Renaming the Package Name inside an APK

Question

I have created an AIR app that is currently on the market. To update the app, obviously I must keep the same package name. My first version\'s were packaged usi

Answer 1

this was done on a pc. i have no idea how to do this on a mac.

i don't recommend using this to remove the "air." from an air package name. If you do so, the user will not be prompted to download air on their device. the user will get an error message instead with no clue to the problem. of course you can use air captive runtime to solve this issue.

http://bradwallacedesign.com/share/renameAPK.zip

download and unzip my file (renameAPK.zip) to c:\renameAPK.

required files:

1. my file (renameAPK.zip) which contains the apkTool
2. java jdk/jre
3. android SDK
4. notepad++ (or an equivalent text editor that can rename across multiple files)

i made many bat files since i'm not sure how to combine them into one file. you will need to edit each one to change your path names and file names to work with your computer and your apk file.

i numbered all the bats in the order that i use them. once a command line is open, i type the number of the bat file i want then hit the tab key to automatically finish the name of the bat file then hit enter to run that bat file.

instructions:

double click `openCmd.bat to open a command line pointing to the directory with all your files.

0. run 0path.bat to set your path. (i can't remember now if the adobe air sdk is needed for this but i have it in my path. obviously, the JDK is needed and the android sdk for the jarsigner and zip align i think.)

1. run 1decompileAPK.bat to have apkTool decompile your app into a folder called UNZIPPEDapk

2. follow the instructions in 2editManifest & PackageName - Instructions (not a bat).txt to edit the manifest and package name using Notepad++ inside UNZIPPEDapk:

edit AndroidManifest.xml:

a. change package name from air.oldPackageName to newPackageName

b. edit other needed entries:

c. rename folder system inside "smali" folder so that it works with your new package name for example: if the old package name was: air/oldName then change the folders to match the new package name: air/newName

use notepad++ (or any editor that can find and replace text over many files)

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d. ctrl+shift+f --- "Find in files"

  find:
air/oldPackageName
  replace with:
newPackageName
  where:
all files in UNZIPPEDapk/smali

(i think there were over 200 replacements)

3. run 3buildDistFolder.bat to have apkTool build the new apk in the UNZIPPEDapk\Dist folder

4. follow the instructions in 4getMissingFiles - instructions.txt to reinstate the 2 missing files in the new build:

a. Two files were not built during 3buildDistFolder:

3buildDistFolder.bat built the new apk in the \UNZIPPEDapk\dist folder but it failed to copy 2 files:

(skipping hidden file 'C:\Users\computer\apkTool\UNZIPPEDapk\assets\META-INF

\AIR\extensions\com.adobe.mobile\META-INF\ANE\Android-ARM.classpath') (skipping hidden file 'C:\Users\computer\apkTool\UNZIPPEDapk\assets\META-INF \AIR\extensions\com.adobe.mobile\META-INF\ANE\Android-ARM.project')

grab these 2 files from your original apk and drop them into your new apk in the correct folder

b. copy yourApp.apk from DKTimer/Dist/ to root directory where your bat files are.

5. run 5signAPK.bat to sign the apk.

developer.android.com/guide/publishing/app-signing.html

6. run 6verifySigned.bat to verify the signing worked properly

7. run 7zipAlign.bat to align the apk file.

developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/zipalign.html

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You are finished at this point. Continue on if you want to test it on a device.

8. run 8installAPK.bat to install the apk on a usb connected device.

9. run 9remoteDebugger.bat if you want to use remote debugging.

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i hope this helps someone. let me know if i forgot to include something. also, if you know a better way to do this, please comment (such as how to combine this into 1 long pausing bat file...)

Answer 2

There is a simple environment variable you can set to disable the air. prefix easily. The following code exists in the Adobe AIR packager:

String optOut = System.getenv("AIR_NOANDROIDFLAIR");
if ((optOut == null) || (optOut.indexOf("true") == -1)) {
  packageName = "air." + packageName;
}

So, simply set the AIR_NOANDROIDFLAIR environment variable to true, repackage your application, and it won't have the air. prefix. Google how to set environment variables in windows or mac for your particular OS version.

For example, I use the command-line compiler on Mac/Linux, so I run:

> export AIR_NOANDROIDFLAIR=true
> java -jar $AIR_HOME/lib/adt.jar -package -target apk-captive-runtime -storetype pkcs12 -keystore cert.p12 -storepass *** Main.apk Main-app.xml Main.swf

Warning: I don't know what implications this has. Per someone's note above, this may only be a good idea with captive runtime (but that's the default going forward from AIR 3.8).

Update: Renaun Erickson said it shouldn't cause problems.

Cross-posted here (slightly different question, same answer).

Answer 3

I actually tried brad's approach and couldn't imagine having to go through the process EVERY TIME i compiled a release. so i did something else...i modified ADT so it doesn't insert "air." at the start and replaces it with a more useful extension like "com."

Here's a summary of the approach:

use: jar xf adt.jar

to extract the adt.jar file to a directory on your desktop. you'll find it in {adobe SDK}/lib/

look for the file APKOutputStream.class

com/adobe/air/apk/APKOutputStream.class

Open it in a hex editor (eg, HxD is what i used). Search for "air." (without the quotes but including the dot).

Don't delete the entry. i tried, you can't, it corrupts the class and it won't run. What you can do, however, is replace "air." with "com." because it has the same number of characters and doesn't mess with the length of the file. The com prefix is a lot more useful to most of us.

save the modified APKOutputStream.class file and repackage with JAR. something like this:

jar cfm ..\patchedadt.jar ..\MANIFEST.MF *

you'll want to copy that MANIFEST.MF file from the subdirectory of the package called META-INF

Rename your patchedadt.jar to adt.jar and put it back in the lib directory. Works with the Flash Builder and all that garb.

Needless to say, when you're in there, you'll want to produce your package without a "com." prefix so you don't end up with com.com.your.package.name.

maybe there was an easier way, but i didn't know any better and no one else had an answer except to decompile the apk, modify it, and recompile and that didn't even work. so i figured i'll share what i did in case someone else stumbles on it later :)

jim

Answer 4

Having tried several apkRename tools, I found that they all failed for some app, such as com.android.browser on HTC device.

The reason is in apktool which does not correctly unpack apk file sometimes.

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So, i create my own tool: https://github.com/sjitech/ApkRename No need apktool, no need aapt, just java and jar utilities. This utility directly modify AndroidManifest.xml so without recompile whole resource by apktool, so it's clean.

Tested devices: 11 kinds (both android 4+, but 2.2+ should be no OK) Tested OS: Mac OS X 10.9 and CentOS 6. (Cygwin with bash 4+ should be OK, but not tested yet)