Apktool vs pycdc

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.

pycdc is the command-line decompiler in Decompyle++, a free C++ project that converts compiled Python bytecode into readable Python source. The pycdc command accepts a PYC file and prints source to standard output. Its companion, pycdas, disassembles a PYC file and prints bytecode. Both commands handle Python marshalled code objects, but those objects do not contain version metadata, so the Python version must be supplied. The project seeks compatibility with bytecode from any Python version and focuses on bytecode rather than native-code decompilation. Decompyle++ runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Building uses CMake to generate a project or makefile, followed by compilation; the README describes MSVC for Windows projects and makefile instructions for Unix-like systems or MSYS. CMake is the named build-system requirement, with no product integrations listed. The project is GPL version 3, credits Michael Hansen and Darryl Pogue, and has no packaged GitHub releases. Its listed plan is free.