Provided by: apksigner_31.0.2-1ubuntu1_all 
NAME
apksigner - sign and verify Android APKs
SYNOPSIS
A command line tool for signing Android APK files and for checking whether signatures of APK files will
verify on Android devices:
apksigner [options] apk
apksigner --version
apksigner --help
apk is an existing file to sign or verify.
DESCRIPTION
apksig is a project which aims to simplify APK signing and checking whether APK's signatures should veri‐
fy on Android. apksig supports JAR signing (used by Android since day one) and APK Signature Scheme v2
(supported since Android Nougat, API Level 24).
The key feature of apksig is that it knows about differences in APK signature verification logic between
different versions of the Android platform. apksig can thus check whether a signed APK is expected to
verify on all Android platform versions supported by the APK. When signing an APK, apksig will choose
the most appropriate cryptographic algorithms based on the Android platform versions supported by the APK
being signed.
COMMANDS
sign
:This signs the provided APK, stripping out any pre-existing signatures. Signing is performed using one
or more signers, each represented by an asymmetric key pair and a corresponding certificate. Typically,
an APK is signed by just one signer. For each signer, you need to provide the signer's private key and
certificate.
verify :This checks whether the provided APK will verify on Android. By default, this checks whether the
APK will verify on all Android platform versions supported by the APK (as declared using minSdkVersion in
AndroidManifest.xml). Use --min-sdk-version and/or --max-sdk-version to verify the APK against a custom
range of API Levels.
lineage :This modifies the capabilities of one or more signers in the provided SigningCertificateLineage.
This can be used to revoke capabilities of a previous signing certificate once the install base has been
migrated to the new signing certificate.
rotate :This takes the provided keys and creates a SigningCertificateLineage entry linking the old to the
new, for use in a key rotation scenario using APK Signature Scheme v3.
version :Show this tool's version number and exit
help :Show this usage page and exit
OPTIONS
-v, --verbose: Verbose output mode
-h, --help: Show help about this command and exit
-Werr: Treat warnings as errors
sign
Sign the provided APK
--out :File into which to output the signed APK. By default, the APK is signed in-place, overwriting the
input file.
--min-sdk-version :Lowest API Level on which this APK's signatures will be verified. By default, the
value from AndroidManifest.xml is used. The higher the value, the stronger security parameters are used
when signing.
--max-sdk-version :Highest API Level on which this APK's signatures will be verified. By default, the
highest possible value is used.
--v1-signing-enabled :Whether to enable signing using JAR signing scheme (aka v1 signing scheme, the one
used in Android since day one). By default, signing using this scheme is enabled based on min and max
SDK version (see --min-sdk-version and --max-sdk-version).
--v2-signing-enabled :Whether to enable signing using APK Signature Scheme v2 (aka v2 signing scheme, the
one introduced in Android Nougat, API Level 24). By default, signing using this scheme is enabled based
on min and max SDK version (see --min-sdk-version and --max-sdk-version).
per-signer options
These options specify the configuration of a particular signer. To delimit options of different signers,
use --next-signer.
--next-signer :Delimits options of two different signers. There is no need to use this option when only
one signer is used.
--v1-signer-name :Basename for files comprising the JAR signature scheme (aka v1 scheme) signature of
this signer. By default, KeyStore key alias or basename of key file is used.
per-signer signing key & certificate options
There are two ways to provide the signer's private key and certificate: (1) Java KeyStore (see --ks), or
(2) private key file in PKCS #8 format and certificate file in X.509 format (see --key and --cert).
--ks :Load private key and certificate chain from the Java KeyStore initialized from the specified file.
NONE means no file is needed by KeyStore, which is the case for some PKCS #11 KeyStores.
--ks-key-alias :Alias under which the private key and certificate are stored in the KeyStore. This must
be specified if the KeyStore contains multiple keys.
--ks-pass :KeyStore password (see --ks). The following formats are supported:
• pass: password provided inline
• env: password provided in the named environment variable
• file: password provided in the named file, as a single line
• stdin password provided on standard input, as a single line
A password is required to open a KeyStore. By default, the tool will prompt for password via console or
standard input. When the same file (including standard input) is used for providing multiple passwords,
the passwords are read from the file one line at a time. Passwords are read in the order in which sign‐
ers are specified and, within each signer, KeyStore password is read before the key password is read.
