📦 generate-apk

A powerful and user-friendly Node.js CLI tool to convert Android App Bundles (AAB) to APKs using Google's BundleTool, with interactive prompts and automatic keystore management.

✨ Features

• 🚀 Two modes: Interactive and automated build mode
• 📥 Automatic BundleTool download - no manual setup required
• 🔐 Automatic keystore creation - generates signed APKs ready for distribution
• 🎯 Smart AAB detection - finds .aab files automatically
• 📋 Interactive prompts with sensible defaults
• 🛡️ Universal APK generation compatible with all devices
• 🎨 Beautiful CLI interface with emojis and clear feedback
• ⚡ Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• 📁 Organized output - uses dedicated build folder on desktop
• 🔧 CI/CD friendly - scriptable build mode

📦 Installation

Global Installation (Recommended)

npm install -g generate-apk

Local Installation

npm install generate-apk
npx generate-apk

🚀 Quick Start

Interactive Mode

Navigate to a directory containing your .aab file and run:

generate-apk

What it does:

1. 📥 Downloads BundleTool automatically (if not present)
2. 🔍 Detects .aab files in your directory
3. 🔐 Prompts for keystore details or creates one automatically
4. ⚙️ Generates signed APK with your specified name

Build Mode (Automated)

For automated workflows and CI/CD:

generate-apk build <file.aab> --name=<output.apk>

What it does:

1. 📁 Uses/creates build folder on desktop
2. 🔑 Creates keystore automatically (no prompts)
3. ⚙️ Generates signed APK with default settings
4. 📱 Ready for distribution

🛠️ Usage Examples

Interactive Mode Examples

# Basic usage - finds .aab files automatically
generate-apk

# Direct file specification
generate-apk app-release.aab

Interactive workflow:

$ generate-apk
✅ Found bundletool-all-1.18.1.jar
⚙️  Only one .aab found, using app-release.aab

🔐 Signing setup (press Enter for defaults or "skip" for unsigned)
Keystore path [chatreal-release.keystore] or "skip":
📋 Keystore not found. Create new keystore? (Y/n): y
🔑 Creating keystore...
✅ Keystore created: chatreal-release.keystore

🔧 Building signed APKS from app-release.aab…
📦 Extracting universal.apk…
Enter final APK name [app-release-signed.apk]: MyApp-v1.2.3.apk

✅ APK ready: MyApp-v1.2.3.apk

Build Mode Examples

# Basic build command
generate-apk build app-release.aab --name=myapp.apk

# Multiple APKs (all go to same build folder)
generate-apk build app-release.aab --name=release.apk
generate-apk build app-debug.aab --name=debug.apk

Build mode workflow:

$ generate-apk build app-release.aab --name=myapp.apk

📁 Using existing build directory: /home/user/Desktop/build
✅ Found bundletool-all-1.18.1.jar
✅ Found keystore: release.keystore
🔧 Building signed APKS from app-release.aab...
📦 Extracting universal.apk...

✅ APK conversion completed!
📱 APK file: myapp.apk (signed)
📁 Location: /home/user/Desktop/build
🔐 Signed with keystore: release.keystore

💡 Your signed APK is ready for distribution and installation!

⚙️ Command Reference

Interactive Mode

generate-apk                    # Auto-detect AAB files
generate-apk <file.aab>         # Specify AAB file
generate-apk --help             # Show help

Build Mode

generate-apk build <file.aab> --name=<output.apk>

Build mode features:

• ✅ Uses existing build folder on desktop (creates if needed)
• ✅ No interactive prompts - uses defaults
• ✅ Automatically creates and reuses keystore
• ✅ Generates signed APKs ready for distribution
• ✅ Perfect for automation and CI/CD

🔐 Keystore Management

Interactive Mode

• Prompts for keystore path, alias, and passwords
• Can create new keystores with custom details
• Supports existing keystores
• Option to skip signing (unsigned APK)

Build Mode

• Automatically creates release.keystore in build folder
• Uses secure defaults: RSA 2048-bit, 10,000-day validity
• Reuses existing keystore for subsequent builds
• Fallback to unsigned APK if keystore creation fails

Default keystore settings:

• File: release.keystore
• Alias: release
• Store password: 123456
• Key password: 123456

Note: For production apps, consider using custom keystores with stronger passwords.

📁 Project Structure

generate-apk/
├── bin/
│   └── generate-apk.js          # 🚀 CLI entry point with command routing
├── lib/
│   ├── index.js                 # 🛠️ Interactive mode logic
│   ├── build.js                 # 🏗️ Build mode logic
│   └── utils.js                 # 🔧 Cross-platform utilities
├── package.json                 # 📋 Package configuration
└── README.md                   # 📖 Documentation

📋 Output Structure

Interactive Mode

Creates files in current directory:

your-project/
├── app-release.aab              # Your input file
├── MyApp-v1.2.3.apk            # Generated APK
├── bundletool-all-1.18.1.jar   # Downloaded tool
└── chatreal-release.keystore    # Created keystore

Build Mode

Creates organized build folder on desktop:

~/Desktop/build/
├── bundletool-all-1.18.1.jar   # Downloaded once, reused
├── release.keystore             # Auto-generated keystore
├── myapp.apk                    # Your signed APKs
├── release.apk                  # Multiple APKs supported
└── debug.apk                    # All in one place

🔧 Prerequisites

• Node.js 12.0.0 or higher
• Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 8+ for BundleTool and keystore operations
• Android App Bundle (.aab) file

Installing Java (if needed)

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk

macOS:

brew install openjdk@11

Windows: Download from Oracle or use OpenJDK

🎯 Advanced Usage

React Native Integration

# Build your React Native app
cd android && ./gradlew bundleRelease

# Convert to APK
cd app/build/outputs/bundle/release
generate-apk build app-release.aab --name=MyApp-v1.0.0.apk

CI/CD Integration

# GitHub Actions example
- name: Convert AAB to APK
  run: |
    npm install -g generate-apk
    generate-apk build app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab --name=release.apk

Package.json Scripts

{
  "scripts": {
    "build-apk": "generate-apk build android/app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab --name=myapp.apk",
    "build-apk-interactive": "generate-apk"
  }
}

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"No .aab files found"

• Ensure you're in the correct directory
• Check that your file has the .aab extension
• Use direct file path: generate-apk my-app.aab

"java: command not found"

• Install Java JDK/JRE 8 or higher
• Ensure java and keytool are in your system PATH
• Test with: java -version and keytool -help

"keytool: command not found"

• Install Java JDK (not just JRE)
• On some systems: sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk

Permission denied (Linux/macOS)

• Run: chmod +x ./bin/generate-apk.js
• Or install globally: npm install -g generate-apk

PowerShell errors (Windows)

• Ensure PowerShell execution policy allows scripts
• Run PowerShell as administrator if needed

Debug Information

The tool provides detailed feedback at each step:

• ✅ Success indicators
• 📥 Download progress
• 🔧 Build process status
• ⚠️ Warning messages
• ❌ Clear error descriptions

🔄 Version History

• v1.1.0: Added build mode, cross-platform unzip, automatic keystore creation
• v1.0.0: Initial release with interactive mode

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Google BundleTool - The official tool for Android App Bundle operations
• Android Developer Community - For feedback and feature requests
• Node.js Community - For the excellent ecosystem

📞 Support

• 🐛 Issues: GitHub Issues
• 📧 Email: [email protected]

⭐ If this tool helped you, please give it a star on GitHub! ⭐

Made with ❤️ by Shaurya Gupta