apktool ☆

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Description:
Tool for reverse engineering 3rd party, closed, binary Android apps

Type: Formula | Latest Version: 2.12.1@0 | Tracked Since: Dec 17, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: android reverse-engineering security apk disassembler

Install: brew install apktool

About:
Apktool is a tool for reverse engineering 3rd party, closed, binary Android apps. It allows you to disassemble an APK's DEX bytecode back into smali code and decode resources to nearly original forms. This enables developers to analyze app behavior, patch applications, or translate binary resources for localization.

Key Features:

Disassembles APK files into Smali code
Decodes binary XML resources and assets
Rebuilds modified code and resources into working APKs
Automates the handling of obfuscated code structures

Use Cases:

Security auditing and malware analysis of Android applications
Modifying app resources for localization or theme changes
Learning how Android apps are structured by examining disassembled code

Alternatives:

jadx – Jadx converts DEX to Java source code, offering higher readability for Java developers, whereas Apktool focuses on Smali disassembly and resource decoding for rebuilding.
Bytecode Viewer – Bytecode Viewer is a GUI-based all-in-one decompiler, while Apktool is primarily a command-line utility specialized in the decompilation and recompilation workflow.

License: Apache-2.0

Dependencies: openjdk

Bottles available for: all

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Sep 17, 2024 12:25pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	614e7db4