VirtualAPK is a powerful yet lightweight plugin framework for Android. It can dynamically load and run an APK file (we call it LoadedPlugin) seamlessly as an installed application. Developers can use any Class, Resources, Activity, Service, Receiver and Provider in LoadedPlugin as if they are registered in app's manifest file.

Supported Features

Feature	Detail
Supported components	Activity, Service, Receiver and Provider
Manually register components in AndroidManifest.xml	No need
Access host app classes and resources	Supported
PendingIntent	Supported
Supported Android features	Almost all features
Compatibility	Almost all devices
Building system	Gradle plugin
Supported Android versions	API Level 15+

Getting started

Host Project

Add a dependency in build.gradle in root of host project as following.

dependencies {
    classpath 'com.didi.virtualapk:gradle:0.9.0'
}

Apply plugin in application module of build.gradle.

apply plugin: 'com.didi.virtualapk.host'

Compile VirtualAPK in application module of build.gradle.

compile 'com.didi.virtualapk:core:0.9.0'

Initialize PluginManager in YourApplication::attachBaseContext().

@Override
protected void attachBaseContext(Context base) {
    super.attachBaseContext(base);
    PluginManager.getInstance(base).init();
}

Modify proguard rules to keep VirtualAPK related files.

-keep class com.didi.virtualapk.internal.VAInstrumentation { *; }
-keep class com.didi.virtualapk.internal.PluginContentResolver { *; }

-dontwarn com.didi.virtualapk.**
-dontwarn android.content.pm.**
-keep class android.** { *; }

Finally, load an APK and have fun!

String pluginPath = Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory().getAbsolutePath().concat("/Test.apk");
File plugin = new File(pluginPath);
PluginManager.getInstance(base).loadPlugin(plugin);

// Given "com.didi.virtualapk.demo" is the package name of plugin APK, 
// and there is an activity called `MainActivity`.
Intent intent = new Intent();
intent.setClassName("com.didi.virtualapk.demo", "com.didi.virtualapk.demo.MainActivity");
startActivity(intent);

Plugin Project

Add a dependency in build.gradle in root of plugin project as following.

dependencies {
    classpath 'com.didi.virtualapk:gradle:0.9.0'
}

Apply plugin in application module of build.gradle.

apply plugin: 'com.didi.virtualapk.plugin'

Config VirtualAPK. Remember to put following lines at the end of build.gradle.

virtualApk {
    packageId = 0x6f             // The package id of Resources.
    targetHost='source/host/app' // The path of application module in host project.
    applyHostMapping = true      // [Optional] Default value is true. 
}

Developer guide

• API document wiki
• Sample project PluginDemo
• Read core library source code

Known issues

• Notifications with custom layout are not supported in plugin.
• Transition animations with animation resources are not supported in plugin.

Contributing

Welcome to contribute by creating issues or sending pull requests. See Contributing Guide for guidelines.

Who is using VirtualAPK?

License

VirtualAPK is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. See the LICENSE file.