Your LLM can now decompile APKs and edit smali files

What it does

apktool-mcp-server is a Python wrapper that bridges the established Apktool decoder with the Model Context Protocol. It exposes roughly a dozen discrete operations—decode, build, manifest extraction, smali and resource file I/O, and in-project search—as tools an LLM can invoke during a conversation. The idea is to turn the model into a hands-on reverse engineering assistant that manipulates APK internals directly rather than just reading static dumps.

The interesting bit

Instead of dumping an entire decompiled project into context and hoping the LLM copes, the server forces the model to ask for specific files on demand. That keeps token budgets in check and turns the chat into an interactive session where the AI can patch smali methods, flip exported flags, or swap URLs and then rebuild the APK.

Key highlights

• Exposes decode_apk, build_apk, get_smali_file, modify_smali_file, and other Apktool primitives as discrete MCP tools.
• Supports targeted static analysis workflows like permission audits, hardcoded URL discovery, and exported component checks by fetching only relevant files.
• Designed for integration with Claude Desktop and the author’s zin-mcp-client for local Ollama-backed workflows.
• Explicitly aimed at CTF solving, vulnerability detection, and ethical mobile security assessments.

Caveats

• The README carries a commented warning that the project is still in early development and expects bugs, crashes, and logical errors.
• So far it has only been tested with the Claude Desktop client; support for other LLM hosts is listed as coming soon.
• It is fundamentally glue code around Apktool and FastMCP, so its reliability tracks closely with those underlying dependencies.

Verdict

Mobile security researchers and CTF players who already use LLMs for analysis will find this a natural upgrade from copy-pasting smali into chat. If you do not reverse engineer Android apps, this server has nothing to offer you.