I've been looking into how to remove some apks from /system/app/ in CWM-flashable zips to save myself some time when going back and forth between ROMs. I understand (I think..) that after the removal process, I will need to resign the zip using JesusFreke's testsign.jar, but I still have some questions that I couldn't find much information on.
1) What exactly does the signing process do, and why would a flash of an unsigned zip fail?
2) This may be related to Q1, and may be a silly question, but why does a zip not retain the original signing if you alter the contents of the package?
3) Would using JF's testsign.jar affect the integrity of the ROM in any way? (In other words, are there any differences between testsign.jar and the signing process used by the ROM dev?)
4) Besides resigning, is there anything I should be aware of or anything else I need to do before flashing the updated ROM?
I am entirely new to this so I apologize for my entirely noob-ish questions, but really would appreciate any help! Thanks in advance.
Just open up the zip and delete the apps you don't want, add the apps you do want, and flash.
No need to do anything else.
harlenm said:
Just open up the zip and delete the apps you don't want, add the apps you do want, and flash.
No need to do anything else.
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Don't u need to delete the permissions and everything from updater-script. I'm new to this so do u have to?
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA App
Usually the updater-script just sets permissions for the whole /system/app folder with one command.
Entropy512 said:
Usually the updater-script just sets permissions for the whole /system/app folder with one command.
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How would u do that. Sry I'm a total noob to this. I only know how to set it per app.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA App
The first reply already told you how to do it. I just delete the apks using winRAR and close the file, done.
Related
Hey all, Well i know we could not wait for a Honeycomb theme, i know i cannot, but heres my conundrum.
I have made a honeycomb keyboard, but cannot get it to install for the life of me, ive used the testkeys, shared, platform, etc (all using Signapktic from Stericson. Does anyone have any clue as to why it will not install?
A few questions that i know you might ask, answered ...
No, there is no other keyboard, other than swype, and samsung keypad..
I made it off of the GB keyboard...
Yes, I have made many of themes, many of changes to Frameworks, and have had sucess installing, and running my custom roms....
My question basically is this, IF POSSIBLE, CAN ANYONE SIGN THE FILES I HAVE TO MAKE THIS WORK? PM ME AND I SHALL SEND THE FILES. CREDIT WILL BE GIVIN, I AM ON THE OTHER HAND GOING TO NEED SOME SORT OF PROOF YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING, I WORKED REAL HARD ON THIS, SO FOR RIGHT NOW ITS PRIVATE, HENSE THE PM.
THANKS AGAIN IN ADVANCE. REMEMBER .. LETS GET THIS HONEYTCOMB GOING
I know that most of the keyboards dont work simply by installing but rather need to be pushed to the data\app or data\app_s folder depending on which rom you are running. You can accomplish this using adb or using a file explorer like RootExplorer.
Thanks
Thank you man, this helps a whole lot. Now do i need to re-sign each apk inside the rom folder? or can i just re-sign the .zip?
georgegreco86 said:
Thank you man, this helps a whole lot. Now do i need to re-sign each apk inside the rom folder? or can i just re-sign the .zip?
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I'm not sure what .zip you're refering to other than a CWM recovery flashable .zip for you keyboard. If this is what you mean, then use the same signiture (key) you'd find in any of the flashable .zips on the forums. In other words, just copy over the META-INF folder from some other .zip to yours. Of course, you'll want to make sure the update-script in this folder is pointing at the proper directories for installation.
For your apk, you should only need to sign it if you changed the AndroidManifest.xml. Otherwise, just keep the META-INF folder from them original apk.
Could I create a .zip file including apps so I could flash it after I flash a rom just like we do with Gapps packages?
take an existing zip file and remove the apps you dont want in it and add the apps that you want to the zip file and save it. then you can flash this new zip file. Otherwise you would have to create a new zip file from scratch.
