Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP), pronounced ''"twrp"'', is an
open-source software
Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Op ...
custom
recovery
Recovery or Recover may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books
* ''Recovery'' (novel), a Star Wars e-book
* Recovery Version, a translation of the Bible with footnotes published by Living Stream Ministry
Film and television
* ''Recovery'' (fil ...
image for
Android-based devices.
It provides a
touchscreen
A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...
-enabled interface that allows users to install third-party
firmware
In computing, firmware is a specific class of computer software that provides the low-level control for a device's specific hardware. Firmware, such as the BIOS of a personal computer, may contain basic functions of a device, and may provide h ...
and back up the current system which are functions often unsupported by stock recovery images.
It is, therefore, often installed when flashing, installing, or
rooting Android devices,
although it isn't dependent on a device being rooted prior to installation.
Functions
Since February 2016 the first three digits of the version number specify the version, and the fourth digit, separated from the others by a dash, specifies an update for a specific device. This could be a performance improvement, hotfix, bugfix, or just simply an update for a device.
The main method of installing ("
flashing") this custom recovery on an Android device requires downloading a version made specifically for the device, and then using a tool such as
Fastboot
Fastboot is a protocol and a tool of the same name. It is included with the Android SDK package used primarily to modify the flash filesystem via a USB connection from a host computer. It requires that the device be started in Fastboot mode. ...
or
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
. Also, some custom ROMs come with TWRP as the default recovery image.
TWRP gives users the option to fully back up their device (including bootloader, system data, private applications, etc.) to revert to at any time, and a built-in file manager to delete files that may be causing problems on the device or add some to fix issues.
, TWRP supported the installation of custom ROMs (i.e. custom operating systems such as
LineageOS
LineageOS is an Android-based operating system for smartphones, tablet computers, and set-top boxes, with mostly free and open-source software. It is the successor to CyanogenMod, from which it was forked in December 2016, when Cyanogen Inc. a ...
, or the latest Android release), kernels, add-ons (Google Apps,
Magisk, themes, etc.), and other various mods.
Wiping, backing up, restoring, and mounting various device
partitions
Partition may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive
* Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job
Software
* Partition (database), the division of a ...
, such as the system, boot, userdata, cache, and internal storage partitions are also supported. TWRP also features file transfer via
MTP, as well as a basic file manager, and a terminal emulator. It is fully themeable.
In January 2017, the TWRP team released an Android application that allows flashing the recovery using root access. However, unlike the recovery, the app is not open source. This app is also shipped via the official TWRP images to rooted and non-rooted devices. It is installed in the system partition, making it a system-level app by default, thus making it not uninstallable from within Android without root access.
TWRP App installation screen
/ref> However, TWRP now provides the user the freedom of choice for having the app.
See also
* ClockworkMod Recovery – a past alternative to TWRP custom recovery.
References
Android (operating system) software
Computer-related introductions in 2011
Free and open-source Android software
External links
Official website
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