Skip to main content

How To Decompile Android APK file(.apk) and Get Source Code


Sometimes you may be amazed to see beautiful android apps with great design and simplicity. You may want to look into the source code of that app and to design the same way they have done. Usually APK file is not readable because its in dex format (Dalvik excutable file) which can be read by dalvik compiler. So there is a trick I found on stackoverflow to decompile any apk file. Just follow the below steps to get source code of any android app, if you have got .apk file

Step 1:

  1. Create a new folder in your pc and copy over the .apk file that you want to decode.
  2. Now rename the extension of this .apk file to .zip (e.g. rename from filename.apk to filename.zip) and save it. 
  3. Now you can access the classes.dex files, etc. At this stage you are able to see drawables but not xml and java files, so continue.

Step 2:

  1. Now extract this .zip file in the same folder (or NEW FOLDER).
  2. Download dex2jar and extract it to the same folder (or NEW FOLDER).
  3. Move the classes.dex file into the dex2jar folder.
  4. Now open command prompt and change directory to that folder (or NEW FOLDER). Then write d2j-dex2jar classes.dex (for mac terminal or ubuntu write ./d2j-dex2jar.sh classes.dex) and press enter. You now have the classes.dex.dex2jar file in the same folder. 
  5. Download java decompiler, double click on jd-gui, click on open file, and open classes.dex.dex2jar file from that folder: now you get class files.
  6. Save all of these class files (In jd-gui, click File -> Save All Sources) by src name. At this stage you get the java source but the .xml files are still unreadable, so continue.

Step 3:

Now open another new folder
  1. Put in the .apk file which you want to decode
  2. Download the latest version of apktool AND apktool install window (both can be downloaded from the same link) and place them in the same folder.
  3. Open a command window.
  4. apktool d myApp.apk (where myApp.apk denotes the filename that you want to decode)
Now you get a file folder in that folder and can easily read the apk's xml files.

Step 4:

It's not any step just copy contents of both folder(in this case both new folder)to the single one
and enjoy the source code...
Source: stackoverflow.com

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Asynchronous Vs. Synchronous Communications

Synchronous (One thread):   1 thread -> |<---A---->||<----B---------->||<------C----->| Synchronous (multi-threaded):   thread A -> |<---A---->| \ thread B ------------> ->|<----B---------->| \ thread C ----------------------------------> ->|<------C----->|

WebSphere MQ Interview Questions

What is MQ and what does it do? Ans. MQ stands for MESSAGE QUEUEING. WebSphere MQ allows application programs to use message queuing to participate in message-driven processing. Application programs can communicate across different platforms by using the appropriate message queuing software products. What is Message driven process? Ans . When messages arrive on a queue, they can automatically start an application using triggering. If necessary, the applications can be stopped when the message (or messages) have been processed. What are advantages of the MQ? Ans. 1. Integration. 2. Asynchrony 3. Assured Delivery 4. Scalability. How does it support the Integration? Ans. Because the MQ is independent of the Operating System you use i.e. it may be Windows, Solaris,AIX.It is independent of the protocol (i.e. TCP/IP, LU6.2, SNA, NetBIOS, UDP).It is not required that both the sender and receiver should be running on the same platform What is Asynchrony? Ans. With messag...

Advantages & Disadvantages of Synchronous / Asynchronous Communications?

  Asynchronous Communication Advantages: Requests need not be targeted to specific server. Service need not be available when request is made. No blocking, so resources could be freed.  Could use connectionless protocol Disadvantages: Response times are unpredictable. Error handling usually more complex.  Usually requires connection-oriented protocol.  Harder to design apps Synchronous Communication Advantages: Easy to program Outcome is known immediately  Error recovery easier (usually)  Better real-time response (usually) Disadvantages: Service must be up and ready. Requestor blocks, held resources are “tied up”.  Usually requires connection-oriented protocol