Its not hard to do actually. Just go on irc and someone will help you. Im just lazy and steal other peoples scripts but I actually know what the commands do.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
Awesome. Thank you both very much! I really appreciate that.
Edit: I just thought of another idea with this. Couldn't I use astro and copy and paste the apps I want into the roms I flash so they're always there? Or is that different and I should I go to irc and ask how?
I don't have enough posts yet to post in the Development Forum, but I have a small question.
There are some .apks in the .zip file for DroidTh3ory's new M0N0LITHTH3ORY ROM that I'm not going to use like AndExplorer and Terminal Emulator, can I delete these, and there are also some .apks from another ROM I'd like to add.
Is it safe to do this?
EchoX860 said:
I don't have enough posts yet to post in the Development Forum, but I have a small question.
There are some .apks in the .zip file for DroidTh3ory's new M0N0LITHTH3ORY ROM that I'm not going to use like AndExplorer and Terminal Emulator, can I delete these, and there are also some .apks from another ROM I'd like to add.
Is it safe to do this?
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Click to collapse
Good question...
kierandill said:
Good question...
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Click to collapse
Hmm, that's great! Except in the first line I said that I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH POSTS YET
Read next time!
EchoX860 said:
I don't have enough posts yet to post in the Development Forum, but I have a small question.
There are some .apks in the .zip file for DroidTh3ory's new M0N0LITHTH3ORY ROM that I'm not going to use like AndExplorer and Terminal Emulator, can I delete these, and there are also some .apks from another ROM I'd like to add.
Is it safe to do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can delete those apks and add apks from something else, no problem. You will have to re-sign the zip before it becomes flashable again.
The easy way would be to flash monolith, and use something like titanium or root explorer to remove the system apps. To add apps to a running rom, you can drop the apk in /system/app, and change the permissions to match everything else. (XX_X__X__)
Thanks! I did it this way, Open both .Zips on my PC, delete the ones I don't want, and just click and drag from another ROM. I take it that's bad?
EchoX860 said:
Thanks! I did it this way, Open both .Zips on my PC, delete the ones I don't want, and just click and drag from another ROM. I take it that's bad?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's fine if you didn't extract them and zip them back up. I open the zips with winrar or 7zip and swap them that way with no problems, sometimes if your replacing an app delete the one you are replacing before you drag and drop the new/themed version.
If you completely unzip and re-zip the file will need to be resigned to be able to flash. The way you describe will work no problem.
Some people aren't sure how to create a flashable zip. So here is a template zip file.
Instructions add your APK files to the appropriate directory within the zip.
ie framework-res.apk would go in system/framework/
SystemUI.apk would go in system/app/
Vigor_VZW_bootanimation.zip would go in system/customize/resource/
*You may need to create directories within the zip*
lol nice idea i have never thought about making one for people I forget people dont know how
This could be very useful for people who are new to theming and from development and who are still learning how to sign zips.
Nice work and good idea.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA App
ljbaumer said:
This could be very useful for people who are new to theming and from development and who are still learning how to sign zips.
Nice work and good idea.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA App
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Agreed. This is pretty sweet and actually an idea I was going to ask someone for once (I had no idea how to do these).
And MrSmith, now I can try to get all the boot anims updated with flashables also so that everyone will have different options. Thanks!!
Thanks for dropping this. Already have one, but this helps anyone trying to learn. You may have given the next big developer a good first tool. Congrats.....
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk
Thanks. I'll give this a go on cleanrom.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
Is this just the required directories for theming or does it include the ones required to make a flashable ROM?
ShaneMA said:
Is this just the required directories for theming or does it include the ones required to make a flashable ROM?
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this is just a flashible zip only you will need to add your files to the right folders to make it theme
is there a list of the folders? for example what folders should i make to add ringtones to the ones that are already on my phone? how about notifications, wallpapers, etc.?
bal1985 said:
is there a list of the folders? for example what folders should i make to add ringtones to the ones that are already on my phone? how about notifications, wallpapers, etc.?
