install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install bundletool

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#bundletool

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

Windows

Scoopverified · 92%

scoop install main/bundletool

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

overview

Package summary

Command-line tool to manipulate Android App Bundles

Project links

Commands and aliases

bundletool

history

Project history and usage

bundletool is Google's command-line tool for building, inspecting, generating, extracting, and installing Android App Bundles, Android SDK Bundles, and the APK sets derived from them.

Project history

bundletool grew out of the Android App Bundle distribution model introduced at Google I/O 2018. The official Android Developers blog described App Bundles and Google Play Dynamic Delivery as a way to publish all code and resources while letting Google Play deliver only the pieces matching a user's device.

The GitHub README defines bundletool's responsibilities around building app bundles from precompiled modules, generating APK Set archives for possible devices, extracting device-compatible APKs, installing those APKs, extracting device specs, and handling code transparency. It later also gained Android SDK Bundle responsibilities for runtime-enabled SDKs.

Adoption history

bundletool became foundational Android packaging infrastructure because Android Studio, the Android Gradle plugin, and Google Play use it to construct App Bundles and convert them into APKs for deployment. Its command-line interface gives developers and CI systems the same underlying operations for local testing and release validation.

How it is used

Typical direct use includes generating an `.apks` archive from an `.aab`, extracting APKs compatible with a connected or described device, installing those APKs for testing, dumping bundle metadata, and creating device spec JSON. Most developers encounter it indirectly through Android Studio or Gradle, while release engineers use it explicitly in build pipelines.

Why package nerds care

bundletool is package-nerd significant because it separates the published Android package from the device-specific install artifact. It is the practical machinery behind App Bundles, split APK generation, dynamic delivery, code transparency checks, and SDK bundle packaging, so it changed what an Android 'package' means after the APK-only era.

Timeline

2018-05: Android App Bundle and Google Play Dynamic Delivery announced at Google I/O.
2018: bundletool repository and command-line workflow became the reference tooling for App Bundles.
2024: 1.17.x releases added runtime-enabled SDK bundle validations and commands.
2025-01: 1.18.0 added device group targeting support.
2025-12: 1.18.3 release notes show ongoing bundle and SDK packaging maintenance.

Related projects

Related projects and systems include Android Studio, the Android Gradle plugin, Google Play, APKs, Android App Bundles, APK Set archives, dynamic feature modules, R8, and Android SDK Bundles.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 1 platform targets.
Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

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

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`bundletool`	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 version1.18.3

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/google/bundletool

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/google/bundletoolnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:bundletool
Version	1.18.3
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/bundletool
Homepage	https://github.com/google/bundletool
Repository	https://github.com/google/bundletool
Upstream docs	https://developer.android.com/studio/command-line/bundletool
License	Apache-2.0
Source archive	https://github.com/google/bundletool/releases/download/1.18.3/bundletool-all-1.18.3.jar
Dependencies	openjdk
Bottle	available (on all)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

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

bundletool

nix profile install nixpkgs#bundletool

normalized package name match
Matched by: Bundletool

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

Scoop95%

main/bundletool

scoop install main/bundletool

normalized package name match
Matched by: Bundletool

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · api.github.com · Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/bundletool.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/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/bundletool.yml

Used sources

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

Install bundletool with Homebrew, Nix, scoop