7 MB.

ADB and fastboot are go-to tools for Android users who want to do things like unlock the bootloader, or flash an update rather than wait for it over-the-air. The whole development suite that the tools were bundled with in the past wasn’t always required by casual users as it was targeted at developers first and foremost.

As the files are coming straight from the source, they should be kept up to date, meaning you won’t need to hunt down the latest versions on third-party sites anymore. Download them via the links below.

• Platform tools: Windows
• Platform tools: Mac
• Platform tools: Linux