[Nexus 7 (2013) General] xdhall:
Preamble

As a crotchety old man, my eye twitches and my back hurts every time I read a guide with superfluous steps, a root toolkit or an autoroot script for a nexus device. So, at the request of [MENTION=5212377]thejmannnc[/MENTION], here's my simple root guide for Nexus 7 2013 LTE (deb).

NOTE: this will work just as well for the WiFi only version (flo), so long as you download the specific custom recovery for your device.

If your bootloader is locked (e.g. if this is your first time rooting this device)YOU WILL LOSE ALL YOUR DATA. There is no way around this.

Prerequisites

NOTE: I'm not writing a guide for these prerequisites

Prerequisite 1: "Fastboot" on a machine running a desktop operating system

Fastboot is one of the platform tools you can get from the android software development kit (SDK). You will need to install it. You can install the complete SDK, the platform tools, the two most basic platform tools (fastboot and adb), or, in theory, just fastboot.

*If you want to use adb as well, you will need to enable developer options and USB debugging on your N7. See the end of this post.

The SDK from Google:

http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

An XDA created tool for adb and fastboot. I haven't used it, but I'm told it works:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=42407269

A guide for installing the SDK for Windows 7:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1830108

A guide for installing the SDK for Mac OS X:

http://esausilva.com/2010/10/02/how-to-set-up-adb-android-debug-bridge-in-mac-osx/

Prerequisite 2: IF you use a Windows machine, USB DRIVER

Driver from Google. Note, the Google driver may not work for Windows 8:

http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html

If that doesn't work for you, try this driver:

https://plus.google.com/103583939320326217147/posts/BQ5iYJEaaEH

Prerequisite 3: A custom recovery .img file

Download a custom recovery .img file to your computer (or any machine with a USB port that runs a desktop operating system). Place the file in the same directory (folder) that houses fastboot. I recommend TWRP custom recovery.

TWRP for deb (LTE):

http://techerrata.com/browse/twrp2/deb

TWRP for flo (WiFi only):

http://techerrata.com/browse/twrp2/flo

THE ACTUAL GUIDE

Step 1: Unlock your bootloader

Power down your Nexus 7. Once you've totally powered down, hold down the power and volume down key on your nexus 7.

Plug your Nexus 7 into your computer.

Open a command prompt (Windows) or Terminal window (Mac OS X, Linux) in the directory that houses fastboot (or navigate to that directory using the command cd, or, if you've properly set up your platform tools in Mac OS X, don't pay any attention to the directory).

Type the following command (this is the step that wipes your device.):

fastbot oem unlock

Follow the prompts. Then reboot your Nexus 7 by pressing the power button when the menus says "START". During the reboot your N7 will go through a factory reset.

Step 2: Download the superuser binaries:

On your Nexus 7, download from this link:

http://download.chainfire.eu/

Step 3: Install TWRP and superuser binaries

Reboot into bootloader as you did for step 1:

Power down your Nexus 7. Once you've totally powered down, hold down the power and volume down key on your nexus 7.

Plug your Nexus 7 into your computer.

Open a command prompt (Windows) or Terminal window (Mac OS X, Linux) in the directory that houses fastboot (or navigate to that directory using the command cd, or, if you've properly set up your platform tools in Mac OS X, don't pay any attention to the directory).

Type the following command:

fastboot flash recovery openrecovery-twrp-2.6.3.1-deb.img

If you downloaded a different version (or the recovery for flo), replace "openrecovery-twrp-2.6.3.1-deb.img" with the file name for the image you downloaded.

Once you've flashed recovery, you should still be in the bootloader. Use the volume keys to navigate to "Recovery mode". (Hint, it's two taps of the volume down button. Press the power button to reboot into recovery mode.

Once recovery reboots, you'll see a menu with 8 buttons in a 4x2 grid. Tap "Install".

Navigate to your Download directory, where you'll find the file "UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.75.zip" (or whatever version was current when you downloaded it). Tap that file.

Swipe to confirm flash.

Once the superuser binaries have installed, tap the "Reboot System" button.

Congratulations! You're now rooted.

Epilogue:

If you want to use the android debug bridge (adb) you'll need to enable developer options and usb debugging.

Under settings, about tablet, tap build number 7 times to enable developer options, back out to settings, developer options, check USB debugging