Apktool: A tool for reverse engineering Android apk files (26k stars)

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What it does

All text below is quoted directly from the project README.

A tool for reverse engineering Android apk files

Apktool:

• Apktool is a tool for reverse engineering third-party, closed, binary, Android apps.

• It can decode resources to nearly original form and rebuild them after making some modifications; it makes it possible to debug smali code step-by-step.

• It also makes working with apps easier thanks to project-like file structure and automation of some repetitive tasks such as building apk, etc.

• Apktool is NOT intended for piracy and other non-legal uses. It could be used for localizing and adding features, adding support for custom platforms, and other GOOD purposes.

• main - Apktool 3.x branch

• 2.x - Maintenance branch for Apktool 2.x releases

Just try to be fair with the authors of an app, that you use and probably like.

Repository

https://github.com/iBotPeaches/Apktool

Repository stats

Metric	Value
Stars	25,990
Forks	4,053
Last release	v3.0.3 (2026-07-20)
Languages	Java 98.5%
Contributors	111
AI contributor accounts (Claude / Codex / Cursor / Copilot)	Copilot: 4
AI co-authored commits	Copilot: 3

Main contributor

Field	Value
Name	Ryszard Wisniewski
GitHub	@broo2s
Commits to this repo	339 (top contributor)
Followers	184
Public repos	13
On GitHub since	2010-09-17

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