https://github.com/ytsutano/axmldec
Stand-alone binary AndroidManifest.xml decoder
https://github.com/ytsutano/axmldec
android androidmanifest apk binary boost decoder parser property-tree xml
Last synced: 22 days ago
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Stand-alone binary AndroidManifest.xml decoder
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/ytsutano/axmldec
- Owner: ytsutano
- License: isc
- Created: 2017-04-25T03:30:34.000Z (almost 9 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2020-12-11T22:17:07.000Z (about 5 years ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-08-16T04:24:30.680Z (6 months ago)
- Topics: android, androidmanifest, apk, binary, boost, decoder, parser, property-tree, xml
- Language: C++
- Homepage:
- Size: 342 KB
- Stars: 232
- Watchers: 9
- Forks: 35
- Open Issues: 11
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE.md
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- awesome-rainmana - ytsutano/axmldec - Stand-alone binary AndroidManifest.xml decoder (C++)
README
axmldec: Android Binary XML Decoder
===================================
## 1 Overview
[`AndroidManifest.xml`][Android App Manifest] in an [APK file][APK] is binary
encoded. This tool accepts either a binary or a text XML file and prints the
decoded XML to the standard output or a file. It also allows you to extract the
decoded `AndroidManifest.xml` directly from an APK file.
Tools such as [Apktool] are designed to process the whole APK file including
the resource files for reverse engineering purpose. They may also need a Java
virtual machine to run. As a result, they are too slow for batch processing
many APK files just to get the XML information. In contrast, axmldec is
specialized for binary XML decoding and written in simple modern C++, so it
runs nicely within a shell script.
The [parser](include/jitana/util/axml_parser.hpp) is taken from [Jitana], a
graph-based static-dynamic hybrid DEX code analysis tool. You can use
`jitana::read_axml()` instead of the standard
`boost::property_tree::read_xml()` to read a binary XML file into
`boost::property_tree::ptree` ([Boost Property Tree][ptree]) in your C++
program.
## 2 Installation
### 2.1 macOS
You can install axmldec using [Homebrew]:
```sh
brew tap ytsutano/toolbox
brew install axmldec
```
Or, download the binary from [Releases].
### 2.2 Windows
Download the .exe file from [Releases].
### 2.3 Linux
Build the tool from the source code (see below).
## 3 Usage
### 3.1 Decoding `AndroidManifest.xml`
Pass the manifest file (either binary or text) to decode:
```sh
axmldec -o output.xml AndroidManifest.xml
```
This will write the decoded XML to `output.xml`. You can specify the same
filename for input and output to decode the file in-place.
### 3.2 Decoding `AndroidManifest.xml` in an APK File
If an APK file is specified, axmldec automatically extracts and decodes
`AndroidManifest.xml`:
```sh
axmldec -o output.xml com.example.app.apk
```
### 3.3 Using the Standard Output
axmldec writes to the standard output if the `-o` option is not specified. This
is useful when additional processing is required. For example, you can extract
the package name from an APK file using xmllint:
```sh
axmldec com.example.app.apk | xmllint --xpath 'string(/manifest/@package)' -
```
## 4 Building
1. Install Boost, zlib, and CMake. Make sure you have a latest C++ compiler.
2. Clone axmldec and its submodule from GitHub:
```sh
git clone --recursive https://github.com/ytsutano/axmldec.git
```
3. Compile axmldec:
```sh
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release . && make
```
## 5 Developer
- [Yutaka Tsutano] at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
## 6 License
- See [LICENSE.md](LICENSE.md) for license rights and limitations (ISC).
[Yutaka Tsutano]: http://yutaka.tsutano.com
[Releases]: https://github.com/ytsutano/axmldec/releases
[Jitana]: https://github.com/ytsutano/jitana
[ptree]: http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_64_0/doc/html/property_tree.html
[Homebrew]: https://brew.sh
[APK]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_application_package
[Android App Manifest]: https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/manifest-intro.html
[Apktool]: https://ibotpeaches.github.io/Apktool/