A professional command-line utility for reverse engineering Android APK files, enabling developers to decode, modify, and rebuild applications.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install apktool
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install apktool using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is apktool?
apktool is a specialized tool designed for reverse engineering third-party, closed, binary Android apps. It can decode resources to nearly original form and rebuild them after making modifications. This skill is essential for developers and security researchers using Openclaw Skills who need to perform deep analysis of Android packages.
By bridging the gap between binary APKs and editable source files, this tool allows for the debugging of smali code, resource localization, and security auditing. It automates the complex task of decoding the Android manifest and resources.arsc while maintaining a project structure that is easy to reassemble into a functional application.
apktool Use Cases
- Decoding APK resources to original formats such as strings.xml and AndroidManifest.xml.
- Analyzing smali code to understand application logic and identify potential security vulnerabilities.
- Localizing closed-source Android applications by translating resource files.
- Modifying application configurations and permissions for testing and research.
- Rebuilding and repackaging modified source directories back into installable APK files.
How apktool Works
- The tool initiates the disassembly process by decoding the binary APK into a structured directory.
- It extracts and converts binary XML and resource files into human-readable formats.
- Smali code is generated from the Dalvik executables (DEX files) for logic analysis.
- Users modify the decoded files or resources within the project directory.
- The build command re-assembles the modified files into a new, unsigned APK package.
apktool Setup
The apktool skill requires Java and can be installed across various platforms within the Openclaw Skills environment.
# Install on Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt update && sudo apt install apktool
# Install on macOS using Homebrew
brew install apktool
# Verify installation and check dependencies
apktool --version
java -version
apktool Data Schema & Taxonomy
When processing files, the skill organizes data into a specific hierarchy for consistency within Openclaw Skills projects:
| Directory/File | Description |
|---|---|
apktool.yml |
Metadata file containing build information and versioning. |
res/ |
Folder containing decoded resources like layouts and values. |
smali/ |
Directory containing the disassembled Smali assembly code. |
AndroidManifest.xml |
The decoded manifest file for permission and component analysis. |
dist/ |
The output directory where the rebuilt APK is stored. |
apktool Advanced Features
- Integration with JADX for high-level Java source code reconstruction and analysis.
- Quick analysis mode (-m) to inspect app structure without full resource extraction.
- Custom framework support for handling vendor-specific Android resources.
- Automated dependency management for Java runtimes and auxiliary binaries.
- Streamlined workflow for multi-stage reverse engineering tasks.
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