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mobile-apk-reverse

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Reverse an Android APK end-to-end — jadx/apktool unpacking, manifest and smali analysis, rebuild-sign-install patching, and Frida runtime hooks. Load when handed an .apk to understand, modify, or instrument: login/signing/risk-control logic, root or SSL-pinning checks, cert validation, embedded .so/JNI code. Signals: an APK in scope, "decompile/patch this app", smali, AndroidManifest.xml, jadx/apktool/frida/adb, System.loadLibrary, OkHttp/Retrofit.

skills/mobile/mobile-apk-reverse/SKILL.md

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Oct 14, 2026
License
MIT

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# APK reversing (unpack → patch → hook)

## When it applies
You have an APK and a device/emulator you're authorized to test (`tradecraft-scope-roe`,
`scope.txt`), and the job is mechanics: read the logic, locate a check, patch and repackage, or
hook the runtime. For the broader *what-to-test* coverage map, work `mobile-android-assessment`
alongside — this skill is the reverse-engineering toolchain it routes into.

## Why it works
An APK is a zip of DEX bytecode plus resources. DEX decompiles to near-readable Java (jadx) and
round-trips losslessly through smali (apktool), so you can read at the Java level but patch at the
smali level and rebuild. Anything the app hides from static reading — decrypted strings, runtime
checks, pinning — yields to Frida instrumentation on a rooted/emulated device.
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