List before selecting
Analyze a copy of an APK you own or have permission to inspect:
apkanalyzer files list app.apk
Look through res/drawable*, res/mipmap* and assets/. Preserve the archive paths in your notes. Identical basenames in different density or configuration directories may intentionally represent different resources. File inspection.
Match the image to its context
| Entry type | What you may need |
|---|---|
| PNG, JPEG or WebP | Original dimensions and density qualifier |
| Vector drawable XML | A renderer or source-aware import, not a PNG rename |
| Adaptive icon XML | Foreground, background and possibly monochrome layers |
| Nine-patch image | Preserve stretch-region metadata |
| Framework asset bundle | Framework-specific inspection rather than generic image scanning |
A launcher icon is especially easy to misidentify. Android can select different resources by platform and launcher behavior. A single low-resolution icon extracted from a legacy directory is not necessarily what current devices display.
Extract only the intended entries
Use a trusted archive utility in a dedicated temporary directory, or export selected files from Android Studio's APK Analyzer. Do not let an untrusted archive write over an existing project. Inspect the destination paths and avoid executing scripts or binaries that happen to be packaged beside assets.
For batch extraction, set limits on entry count and total uncompressed size. A small compressed archive can expand into a much larger workspace. This is an operational precaution, not a claim that ordinary APK images are dangerous.
Verify that the output is usable
Open the extracted file in a format-aware viewer and check its dimensions, transparency and color appearance. For a vector or layered icon, compare a rendered result with the app on the intended device configuration. Do not flatten a nine-patch or adaptive icon and then assume it can be reinserted without consequences.
Android Studio's APK Analyzer helps preserve the relationship between resources rather than treating them as an unrelated image folder.
Keep reuse separate from inspection
Possessing an APK does not grant rights to reuse its artwork. For your own lost assets, record the source build and recover the highest-quality available variant. Extracted compressed files may not replace original design files with editable layers.
APKLint's decompiler can help locate packaged assets, but it is not a promise to restore every rendered screen, remote image or original art file. Images downloaded at runtime are not necessarily present in the APK at all.
Recover a launcher icon with its layers intact
Consider an owned app whose launcher icon needs to be compared with a release design. Start from the manifest's icon reference and follow the relevant resource configuration. If that reference resolves to an adaptive icon, retain its foreground and background definitions together. A background color by itself is not a missing image, and exporting only the foreground can look incorrectly padded when opened as a standalone bitmap.
Render or inspect the icon in the supported launcher context and compare its visible safe area, edges and monochrome behavior where applicable. Keep any exported preview labelled as a preview. It does not replace the layered Android resource or the original design file. The Android adaptive-icon documentation explains why the resource can contain coordinated layers rather than one universal PNG.
Compare image variants without flattening paths
Suppose two extracted files share the basename header.webp but came from different density directories. Preserve both paths and record their dimensions. A larger pixel count may be the intended high-density variant, not a duplicate that can safely be discarded. To recover artwork for an owned project, choose the variant appropriate to the intended use and document that it came from a compiled distribution artifact.
Check transparency against both light and dark backgrounds. A previewer that displays transparent pixels as black can make a correct image appear damaged. For a nine-patch, preserve its Android-specific information and test stretching in an appropriate Android context; cropping away a border or converting it casually can change how the resource behaves.
If the image visible in the app cannot be found, determine whether it is downloaded, generated, encrypted as application data or stored inside a framework-specific bundle. Do not claim that a generic extractor failed simply because the screen's final pixels are absent as a standalone file. The extraction report should state which packaged image formats and containers were actually inspected.
Sources and further reading
- Android Developers: apkanalyzer command-line reference
- Android Developers: Analyze your build with APK Analyzer
Reference review: 29 September 2026. Examples illustrate the workflow; check your installed versions, release artifact and account-specific Console requirements before applying them. This guide is not a claim that APKLint executed your project or verified your private account.
Android inspection tools and practical release guides. About APKLint · Report a correction
