How to empty (clear) the logcat buffer in Android

Question

How can I empty (clear) the logcat buffer in Android?

I use adb logcat from command line and pipe the output to a file, since the DDMS has a very limited buffer. At the moment, when I restart my app (after fixing bugs etc) the logcat buffer has data from the previous launch as well. Even uninstalling the app does not clear the buffer. The only way I've found so far to clear the buffer, is reboot. This is effective, but would like to know if there's an easier way.

Solution 1

adb logcat -c

Logcat options are documented here: http://developer.android.com/tools/help/logcat.html

Solution 2

The following command will clear only non-rooted buffers (main, system ..etc).

adb logcat -c

If you want to clear all the buffers (like radio, kernel..etc), Please use the following commands

adb root
adb logcat -b all -c

or

adb root
adb shell logcat -b all -c 

Use the following commands to know the list of buffers that device supports

adb logcat -g
adb logcat -b all -g
adb shell logcat -b all -g

Solution 3

I give my solution for Mac:

1. With your device connected to the USB port, open a terminal and go to the adb folder.
2. Write: ./adb devices
3. The terminal will show something like this: List of devices attached 36ac5997 device
4. Take note of the serial number (36ac5997)
5. Write: ./adb -s 36ac5997 to connect to the device
6. Write: ./adb logcat

If at any time you want to clear the log, type ./adb logcat -c

Solution 4

For anyone coming to this question wondering how to do this in Eclipse, You can remove the displayed text from the logCat using the button provided (often has a red X on the icon)

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Comments

[kaskelotti]

Thanks. That is exactly what I was looking for. I was trying find the options from the command line help.

[Admin]

@ J Andy Hi, I am new to android. How did you use in program? Would you please tell me? I am also looking for this but could not find a way how to use in program? Thanks.

[jamil ahmed]

See also adb logcat --help.

[aksommerville]

@AndroidVogue: this is done from the terminal on your development machine. I don't think there's any reason to clear the log within a program.

[Dheeraj Vepakomma]

You can empty the other buffers likewise. E.g., adb logcat -c -b radio

[Tom]

Wish they would add that to the Eclipse logcat window - the clear logcat there just clears the current display.

[wal]

if adb can't be found look in C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\platform-t‌​ools Now is there a way to run this prior to Debugging ?

[ThunderWiring]

is that OS related? on a macbook it worked, but on my windows (using a mingw64 bash terminal) i get: failed to clear the 'main' log