Apktool vs Medusa
Apktool
apktool.orgMedusa
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Apktool | Medusa |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Reverse Engineering Tools | 8.1 (#12) | 8.0 (#16) |
| Purpose | Apktool is a tool for reverse engineering Android APK files. | Medusa is a command-line backup and restore system for Apache Cassandra. |
| Support | The official site points users to GitHub Discussions, Stack Overflow, and IRC for community support. | The README directs user questions and general or development discussions to the #cassandra-medusa channel on ASF Slack. |
Plans
In their own words
Apktool
Apktool is a command-line tool for reverse engineering Android APK files. It can disassemble an app’s resources into a form close to their original structure, then rebuild an app after changes such as translation or permission edits. Its analysis mode attempts to extract resources and the manifest for inspection without rebuilding. Apktool runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS; its official installation guide describes wrapper-script steps for those systems and requires Java 8 or later. Decode options include choosing resource-resolution behavior, skipping resources or source disassembly, and setting a framework directory. Build options include selecting an aapt2 binary, adding a generic Network Security Configuration file, and disabling APK repacking. The Apache license permits redistribution, modification, and integration into another project. Apktool is free, with no pricing tiers stated. Its FAQ says Android devices are not officially supported, and some OEM-modified “Magic APKs” may not decode or build. Builds are unsigned; copying a signature retains only the original APK signature v1 scheme.
Medusa
Medusa is a command-line backup system for Apache Cassandra that runs on Linux in a self-hosted deployment. It supports full and differential backups, single-node backup and restore, and cluster-wide restores in place or to a remote location. Backup destinations include local storage, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob Storage, AWS S3, and compatible S3 services. It supports clusters using either single tokens or vnodes. Its verify command checks backup completion, manifest and file presence, and file hashes; MD5 checks can be enabled, while file size is checked by default. Configuration documentation covers client SSL settings and S3 server-side encryption with KMS or customer-provided keys. Retention settings can purge backups by age or count. Installation instructions cover pip and Debian packages, including offline installation, and describe installing Medusa on each Cassandra node. It requires Python 3.9 or newer and is licensed under Apache-2.0. A stated constraint is that it does not support Cassandra deployments with multiple data-folder directories.