Decompile or (Reverse Engine) an APK on macOS

Required:

jd-gui - https://java-decompiler.github.io/

apktool - https://apktool.org/

dex2jar - https://github.com/pxb1988/dex2jar

Download and Install APKTool:

Once you have the JDK installed, you can download and install APKTool using Homebrew:

brew install apktool

Verify Installation:

After installing APKTool, you can verify the installation by running the following command in Terminal:

bash

apktool --version

Usage: To decompile an APK file using APKTool, navigate to the directory containing the APK file in Terminal and run the following command:

bash

apktool d filename.apk

If this error occur:

getting error "Error: python@3.12: the bottle needs the Apple Command Line Tools to be installed."

Here's how you can install the Apple Command Line Tools and resolve the error:

1. Install Apple Command Line Tools:

You can install the Apple Command Line Tools using the following command in the Terminal:

bash

xcode-select --install

This command will prompt you to install the Command Line Tools. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

2. Retry Installing python@3.12 with Homebrew:

After successfully installing the Apple Command Line Tools, retry installing python@3.12 with Homebrew using the following command:

bash

brew install python@3.12

3. Install APKTool:

Once you've installed python@3.12, you can proceed to install APKTool using the following commands:

bash

brew install apktool

This command will install APKTool on your macOS system, allowing you to decompile and analyze APK files.

Step 2

Decompiling dex to jar with dex2jar

Change the file extension of the apk to zip.

After obtaining the jar file, you can use jd-gui to view the jar code.

Step 3: Viewing jar code with JD-GUI

JD-GUI is a popular Java decompiler that allows you to view the source code of Java .class files, including .jar files, without needing the original source code. While JD-GUI doesn't have an official macOS version, you can still run it on macOS using Wine or through a Docker container.

Here are the steps to run JD-GUI for JAR files on macOS:

1. Install Wine:

Wine is a compatibility layer that allows you to run Windows applications on macOS. You can install Wine using Homebrew with the following command:

bash

brew install --cask wine

brew install --cask twine

2. Download JD-GUI:

Download the JD-GUI .jar file from the official website: JD-GUI Download

3. Run JD-GUI with Wine:

Navigate to the directory where you downloaded the JD-GUI .jar file and run it using Wine with the following command:

wine jd-gui-x.y.z.jar

Replace jd-gui-x.y.z.jar with the actual name of the JD-GUI .jar file you downloaded.

Launch the JD-GUI with jar file "classes-dex2jar.jar"