Provided by: apksigner_31.0.2-2_all 
NAME
apksigner - sign and verify Android APKs
SYNOPSIS
A command line tool for signing Android APK files and for checking whether signatures of
APK files will verify on Android devices:
apksigner [options] apk
apksigner --version
apksigner --help
apk is an existing file to sign or verify.
DESCRIPTION
apksig is a project which aims to simplify APK signing and checking whether APK's
signatures should verify on Android. apksig supports JAR signing (used by Android since
day one) and APK Signature Scheme v2 (supported since Android Nougat, API Level 24).
The key feature of apksig is that it knows about differences in APK signature verification
logic between different versions of the Android platform. apksig can thus check whether a
signed APK is expected to verify on all Android platform versions supported by the APK.
When signing an APK, apksig will choose the most appropriate cryptographic algorithms
based on the Android platform versions supported by the APK being signed.
COMMANDS
sign
:This signs the provided APK, stripping out any pre-existing signatures. Signing is
performed using one or more signers, each represented by an asymmetric key pair and a
corresponding certificate. Typically, an APK is signed by just one signer. For each
signer, you need to provide the signer's private key and certificate.
verify :This checks whether the provided APK will verify on Android. By default, this
checks whether the APK will verify on all Android platform versions supported by the APK
(as declared using minSdkVersion in AndroidManifest.xml). Use --min-sdk-version and/or
--max-sdk-version to verify the APK against a custom range of API Levels.
lineage :This modifies the capabilities of one or more signers in the provided
SigningCertificateLineage. This can be used to revoke capabilities of a previous signing
certificate once the install base has been migrated to the new signing certificate.
rotate :This takes the provided keys and creates a SigningCertificateLineage entry linking
the old to the new, for use in a key rotation scenario using APK Signature Scheme v3.
version :Show this tool's version number and exit
help :Show this usage page and exit
OPTIONS
-v, --verbose: Verbose output mode
-h, --help: Show help about this command and exit
-Werr: Treat warnings as errors
sign
Sign the provided APK
--out :File into which to output the signed APK. By default, the APK is signed in-place,
overwriting the input file.
--min-sdk-version :Lowest API Level on which this APK's signatures will be verified. By
default, the value from AndroidManifest.xml is used. The higher the value, the stronger
security parameters are used when signing.
--max-sdk-version :Highest API Level on which this APK's signatures will be verified. By
default, the highest possible value is used.
--v1-signing-enabled :Whether to enable signing using JAR signing scheme (aka v1 signing
scheme, the one used in Android since day one). By default, signing using this scheme is
enabled based on min and max SDK version (see --min-sdk-version and --max-sdk-version).
--v2-signing-enabled :Whether to enable signing using APK Signature Scheme v2 (aka v2
signing scheme, the one introduced in Android Nougat, API Level 24). By default, signing
using this scheme is enabled based on min and max SDK version (see --min-sdk-version and
--max-sdk-version).
per-signer options
These options specify the configuration of a particular signer. To delimit options of
different signers, use --next-signer.
--next-signer :Delimits options of two different signers. There is no need to use this
option when only one signer is used.
--v1-signer-name :Basename for files comprising the JAR signature scheme (aka v1 scheme)
signature of this signer. By default, KeyStore key alias or basename of key file is used.
per-signer signing key & certificate options
There are two ways to provide the signer's private key and certificate: (1) Java KeyStore
(see --ks), or (2) private key file in PKCS #8 format and certificate file in X.509 format
(see --key and --cert).
--ks :Load private key and certificate chain from the Java KeyStore initialized from the
specified file. NONE means no file is needed by KeyStore, which is the case for some PKCS
#11 KeyStores.
--ks-key-alias :Alias under which the private key and certificate are stored in the
KeyStore. This must be specified if the KeyStore contains multiple keys.
--ks-pass :KeyStore password (see --ks). The following formats are supported:
• pass: password provided inline
• env: password provided in the named environment variable
• file: password provided in the named file, as a single line
• stdin password provided on standard input, as a single line
A password is required to open a KeyStore. By default, the tool will prompt for password
via console or standard input. When the same file (including standard input) is used for
providing multiple passwords, the passwords are read from the file one line at a time.
Passwords are read in the order in which signers are specified and, within each signer,
KeyStore password is read before the key password is read.
