dexdump
Dump information from a DEX or ODEX file
TLDR
Extract classes and methods from an APK file
Display header information of DEX files contained in an APK file
Display the dis-assembled output of executable sections
Output results to a file
SYNOPSIS
dexdump [-cCFhlnstvx] [-d DIR] [-f STR] [-p METHOD] DEXFILE [DEXFILE ...]
PARAMETERS
-c
Dump code sections: instructions, registers, and debug info
-C
Deobfuscate using map.txt file
-d DIR
Dump class files to specified directory
-f STR
Filter output by string match
-F FORMAT
Set output format (e.g., xml, plain)
-h
Display this help message
-l
Brief listing of DEX contents
-n
Numeric (non-symbolic) code view
-p METHOD
Dump only the specified method
-s
Dump string table
-t
Dump type table
-v
Verbose output
-x
XML output format
DESCRIPTION
Dexdump is a command-line utility from the Android SDK build-tools package, designed to parse and display detailed information from Dalvik Executable (.dex) files used in Android applications.
It extracts headers, class definitions, methods, fields, string pools, type lists, and bytecode instructions, making it invaluable for reverse engineering APKs (after extracting classes.dex), debugging Dalvik bytecode, or analyzing app behavior.
Output can be filtered, dumped to files, or formatted in XML. Unlike higher-level tools like APKTool, dexdump provides low-level DEX structure dumps, similar to objdump for native binaries. It's essential for developers and security researchers working with Android internals.
Typically invoked on extracted DEX files from APKs via unzip or aapt. Supports multi-DEX files and verbose disassembly with debug info.
CAVEATS
Android-specific; requires SDK build-tools installation (e.g., apt install android-sdk-platform-tools-common). No man page; use -h. Fails on malformed DEX. Not for live APKs—extract DEX first.
INSTALLATION
On Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install android-sdk-platform-tools-common. Or download Android SDK build-tools and add to PATH.
Verify: dexdump -h
EXAMPLE USAGE
dexdump classes.dex -c (disassemble code).
dexdump -d ./out/ app.dex (dump classes to dir).
HISTORY
Developed by Google as part of Android's dx toolchain since Android 1.0 (2008). Evolved with Dalvik/ART; now in build-tools/bin. Replaced by baksmali for some uses in modern Android.
