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Mobile/Extracting APK

2020-04-01T16:00:45Z

Garamonde:

Android games are usually downloaded in the form of an .APK file. Extracting the content from these files is actually quite easy.

{{TutorialInfo
| category= File Extraction
| difficulty= Beginner
| duration= 3 Minutes
| author= Garamonde
}}<br/>

==Required Files & Tools==
# The APK you want to extract
# '''WinRAR''' or '''7-ZIP'''

==Tutorial==
===Step 1: Acquiring an APK file===
When it comes to aquiring an APK file, there are multiple ways to do so, however we suggest dumping your own if possible. For this tutorial we'll be using Steven Universe: Attack the Light as an example.<br/>
[[File:APK File Example.png]]

===Step 2: Opening the APK file===
Next we will want to open the .APK using our archive software of choice (in this tutorial WinRAR is used).

[[File:APK File Extraction Example.png|400px]]

Alternatively you can choose to associate the .APK file format with WinRAR or 7-ZIP so that you may simply double-click on the file to automatically open it as an archive without having to go through the context menu again, by checking the "Always use this app to open .APK files" box.

===Step 3: Extracting the APK file===

[[File:APK Contents Example.png]]

As you can see, there are some folders along with some other odd files, such as "resources.ARSC". In most cases, only a few of these files and folders will be useful to us though. Extract the contents into a folder, and we'll break them down.

Typically "assets" and "res" are what you are looking for. You may find some subfolders within these, such as several "drawable" folders within the "res" folder. These typically contain only the application's icon/banner, but can contain other miscellaneous graphics. In most cases, "assets" is where the bulk of the content is located. Let's take a look!

[[File:APK assets folder content.png]]

A large majority of mobile games use [[Unity]] and you will be able to tell if there are any files named "mainData" and "sharedassets0.assets". You would then use [[AssetStudio]] to view, and extract these files. Do note though that not all mobile games use Unity so keep that in mind.

Mobile

2020-04-01T15:23:12Z

Garamonde: A step-by-step guide on how to view and extract the files from currently only Android games.

'''Mobile''' as a platform consists of any type of portable computing device such as a smart phone or tablet computer that can run video game software. Among these include Apple and Android devices. The very first known game created for mobile devices is ''Tetris'' in 1994, for the mobile phone '''Hagenuk MT-2000'''.

Ripping from the platform itself can vary in difficulty, ranging from all the assets being right there, ripe for the picking, or most of the files will be contained in odd archive formats, such as .DAT.

Android games come in the form of a .APK. The actual process of extracting files from them is very simple. Make sure you have WinRAR or 7-ZIP for this step.

Now, we have an .APK, as seen here. We'll be using Steven Universe: Attack the Light for this example.

[[File:APK File Example.png|thumb|An .APK file.]]

We will want to open the .APK using our archive software of choice (in this case, WinRAR).

[[File:APK File Extraction Example.png|thumb|Using the Windows context menu to open an .APK using WinRAR.]]

You can also choose to associate the .APK file format with WinRAR or 7-ZIP so that you may simply double-click on the file to automatically open it as an archive without having to go through the context menu again, by checking the "Always use this app to open .APK files" box.

Now that we've learned how to open .APK files, let's see what can be found inside!

[[File:APK Contents Example.png|thumb|Commonly found contents within a .APK file.]]

As you can see, there are some folders along with some other odd files, such as "resources.ARSC". In most cases, only a few of these files and folders will be useful to us though. Extract the contents into a folder, and we'll break down each folder.

"assets" and "res" are what you want. You may find some subfolders within these, such as several "drawable" folders within the "res" folder. These typically contain only the application's icon/banner, but can contain other miscellaneous graphics. In most cases, "assets" is where the bulk of the content is located. Let's take a look!

[[File:APK assets folder content.png|thumb|Possible contents of an .APK's "assets" folder.]]

There are more strange files here, but the ones we want in this case are "mainData" and "sharedassets0.assets". Do note however that this last step only applies to Unity games, however, so I recommend using Asset Studio to open, view, and extract these files.

File:APK assets folder content.png

2020-04-01T15:14:30Z

Garamonde:

Shows what can be found inside the "assets" folder of a .APK file.

File:APK Contents Example.png

2020-04-01T15:01:48Z

Garamonde:

Shows what can be found inside a .APK file.

File:APK File Extraction Example.png

2020-04-01T14:52:18Z

Garamonde:

Shows how to navigate the Windows menu in order to open/extract .APKs.

File:APK File Example.png

2020-04-01T14:49:29Z

Garamonde:

An .APK file.