baksmali

Android DEX file disassembler

TLDR

Disassemble a DEX file

$ baksmali disassemble [classes.dex]

Disassemble to a specific directory

$ baksmali disassemble -o [output/] [classes.dex]

Specify API level for disassembly

$ baksmali disassemble -a [28] [classes.dex]

List available subcommands

$ baksmali --help

List DEX classes without disassembling

$ baksmali list classes [classes.dex]

SYNOPSIS

baksmali command [options] dex-file

baksmali is a disassembler for Android DEX (Dalvik Executable) files. It converts DEX bytecode into smali assembly language, enabling analysis, modification, and reverse engineering of Android applications.The tool is the counterpart to smali, together forming a complete assembler/disassembler suite for Android. Since version 2.0, baksmali uses a subcommand-based interface.

PARAMETERS

disassemble (or d)

Disassemble a DEX file into smali files.

list type

List items (classes, methods, fields, etc.) from a DEX file.

deodex (or x)

Deodex an odex/oat file.

-o, --output dir

Output directory (default: out/).

-a, --api-level level

API level for disassembly.

-j, --jobs num

Number of threads for parallel processing.

-b, --bootclasspath classpath

Colon-separated bootclasspath jars for analysis.

-d, --bootclasspath-dir dir

Directory containing framework files.

--no-debug-info

Don't write debug information (.local, .param, .line directives).

--use-locals

Use .locals directive instead of .registers.

--classes LIST

Comma-separated list of classes to disassemble.

FEATURES

- DEX to smali conversion- Multi-DEX support- API level awareness- Parallel processing- Debug info preservation- Local variable names

WORKFLOW

$ # Disassemble DEX
baksmali disassemble classes.dex

# Reassemble with smali
smali assemble out/ -o new-classes.dex

CAVEATS

Requires Java runtime. Obfuscated code produces hard-to-read output. API level affects instruction interpretation. For research and educational purposes only. Respect software licenses and terms of service.

HISTORY

baksmali (Icelandic for "disassembler") was created by Ben Gruver (JesusFreke) around 2010 as part of the smali project for Android reverse engineering.