decompiling DEX into Java sourcecode

Question

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

Answer 1

I'd actually recommend going here: https://github.com/JesusFreke/smali

It provides BAKSMALI, which is a most excellent reverse-engineering tool for DEX files. It's made by JesusFreke, the guy who created the fameous ROMs for Android.

Answer 2

I have used

1. dex2jar + jd-gui
2. javadecompilers.com
3. enjarify
4. Apktool

But none beats google's own tools

1)Android Studio 2.x: build> analyze apk

2)Android Studio 3.0: Profile or Debug APK

Answer 3

A lot has changed since most of these answers were posted. Now-a-days there a are many easy tools with GUI's, like these:

APK Easy Tool for Windows (GUI tool, friendly)
Bytecode Viewer - APK/Java Reverse Engineering Suite
URET Android Reverser Toolkit

Best place to find them is on the XDA Developers forum.

Answer 4

Easiest method to decompile an android app is to download an app named ShowJava from playstore . Just select the application that needs to be decompiled from the list of applications. There are three different decompiler you can use to decompile an app namely -

CFR 0.110, JaDX 0.6.1 or FernFlower (analytical decompiler) .

Answer 5

If you're not looking to download dex2jar, then just use the apk_grabber python script to decompile any apk into jar files. Then you read them with jd-gui.

Answer 6

Since no one mentioned this, there's one more tool: DED homepage

Install how-to and some explanations: Installation.

It was used in a quite interesting study of the security of top market apps(not really related, just if you're curious): A Survey of Android Application Security