Q:

How to install .apk file using adb on nixos?

I'm running nixos and I have a .apk file, i.e. an Android app.
There is the handy tool adb (Android Debug Bridge) and the command
adb install /path/to/app.apk

How do I get it to work on nixos?

A:

The binary adb is in androidsdk. So either run
nix-env -i androidsdk

or add androidsdk to the list environment.systemPackages in /etc/nixos/configuration.nix.
Your Android phone needs to be plugged in and have USB debugging enabled as documented on developer.android.com.
Simply running adb install ... didn't work for me. Instead I did
sudo adb start-server
adb install /path/to/app.apk

or
adb install /path/to/app.apk -r

for overwriting an already installed app.

