How to unzip, edit and zip an android apk

android reverse-engineering reverse
user1662302 picture user1662302 · Apr 5, 2015 · Viewed 79.3k times · Source

I have an android apk and I deleted my source code and dont have the project again, I want to change the version code of the old apk. my question is how do I unzip and repack the apk so I can use the. am using a mac system. I saw so many things for windows but i couldnt find for mac.I need help please

Answer

Liu Tao picture Liu Tao · Aug 25, 2016

unzip apk files

The simplest method is executing unzip command:

unzip xxx.apk -d xxx

A directory xxx will be generated to store unzipped files. Actually, .apk files are same as .zip files. Execute command file XXX.apk to see that.

get readable text files from apk

If you want readable text files such as the manifest file, I would suggest you to use the apktool. We could install the apktool easily with Homebrew:

brew install apktool

then get the readable text files:

apktool d xxx.apk

after the previous command, a xxx directory contains readable text files and others would be there.

edit zip files

If you want to edit a zip file in place, the Keka might be a good option.

Related questions

decompiling DEX into Java sourcecode

How can one decompile Android DEX (VM bytecode) files into corresponding Java sourcecode?

Read More
How to avoid reverse engineering of an APK file?

I am developing a payment processing app for Android, and I want to prevent a hacker from accessing any resources, assets or source code from the APK file. If someone changes the .apk extension to .zip then they can unzip …

Read More
Best practice for storing and protecting private API keys in applications

Most app developers will integrate some third party libraries into their apps. If it's to access a service, such as Dropbox or YouTube, or for logging crashes. The number of third party libraries and services is staggering. Most of those …

Read More