Android developers can use many tools with their own commands. This is a brief introduction to some commands used in AAPT.

What is AAPT?

AAPT stands for Android Asset Packaging Tool. it is a great tool for viewing, creating and updating APKs (and zip and jar files also).

Where is It?

On Windows, check the Android/tools folder. For my Windows 10, it is in the following location:

C: \ Program Files (x96) \ Android \ android-SDK \ build-tools \ 23.0.2

Once you find it, add it to the path environment variable.

Getting Your VersionCode, etc.

Suppose you have an APK and you need to validate the app ID, version code, version number, SDK information, permissions, and so on. This can be done easily by executing the following command:

aapt dump badging my.apk

This is very useful when delivering APKs to clients. If the client asks VersionCode or other information, you can easily verify the app and also explain how the client can verify it

When you run this tool, the output is as follows:

Check Your Permissions!

It can also be utilized to verify what permissions are set in the application. An app that we made for a client was mistakenly failed by a third-party security audit company. The third-party team told our customers that the app had an excessive number of permissions. Fortunately, we can use AAPT to do the application for which the exact permissions were set and to prove to our clients that the third-party firm was mistaken.

Related article : Sharing what's new in Android Q

Shared by Android training in Chandigarh