Is it possible to merge/install split APK files (AKA “app bundle”), on Android device itself, without root?

Question

Background

In the past, I\'ve asked about sharing or backup of app-bundle / split apk files, here .

This seems like an almost impossible task, which I coul

Answer 1

If you have root, you can use this code.

Please get the read/write sdcard permission.(via runtime permissions or permission granted from settings app) before executing this code. airbnb apk was successfully installed after running this code.

Calling this function with args "/split-apks/" , I have placed the airbnb split apks in a directory in /sdcard/split-apks/.

installApk("/split-apks/");


 public void installApk(String apkFolderPath)
{
    PackageInstaller packageInstaller =  getPackageManager().getPackageInstaller();
    HashMap nameSizeMap = new HashMap<>();
    long totalSize = 0;

    File folder = new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory().getPath()+ apkFolderPath);
    File[] listOfFiles = folder.listFiles();
    for (int i = 0; i < listOfFiles.length; i++) {
        if (listOfFiles[i].isFile()) {
            System.out.println("File " + listOfFiles[i].getName());
            nameSizeMap.put(listOfFiles[i].getName(),listOfFiles[i].length());
            totalSize += listOfFiles[i].length();
        }
    }

    String su = "/system/xbin/su";


    final String[] pm_install_create = new String[]{su, "-c", "pm" ,"install-create", "-S", Long.toString(totalSize) };
    execute(null, pm_install_create);

    List sessions = packageInstaller.getAllSessions();

    int sessId = sessions.get(0).getSessionId();

    String sessionId = Integer.toString(sessId);


    for(Map.Entry entry : nameSizeMap.entrySet())
    {
        String[] pm_install_write = new String[]{su, "-c", "pm" ,"install-write", "-S", Long.toString(entry.getValue()),sessionId, entry.getKey(), Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory().getPath()+apkFolderPath+ entry.getKey()};

        execute(null,pm_install_write);

    }

    String[] pm_install_commit  = new String[]{su, "-c", "pm" ,"install-commit", sessionId};


    execute(null, pm_install_commit);

}
public String execute(Map environvenmentVars, String[] cmd) {

    boolean DEBUG = true;
    if (DEBUG)
        Log.d("log","command is " + Arrays.toString(cmd));

    try {
        Process process = Runtime.getRuntime().exec(cmd);
        if (DEBUG)
            Log.d("log", "process is " + process);

        BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(process.getInputStream()));
        if (DEBUG)
            Log.d("log", "bufferreader is " + reader);

        if (DEBUG)
            Log.d("log", "readline " + reader.readLine());
        StringBuffer output = new StringBuffer();

        char[] buffer = new char[4096];
        int read;

        while ((read = reader.read(buffer)) > 0) {
            output.append(buffer, 0, read);
        }

        reader.close();

        process.waitFor();
        if (DEBUG)
            Log.d("log", output.toString());

        return output.toString();

    }

    catch (Exception e)
    {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }

    return null;

}

---

EDIT: same code, but in Kotlin, as it's shorter:

sample usage:

Foo.installApk(context,fullPathToSplitApksFolder)

Example:

        AsyncTask.execute {
            Foo.installApk(this@MainActivity,"/storage/emulated/0/Download/split")
        }

Code:

object Foo {
    @WorkerThread
    @JvmStatic
    fun installApk(context: Context, apkFolderPath: String) {
        val packageInstaller = context.packageManager.packageInstaller
        val nameSizeMap = HashMap()
        var totalSize: Long = 0
        val folder = File(apkFolderPath)
        val listOfFiles = folder.listFiles().filter { it.isFile && it.name.endsWith(".apk") }
        for (file in listOfFiles) {
            Log.d("AppLog", "File " + file.name)
            nameSizeMap[file] = file.length()
            totalSize += file.length()
        }
        val su = "su"
        val pmInstallCreate = arrayOf(su, "-c", "pm", "install-create", "-S", totalSize.toString())
        execute(pmInstallCreate)
        val sessions = packageInstaller.allSessions
        val sessionId = Integer.toString(sessions[0].sessionId)
        for ((file, value) in nameSizeMap) {
            val pmInstallWrite = arrayOf(su, "-c", "pm", "install-write", "-S", value.toString(), sessionId, file.name, file.absolutePath)
            execute(pmInstallWrite)
        }
        val pmInstallCommit = arrayOf(su, "-c", "pm", "install-commit", sessionId)
        execute(pmInstallCommit)
    }

    @WorkerThread
    @JvmStatic
    private fun execute(cmd: Array): String? {
        Log.d("AppLog", "command is " + Arrays.toString(cmd))
        try {
            val process = Runtime.getRuntime().exec(cmd)
            Log.d("AppLog", "process is $process")
            val reader = BufferedReader(InputStreamReader(process.inputStream))
            Log.d("AppLog", "bufferreader is $reader")
            Log.d("AppLog", "readline " + reader.readLine())
            val output = StringBuilder()
            val buffer = CharArray(4096)
            var read: Int
            while (true) {
                read = reader.read(buffer)
                if (read <= 0)
                    break
                output.append(buffer, 0, read)
            }
            reader.close()
            process.waitFor()
            Log.d("AppLog", output.toString())
            return output.toString()
        } catch (e: Exception) {
            e.printStackTrace()
        }
        return null
    }
}