--key-pass :Password with which the private key is protected. By default it is assumed
that KeyStore keys are protected using the same password as their KeyStore (see --ks-
pass). The following formats are supported:
• pass: password provided inline
• env: password provided in the named environment variable
• file: password provided in the named file, as a single line stdin password provided on
standard input, as a single line
By default, if the key is password-protected, the tool will prompt for password via
console or standard input. When the same file (including standard input) is used for
providing multiple passwords, the passwords are read from the file one line at a time.
Passwords are read in the order in which signers are specified and, within each signer,
KeyStore password is read before the key password is read.
--pass-encoding
Additional character encoding (e.g., ibm437 or utf-8) to try for passwords containing non-
ASCII characters. KeyStores created by keytool are often encrypted not using the Unicode
form of the password but rather using the form produced by encoding the password using the
console's character encoding. apksigner by default tries to decrypt using several forms
of the password: the Unicode form, the form encoded using the JVM default charset, and, on
Java 8 and older, the form encoded using the console's charset. On Java 9, apksigner
cannot detect the console's charset and may need to be provided with --pass-encoding when
a non-ASCII password is used. --pass-encoding may also need to be provided for a KeyStore
created by keytool on a different OS or in a different locale.
--ks-type :Type/algorithm of KeyStore to use. By default, the default type is used.
--ks-provider-name :Name of the JCA Provider from which to request the KeyStore
implementation. By default, the highest priority provider is used. See --ks-provider-
class for the alternative way to specify a provider.
--ks-provider-class :Fully-qualified class name of the JCA Provider from which to request
the KeyStore implementation. By default, the provider is chosen based on --ks-provider-
name.
--ks-provider-arg :Value to pass into the constructor of the JCA Provider class specified
by --ks-provider-class. The value is passed into the constructor as java.lang.String. By
default, the no-arg provider's constructor is used.
--key :Load private key from the specified file. If the key is password-protected, the
password will be prompted via standard input unless specified otherwise using --key-pass.
The file must be in PKCS #8 DER format.
--cert :Load certificate chain from the specified file. The file must be in X.509 PEM or
DER format.
verify
Check whether the provided APK is expected to verify on Android
--print-certs
Show information about the APK's signing certificates
--min-sdk-version :Lowest API Level on which this APK's signatures will be verified. By
default, the value from AndroidManifest.xml is used.
--max-sdk-version Highest API Level on which this APK's signatures will be verified. By
default, the highest possible value is used.
EXAMPLES
apksigner sign --ks release.jks app.apk apksigner verify --verbose app.apk apksigner
lineage --in /path/to/existing/lineage --print-certs -v apksigner rotate --out
/path/to/new/file --old-signer --ks release.jks --new-signer --ks release2.jks
sign
1. Sign an APK using the one and only key in keystore release.jks: $ apksigner sign --ks
release.jks app.apk
2. Sign an APK using a private key and certificate stored as individual files: $ apksigner
sign --key release.pk8 --cert release.x509.pem app.apk
3. Sign an APK using two keys: $ apksigner sign --ks release.jks --next-signer --ks
magic.jks app.apk
verify
1. Check whether the APK's signatures are expected to verify on all Android platforms
declared as supported by this APK: $ apksigner verify app.apk
2. Check whether the APK's signatures are expected to verify on Android platforms with API
Level 15 and higher: $ apksigner verify --min-sdk-version 15 app.apk
lineage
1. Remove all capabilities from a previous signer in the linage: $ apksigner lineage --in
/path/to/existing/lineage --out /path/to/new/file
--signer --ks release.jks --set-installed-data false
--set-shared-uid false --set-permission false --set-rollback false
--set-auth false
2. Display details about the signing certificates and their capabilities in the lineage: $
apksigner lineage --in /path/to/existing/lineage --print-certs -v
rotate
1. Create a new SigningCertificateLineage to enable rotation: $ apksigner rotate --out
/path/to/new/file --old-signer --ks release.jks
--new-signer --ks release2.jks
2. Extend an existing SigningCertificateLineage to rotate again after previous rotation: $
apksigner rotate --in /path/to/existing/lineage --out /path/to/new/file
--old-signer --ks release2.jks --new-signer --ks release3.jks
3. Create a new SigningCertificateLineage with explicit capabilities for the previous
signer: $ apksigner rotate --out /path/to/new/file --old-signer --ks release.jks
--set-installed-data true --set-shared-uid true --set-permission true --set-rollback false
--set-auth true --new-signer --ks release2.jks
SEE ALSO
signapk(1) jar(1) zip(1) zipalign(1)
https://source.android.com/devices/tech/ota/sign_builds.html
AUTHORS
The Android Open Source Project.
2 December 2016 APKSIGNER(1)