Static Analysis of Android APK Files Using Python and Androguard

In Android development, testers often need to examine an APK without using reverse‑engineering tools; this guide shows how to statically analyze an APK using Python and the androguard library.

Environment preparation : install Python, the androguard package, and use a non‑obfuscated test APK.

Unpacking the APK :

def unzip_file(zip_src, dst_dir):
    print(dst_dir)
    r = zipfile.is_zipfile(zip_src)
    if r:
        fz = zipfile.ZipFile(zip_src, 'r')
        for file in fz.namelist():
            fz.extract(file, dst_dir)
            searchDirFile(dst_dir)
    else:
        print('This is not zip')

After extraction you will see directories such as META-INF , res , resources.arsc , classes.dex , and AndroidManifest.xml , each serving specific purposes.

Extracting basic information with Androguard:

from androguard.misc import AnalyzeAPK
apk, dex, dx = AnalyzeAPK(filePath)

The apk object provides methods like apk.get_permissions() , apk.get_activities() , apk.get_services() , apk.get_receivers() , apk.get_providers() , apk.get_package() , and apk.get_app_name() to retrieve manifest data.

Analyzing classes and methods : the dex object represents each .dex file (multiple dex files may exist due to the 65 535‑method limit). You can list all classes, methods, fields, and strings.

Generating a method call graph using the dx analysis object:

classAnalysis = dx.classes['Lcom/example/songzekun/myapplication/MainActivity;']
for meth in classAnalysis.get_methods():
    for _, call, _ in meth.get_xref_from():
        print("from -> {} -- {}".format(call.class_name, call.name))
    for _, call, _ in meth.get_xref_to():
        print("to -> {} -- {}".format(call.class_name, call.name))

Additional filtering can be applied to remove framework APIs and focus on application‑specific calls, as demonstrated by the screenClass helper function that isolates classes belonging to the target package.

Conclusion : By combining APK unpacking, Androguard metadata extraction, and dx‑based call‑graph construction, testers can perform comprehensive static scans, identify unused code, recommend precise test cases, and even assess security risks such as malicious permissions or hidden functionality.