Create key store and sign APK manually

In this article, we will learn how to create a release key store for Android app and then sign it.

Requirements:

• JDK 8
• Android SDK
• OpenSSL for Windows Library

1. Create private keystore

Make sure keytool command is global available (You can find in C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jdk1.8.0_181\bin).

keytool -genkeypair -v -keystore <RELEASE_KEY_PATH> -alias <RELEASE_KEY_ALIAS> -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000  

Example:

2. Apply zipalign

The zipalign file alignment tool makes it possible to greatly optimize Android application (APK) files.
I have Android Studio installed, so my Android SDK location is C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk.
You have to use the latest Android SDK installed path. In my case is C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk\build-tools\27.0.3.
The APK_UNSIGNED_PATH is a Release APK.

zipalign -f -v 4 <APK_UNSIGNED_PATH> <APK_PATH>

3. Sign APK

In the same path from step 2.

apksigner sign --ks <RELEASE_KEY_PATH> --ks-key-alias <RELEASE_KEY_ALIAS> <APK_SIGNED_PATH>

Verify signature in APK:

apksigner verify <APK_SIGNED_PATH>

If everything is correct you won't see errors in the console.

Thanks for reading

Thank you very much for reading, I hope you found this article interesting and may be useful in the future. If you have any questions or ideas that you need to discuss, it will be a pleasure to be able to collaborate and exchange knowledge together.

Comments

[Lily Rose]

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[Amelia James]

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[rozy ily]

Awesome guide on manually signing APKs! This method is crucial for maintaining the security and integrity of Android apps. If you're looking for a secure cloud solution to store your app builds or APK files, Terabox Mod APK offers extra storage space. Check it out here: teraboxapkspro.com/.

[The Sports World]

To manually sign an APK, first create a keystore using the following command:
keytool -genkey -v -keystore my-release-key.keystore -alias my-key-alias -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000
This will prompt you for passwords and generate the keystore file. Next, sign your APK using jarsigner:
jarsigner -verbose -sigalg SHA1withRSA -digestalg SHA1 -keystore my-release-key.keystore your-app-unsigned.apk my-key-alias
After signing, you can verify the signature with:
jarsigner -verify -verbose -certs your-app-unsigned.apk
Finally, optimize the APK using zipalign (from Android SDK Build Tools):
zipalign -v 4 your-app-unsigned.apk your-app-signed.apk
Now your APK is signed and ready for release. For helpful tools and digital resources, visit: Honista iPhone.