jadx

Project Overview

JADX is a Dex to Java decompiler that provides command-line and GUI tools for producing Java source code from Android Dex and APK files.

Key Features

• Decompile Dalvik bytecode to Java code from APK, DEX, AAR, AAB, and ZIP files
• Decode AndroidManifest.xml and other resources from resources.arsc
• Built-in deobfuscator
• GUI features: syntax highlighting, jump to declaration, find usage, full-text search
• Smali debugger support

Target Audience

• Android reverse engineers and security researchers
• Developers needing to analyze APK file structures
• Technicians interested in Android app internals

Quick Start

1. Download the latest release from GitHub Releases and unzip
2. Go to the bin directory and run jadx (command-line) or jadx-gui (GUI)
3. Open an APK or DEX file in the GUI to view decompiled Java code
4. Command-line usage: jadx -d output_dir app.apk

Core Advantages

• Open-source and free, continuously updated
• Both command-line and graphical interfaces available
• Supports multiple Android file formats
• Fast decompilation with good results

System Requirements

• OS: Cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Architectures: x86_64
• Additional Dependencies: Java 11 or later (64-bit)

Notes

• In most cases, cannot decompile 100% of the code; errors may occur
• For legal and academic research purposes only