install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install apkeep

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#apkeep

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ap/apkeep/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Windows

Scoopverified · 92%

scoop install extras/apkeep

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/apkeep.json · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Command-line tool for downloading APK files from various sources

Project links

Commands and aliases

apkeep

history

Project history and usage

apkeep is an EFF-maintained Rust command-line tool for downloading Android APKs from several sources, including APKPure, F-Droid, Google Play, and Huawei AppGallery. In package-manager terms it sits in the small but useful niche between Android app-store clients, archival tooling, and reproducible APK collection workflows.

Project history

The public GitHub repository was created under EFForg in April 2021. The project describes itself as a command-line tool for downloading APK files from various sources and publishes prebuilt binaries, crates.io installation instructions, Docker images, and Termux guidance for Android users.

The changelog shows steady expansion after the initial public releases: versioned APK downloads for APKPure and F-Droid, F-Droid index caching, mirror and repository options, Huawei AppGallery support, Google Play split APKs and additional files, and a default config file for Google credentials. Later releases updated the Google Play API path, added F-Droid index support, exposed more device options, and reached 1.0.0 in April 2026.

Adoption history

Official installation paths include GitHub release binaries, crates.io via Cargo, Docker images from GitHub Container Registry, and Termux on Android. The supplied package metadata also records packaging in Homebrew, Nix, and Scoop, which is typical for a CLI used by cross-platform Android tooling people.

The repository's GitHub metadata showed roughly 1.9k stars and 148 forks at the time of research, enough to indicate adoption beyond a private EFF utility without needing non-official popularity sources.

How it is used

The normal CLI flow is to pass an app id, optional version, download source, and output path. APKPure is the default source and does not require credentials; Google Play requires an email plus AAS token or auth token; F-Droid and Huawei AppGallery are documented as alternate download sources.

For Google Play, apkeep documents a user config file named apkeep.ini under the user config directory, usually ~/.config/apkeep/apkeep.ini on Linux. That file can hold Google email and token values so they do not have to be supplied on every command line.

Why package nerds care

apkeep matters to package nerds because it turns mutable Android app-store distribution into scriptable artifacts: package ids in, APK or XAPK outputs out. It is useful for APK archival, comparison, reproducible testing inputs, F-Droid mirror workflows, and cases where GUI app-store clients are a poor fit.

The interesting implementation angle is that one CLI abstracts several Android distribution ecosystems while still exposing source-specific options such as device profiles, locales, split APKs, F-Droid entry points, and APKPure version listing.

Timeline

2021: Public EFForg/apkeep repository created on GitHub.
2021: Changelog records F-Droid package-index caching and versioned app download support.
2022: Huawei AppGallery, Google Play split APKs, additional files, and a default credential config file were added.
2024: Google Play API v3 support and documented Google Play workflow landed.
2026: Version 1.0.0 added dex metadata downloads, auth-token support, and custom device properties.

Related projects

apkeep's Google Play workflow points to EFForg/rs-google-play device profiles. Its source list overlaps with F-Droid, APKPure, Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, and Android package-analysis tools that consume APK files.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

text:download

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 2 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Linux: ~/.config/apkeep/apkeep.ini

Credential files

Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.

Linux: ~/.config/apkeep/apkeep.ini

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`apkeep`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version1.0.0

manager updated2026-04-30

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detected1.0.0

https://github.com/EFForg/apkeep

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:apkeep
Version	1.0.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/apkeep
Homepage	https://github.com/EFForg/apkeep
Repository	https://github.com/EFForg/apkeep
Upstream docs	https://github.com/EFForg/apkeep#readme
License	MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/EFForg/apkeep/archive/refs/tags/1.0.0.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-04-30T03:22:45Z
Pulse	updated
Build dependencies	pkgconf, rust
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	apkeep
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

apkeep

nix profile install nixpkgs#apkeep

normalized package name match
Matched by: Apkeep

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ap/apkeep/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

Scoop95%

extras/apkeep

scoop install extras/apkeep

normalized package name match
Matched by: Apkeep

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · api.github.com · Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/apkeep.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Extras/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/apkeep.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install apkeep with Homebrew, Nix, scoop