diff --git a/src/WinDroid.Adb/Models/AdbPathResult.cs b/src/WinDroid.Adb/Models/AdbPathResult.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f20cfe7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/WinDroid.Adb/Models/AdbPathResult.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+namespace WinDroid.Adb.Models;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Represents the outcome of attempting to locate an ADB executable.
+/// </summary>
+/// <remarks>
+/// A successful result carries a non-empty <see cref="Path"/> and a
+/// <see langword="null"/> <see cref="ErrorMessage"/>. A failed result carries a
+/// <see langword="null"/> <see cref="Path"/> and a non-empty
+/// <see cref="ErrorMessage"/>. Use <see cref="Success"/> and <see cref="Failure"/>
+/// to construct values that honour these invariants.
+/// </remarks>
+public sealed class AdbPathResult
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets a value indicating whether an ADB executable was located.
+    /// </summary>
+    public bool Found { get; init; }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets the resolved absolute path to the ADB executable when
+    /// <see cref="Found"/> is <see langword="true"/>; otherwise
+    /// <see langword="null"/>.
+    /// </summary>
+    public string? Path { get; init; }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets a concise, user-safe explanation of why resolution failed when
+    /// <see cref="Found"/> is <see langword="false"/>; otherwise
+    /// <see langword="null"/>.
+    /// </summary>
+    public string? ErrorMessage { get; init; }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Creates a successful result for the given resolved executable path.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="path">The resolved absolute path to the ADB executable.</param>
+    /// <exception cref="ArgumentException">
+    /// <paramref name="path"/> is <see langword="null"/>, empty, or whitespace.
+    /// </exception>
+    public static AdbPathResult Success(string path)
+    {
+        ArgumentException.ThrowIfNullOrWhiteSpace(path);
+
+        return new AdbPathResult
+        {
+            Found = true,
+            Path = path,
+            ErrorMessage = null,
+        };
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Creates a failed result with the given user-safe error message.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="errorMessage">A concise explanation of the failure.</param>
+    /// <exception cref="ArgumentException">
+    /// <paramref name="errorMessage"/> is <see langword="null"/>, empty, or whitespace.
+    /// </exception>
+    public static AdbPathResult Failure(string errorMessage)
+    {
+        ArgumentException.ThrowIfNullOrWhiteSpace(errorMessage);
+
+        return new AdbPathResult
+        {
+            Found = false,
+            Path = null,
+            ErrorMessage = errorMessage,
+        };
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/WinDroid.Adb/Services/AdbPathResolver.cs b/src/WinDroid.Adb/Services/AdbPathResolver.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87cfa96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/WinDroid.Adb/Services/AdbPathResolver.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+using WinDroid.Adb.Models;
+
+namespace WinDroid.Adb.Services;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Locates an ADB executable by checking an optional custom path and then the
+/// directories listed in the system <c>PATH</c> environment variable.
+/// </summary>
+/// <remarks>
+/// This type only determines whether an ADB executable exists on disk. It does
+/// not launch ADB and does not verify that a located file is a genuine ADB
+/// binary. The system <c>PATH</c> is read on every call so that environment
+/// changes during the application lifetime are honoured.
+/// </remarks>
+public sealed class AdbPathResolver
+{
+    // The active application target is Windows, where the executable is named
+    // "adb.exe". The plain "adb" name is also checked so the portable library
+    // behaves sensibly on non-Windows hosts. "adb.exe" is checked first so
+    // resolution is deterministic when both names exist in the same directory.
+    private static readonly string[] ExecutableNames = ["adb.exe", "adb"];
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Attempts to locate an ADB executable.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="customAdbPath">
+    /// Optional path to an ADB executable, typically supplied from
+    /// <c>AdbSettings.CustomAdbPath</c>. <see langword="null"/>, empty, or
+    /// whitespace values are ignored and resolution falls back to the system
+    /// <c>PATH</c>.
+    /// </param>
+    /// <returns>
+    /// A successful <see cref="AdbPathResult"/> containing the resolved path, or
+    /// a failed result whose <see cref="AdbPathResult.ErrorMessage"/> explains
+    /// why ADB could not be found. A missing ADB is an expected outcome and is
+    /// reported through the result rather than by throwing.
+    /// </returns>
+    public AdbPathResult Resolve(string? customAdbPath = null)
+    {
+        string? normalizedCustomPath = NormalizeToken(customAdbPath);
+        bool customPathSupplied = normalizedCustomPath is not null;
+
+        if (customPathSupplied && File.Exists(normalizedCustomPath))
+        {
+            string? resolved = GetFullPathSafe(normalizedCustomPath!);
+            if (resolved is not null)
+            {
+                return AdbPathResult.Success(resolved);
+            }
+
+            // The file exists but its path could not be normalized to an
+            // absolute path, so fall through to the system PATH search.
+        }
+
+        string? pathMatch = SearchSystemPath();
+        if (pathMatch is not null)
+        {
+            return AdbPathResult.Success(pathMatch);
+        }
+
+        return AdbPathResult.Failure(BuildNotFoundMessage(customPathSupplied));
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Searches the directories listed in the system <c>PATH</c> for a known ADB
+    /// executable name, returning the first match as an absolute path.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static string? SearchSystemPath()
+    {
+        string? pathVariable = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("PATH");
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(pathVariable))
+        {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        var visitedDirectories = new HashSet<string>(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+
+        foreach (string rawEntry in pathVariable.Split(Path.PathSeparator))
+        {
+            string? directory = NormalizeToken(rawEntry);
+            if (directory is null || !visitedDirectories.Add(directory))
+            {
+                // Blank or duplicate entry; skip without touching the filesystem.
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            string? match = FindExecutableInDirectory(directory);
+            if (match is not null)
+            {
+                return match;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Returns the absolute path to the first known ADB executable found in the
+    /// given directory, or <see langword="null"/> if none is present or the
+    /// entry cannot be inspected.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static string? FindExecutableInDirectory(string directory)
+    {
+        foreach (string executableName in ExecutableNames)
+        {
+            string candidate = Path.Combine(directory, executableName);
+
+            // File.Exists is exception-free and returns false for malformed or
+            // inaccessible paths, so unusable PATH entries are skipped safely.
+            if (File.Exists(candidate))
+            {
+                string? resolved = GetFullPathSafe(candidate);
+                if (resolved is not null)
+                {
+                    return resolved;
+                }
+
+                // Exists but cannot be normalized to an absolute path; skip it.
+            }
+        }
+
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Trims surrounding whitespace and a single pair of matching surrounding
+    /// quotation marks, returning <see langword="null"/> when nothing usable
+    /// remains.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static string? NormalizeToken(string? value)
+    {
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(value))
+        {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        string trimmed = value.Trim();
+
+        if (trimmed.Length >= 2 && trimmed[0] == '"' && trimmed[^1] == '"')
+        {
+            trimmed = trimmed[1..^1].Trim();
+        }
+
+        return string.IsNullOrEmpty(trimmed) ? null : trimmed;
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Produces an absolute, normalized path, returning <see langword="null"/>
+    /// if the path cannot be normalized.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static string? GetFullPathSafe(string path)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            return Path.GetFullPath(path);
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex) when (
+            ex is ArgumentException
+                or PathTooLongException
+                or NotSupportedException
+                or System.Security.SecurityException)
+        {
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static string BuildNotFoundMessage(bool customPathSupplied) =>
+        customPathSupplied
+            ? "ADB could not be found. The supplied custom path did not point to a " +
+              "valid ADB executable file, and no ADB executable was found through " +
+              "the system PATH."
+            : "ADB could not be found through the system PATH.";
+}