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Click to collapse
The three things you've listed are items that can be freely transferred via USB. This is more for theme elements and applications.
However to answer your question, stock ringtones and notifications are in /system/media/audio/ringtones and /system/media/audio/notifications . The stock wallpapers are stored in /system/customize/resource.
MrSmith317 said:
Some people aren't sure how to create a flashable zip. So here is a template zip file.
Instructions add your APK files to the appropriate directory within the zip.
ie framework-res.apk would go in system/framework/
SystemUI.apk would go in system/app/
Vigor_VZW_bootanimation.zip would go in system/customize/resource/
*You may need to create directories within the zip*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea.. I have my own templates I use. Never thought to post.. kinda nervous that someone out there would brick their phone and blame me...been busy as hell past month, hopefully soon I'll get some time to port over some of my previous work over to the rezound, since now all the issues with compiling and decompiling have been figured out.. I got some catching up to do
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk
Mr. Smith,
So if I wanted to make a flashable zip of say the market apk or root explorer that I can keep on the root of my SD card so if for some reason the rom I flash is missing gapps. Would I just make a folder called data with a subfolder called app and then it would get installed in data app ? Then drop the apk within the app folder and resign using android signer ?
I just had that happen while trying to flash the anthrax kernel , for some reason I lost my market apk and since it was a fresh flash I had no access to a file explorer. So ended up googling the commands to adb push the market apk to system. It worked, but made me think if I had my own flashable market zip I could have just flashed that and been up and running easier .
mjh68 said:
Mr. Smith,
So if I wanted to make a flashable zip of say the market apk or root explorer that I can keep on the root of my SD card so if for some reason the rom I flash is missing gapps. Would I just make a folder called data with a subfolder called app and then it would get installed in data app ? Then drop the apk within the app folder and resign using android signer ?
I just had that happen while trying to flash the anthrax kernel , for some reason I lost my market apk and since it was a fresh flash I had no access to a file explorer. So ended up googling the commands to adb push the market apk to system. It worked, but made me think if I had my own flashable market zip I could have just flashed that and been up and running easier .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got it. As long as you get the structure down right, flashing the zip will drop the files in the proper directory on your phone/device.
What about file permissions and owner? How do we set that in the zip (eg. if I need to flash a file to /system that requires permissions 644, owner 0/0.
Nighthound said:
What about file permissions and owner? How do we set that in the zip (eg. if I need to flash a file to /system that requires permissions 644, owner 0/0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android handles that. However you can edit the script : META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script to make whatever changes you need. So you could add a line: run_program("/sbin/busybox", "chmod", "644", "xxx_file");
MrSmith317 said:
Android handles that. However you can edit the script : META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script to make whatever changes you need. So you could add a line: run_program("/sbin/busybox", "chmod", "644", "xxx_file");
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh, I googled for edify scripts and found there is a set_perm command which does exactly what I need. Thanks!
Nighthound said:
Ahh, I googled for edify scripts and found there is a set_perm command which does exactly what I need. Thanks!
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Click to collapse
haha that too.
MrSmith317 said:
Come a day there won't be room for naughty men like us to slip about at all.
This job goes south, there well may not be another.
So here is us, on the raggedy edge. Don't push me, and I won't push you.
Dong le ma?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shiny!
MrSmith317 said:
Some people aren't sure how to create a flashable zip. So here is a template zip file.
