Zucker: An Open‑Source Android APK Module Size Analysis Tool

Zucker, released as an open‑source project in March 2020, is a lightweight, non‑intrusive tool designed to dissect Android APK size composition by analyzing AAR modules and their unique dependencies.

Key Features

First tool to perform modular code‑structure analysis of APK size.

Runs in the developer's environment without modifying source code.

Script‑driven, highly flexible and extensible.

Automates size statistics, improving efficiency over manual methods.

Enables early detection of size‑related risks during requirement and integration phases.

Overall Architecture

The system consists of three main components: automated packaging statistics, dependency analysis, and target AAR simulation. It leverages Gradle’s caching, AIDL, and AAPT to compute the actual compressed size of AARs within the final APK.

Automated Packaging Statistics

The process clones the original project to avoid invasive changes, inserts a calculation script, and builds two cloned versions—one with the original AAR and one with the target AAR replaced. The size difference between the two builds yields the target AAR’s contribution.

Dependency Analysis

By executing ./gradlew dependencies , Zucker extracts the project's dependency tree, distinguishes between unique and public dependencies, and transforms the tree into a list structure that records parent‑child relationships for each AAR.

Unique Dependency Extraction

Collect all child dependencies of the target AAR.

Apply a depth‑first search to retain only those whose parents appear exclusively within the collected list.

The remaining nodes represent the target AAR’s unique dependencies.

Target AAR Simulation

The selected AAR is backed up, renamed to .zip , and extracted. All non‑resource files are zeroed out, then the archive is recompressed to simulate a minimal AAR, which is injected into the APK for size calculation. After packaging, the simulated AAR is removed and the original restored.

Future Plans

Display AAR size lists with graphical charts.

Link size data to specific feature requirements and generate correlation documentation.

Contribution & Feedback

Developers are encouraged to submit pull requests or issues via the GitHub repository https://github.com/wuba/Zucker and join the community for further discussion.