Tech riderRev. 5 Oct 2026

ProGuard

Ch 146.2of 33 Code Obfuscation Software

1Runs onAndroid, Linux, Mac, Windows
2CostsFree plan
3Supported targetsJava, Kotlin, Android
4Anti-tamper controlsNo
5Deployment modeldesktop
6Build integrationcli

6 lines stated Written from the maker's own pages: guardsquare.com

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Overview

ProGuard is ranked #14 of 33 in code obfuscation software on Specifiction. It runs on Android, Linux, macOS, Windows. There is a free plan.

ProGuard plans and pricing

All plans

ProGuard Free Free, open-source shrinker for Java/Kotlin apps guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026

Compared on code obfuscation software

Free plan: Yesguardsquare.com
Supported targets: Java, Kotlin, Androidguardsquare.com
Anti-tamper controls: Noguardsquare.com
Deployment model: desktopguardsquare.com
Build integration: cliguardsquare.com

Facts

Purpose: ProGuard is an open-source command-line tool for shrinking Java bytecode and optimizing code.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
Processing: It shrinks, optimizes, obfuscates, and preverifies Java class files, producing smaller and faster applications and libraries.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
Shrinking: The shrinking step detects and removes unused classes, fields, methods, and attributes.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
Optimization: The optimizer optimizes bytecode and removes unused instructions.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
Obfuscation: ProGuard renames remaining classes, fields, and methods using short meaningless names.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
Supported apps: Guardsquare describes ProGuard as suitable for Java and Kotlin apps on mobile, embedded, and desktop environments.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
Build integrations: The manual documents setup for Android Gradle, Java or Kotlin Gradle, Ant, and Maven projects.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
R8 compatibility: The manual states that Android's default shrinker, R8, is compatible with ProGuard configuration.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
Playground: ProGuard Playground lets developers experiment with and share keep rules without rebuilding the app.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
ProGuardCORE: ProGuardCORE is a free, open-source library for reading, writing, analyzing, and processing Java bytecode, including Kotlin metadata.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
Configuration limit: Code invoked dynamically through reflection may need to be specified as entry points in ProGuard configuration.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
Library inputs: ProGuard requires the input's library jars or equivalent library paths to be specified, and leaves those libraries unchanged.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
License: The manual provides license information for GPL and a GPL exception.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026
Maker: Guardsquare says Eric Lafortune released ProGuard in 2002 and the company was founded in 2014.guardsquare.com · 5 Oct 2026