--key-pass :Password with which the private key is protected. By default it is assumed that KeyStore
keys are protected using the same password as their KeyStore (see --ks-pass). The following formats are
supported:
• pass: password provided inline
• env: password provided in the named environment variable
• file: password provided in the named file, as a single line stdin password provided on standard input,
as a single line
By default, if the key is password-protected, the tool will prompt for password via console or standard
input. When the same file (including standard input) is used for providing multiple passwords, the pass‐
words are read from the file one line at a time. Passwords are read in the order in which signers are
specified and, within each signer, KeyStore password is read before the key password is read.
--pass-encoding
Additional character encoding (e.g., ibm437 or utf-8) to try for passwords containing non-ASCII charac‐
ters. KeyStores created by keytool are often encrypted not using the Unicode form of the password but
rather using the form produced by encoding the password using the console's character encoding. apksign‐
er by default tries to decrypt using several forms of the password: the Unicode form, the form encoded
using the JVM default charset, and, on Java 8 and older, the form encoded using the console's charset.
On Java 9, apksigner cannot detect the console's charset and may need to be provided with --pass-encoding
when a non-ASCII password is used. --pass-encoding may also need to be provided for a KeyStore created
by keytool on a different OS or in a different locale.
--ks-type :Type/algorithm of KeyStore to use. By default, the default type is used.
--ks-provider-name :Name of the JCA Provider from which to request the KeyStore implementation. By de‐
fault, the highest priority provider is used. See --ks-provider-class for the alternative way to specify
a provider.
--ks-provider-class :Fully-qualified class name of the JCA Provider from which to request the KeyStore
implementation. By default, the provider is chosen based on --ks-provider-name.
--ks-provider-arg :Value to pass into the constructor of the JCA Provider class specified by --ks-
provider-class. The value is passed into the constructor as java.lang.String. By default, the no-arg
provider's constructor is used.
--key :Load private key from the specified file. If the key is password-protected, the password will be
prompted via standard input unless specified otherwise using --key-pass. The file must be in PKCS #8 DER
format.
--cert :Load certificate chain from the specified file. The file must be in X.509 PEM or DER format.
verify
Check whether the provided APK is expected to verify on Android
--print-certs
Show information about the APK's signing certificates
--min-sdk-version :Lowest API Level on which this APK's signatures will be verified. By default, the
value from AndroidManifest.xml is used.
--max-sdk-version Highest API Level on which this APK's signatures will be verified. By default, the
highest possible value is used.
EXAMPLES
apksigner sign --ks release.jks app.apk apksigner verify --verbose app.apk apksigner lineage --in
/path/to/existing/lineage --print-certs -v apksigner rotate --out /path/to/new/file --old-signer --ks re‐
lease.jks --new-signer --ks release2.jks
sign
1. Sign an APK using the one and only key in keystore release.jks: $ apksigner sign --ks release.jks
app.apk
2. Sign an APK using a private key and certificate stored as individual files: $ apksigner sign --key re‐
lease.pk8 --cert release.x509.pem app.apk
3. Sign an APK using two keys: $ apksigner sign --ks release.jks --next-signer --ks magic.jks app.apk
verify
1. Check whether the APK's signatures are expected to verify on all Android platforms declared as sup‐
ported by this APK: $ apksigner verify app.apk
2. Check whether the APK's signatures are expected to verify on Android platforms with API Level 15 and
higher: $ apksigner verify --min-sdk-version 15 app.apk
lineage
1. Remove all capabilities from a previous signer in the linage: $ apksigner lineage --in /path/to/exist‐
ing/lineage --out /path/to/new/file
--signer --ks release.jks --set-installed-data false
--set-shared-uid false --set-permission false --set-rollback false
--set-auth false
2. Display details about the signing certificates and their capabilities in the lineage: $ apksigner lin‐
eage --in /path/to/existing/lineage --print-certs -v
rotate
1. Create a new SigningCertificateLineage to enable rotation: $ apksigner rotate --out /path/to/new/file
--old-signer --ks release.jks
--new-signer --ks release2.jks
2. Extend an existing SigningCertificateLineage to rotate again after previous rotation: $ apksigner ro‐
tate --in /path/to/existing/lineage --out /path/to/new/file
--old-signer --ks release2.jks --new-signer --ks release3.jks
3. Create a new SigningCertificateLineage with explicit capabilities for the previous signer: $ apksigner
rotate --out /path/to/new/file --old-signer --ks release.jks
--set-installed-data true --set-shared-uid true --set-permission true --set-rollback false
--set-auth true --new-signer --ks release2.jks
SEE ALSO
signapk(1) jar(1) zip(1) zipalign(1)
https://source.android.com/devices/tech/ota/sign_builds.html
AUTHORS
The Android Open Source Project.
2 December 2016 APKSIGNER(1)