Instructions add your APK files to the appropriate directory within the zip.
ie framework-res.apk would go in system/framework/
SystemUI.apk would go in system/app/
Vigor_VZW_bootanimation.zip would go in system/customize/resource/
*You may need to create directories within the zip*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quick Q. is it possible to create 1 flashable zip that would flash more than 1 file into different directories I.e a file into System/app and another in System/Framework ?
funnyangrykid said:
Quick Q. is it possible to create 1 flashable zip that would flash more than 1 file into different directories I.e a file into System/app and another in System/Framework ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah man, that's what this blank flashable zip does
You can put as many files in the 'app' or 'framework' folder and it will flash them all
Ok, this may be answered elsewhere, I don't know. "Search is temporarily unavailable" I am trying to understand how I am supposed to work with the backup from CWM. I understand that I should have a System image that I can work in, but what I have is 3 files in its place. System.ext4.tar, System.ext4.tar.a, and System.ext4.tar.b. All three files are broken to some degree.
System.ext4.tar is a zero byte file.
System.ext4.tar.a appears to be a spanned tar file that 7ZIP/WinRAR simply think was cut-off (never asks for the second file, and complains of unexpected End of Archive)
System.ext.4.tar.b appears to be the second part of the archive, but nothing will open it.
So, how do I get to a point I have a complete archive that I can edit? Or do I need to use different software than CWM to back up the phone?
Thanks for the help guys.
waldojim said:
Ok, this may be answered elsewhere, I don't know. "Search is temporarily unavailable" I am trying to understand how I am supposed to work with the backup from CWM. I understand that I should have a System image that I can work in, but what I have is 3 files in its place. System.ext4.tar, System.ext4.tar.a, and System.ext4.tar.b. All three files are broken to some degree.
System.ext4.tar is a zero byte file.
System.ext4.tar.a appears to be a spanned tar file that 7ZIP/WinRAR simply think was cut-off (never asks for the second file, and complains of unexpected End of Archive)
System.ext.4.tar.b appears to be the second part of the archive, but nothing will open it.
So, how do I get to a point I have a complete archive that I can edit? Or do I need to use different software than CWM to back up the phone?
Thanks for the help guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I found a solution for now. Fire up Linux, use cat to combine all three files, then use tar to extract the contents. Not sure why this needed split in the first place, but at least the files can be extracted.
I have managed to remove the APKs I do not want, and made a new system.ext4.tar file (all in Linux), but need to know what else I have to do to make the system image usable.
I found several guides on making a ZIP file, but I didn't want to necessarily go through all that. I backed up everything, so what I would like to know, is what all needs to change so that I can use the separate files as they are, and simply do a CWM "restore" function?
I know I sound like a complete noob at this point, and will deal with the related comments. However, please understand, I don't want the heavily modified rom packs. I simply wanted a rom VOID of all the Verizon bloatware, and have the Verizon tethering restraints removed. I have them all disabled now, and 3rd party tethering is working quite well. So I would rather not have that garbage wasting space. Right now, it looks like I may save 250MB or so.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
waldojim said:
I have managed to remove the APKs I do not want, and made a new system.ext4.tar file (all in Linux), but need to know what else I have to do to make the system image usable.
I found several guides on making a ZIP file, but I didn't want to necessarily go through all that. I backed up everything, so what I would like to know, is what all needs to change so that I can use the separate files as they are, and simply do a CWM "restore" function?
I know I sound like a complete noob at this point, and will deal with the related comments. However, please understand, I don't want the heavily modified rom packs. I simply wanted a rom VOID of all the Verizon bloatware, and have the Verizon tethering restraints removed. I have them all disabled now, and 3rd party tethering is working quite well. So I would rather not have that garbage wasting space. Right now, it looks like I may save 250MB or so.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Backups really aren't meant to be unzipped and played with. Usually bloat removal is done while booted into the system or you can unpackage a Rom and remove the bloat there and then repackage it and flash it then make your backup that doesn't contain any bloat. Using the xda kitchen tools from dsxda I believe is the name
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using XDA Premium HD app
.torrented said:
Backups really aren't meant to be unzipped and played with. Usually bloat removal is done while booted into the system or you can unpackage a Rom and remove the bloat there and then repackage it and flash it then make your backup that doesn't contain any bloat. Using the xda kitchen tools from dsxda I believe is the name
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using XDA Premium HD app
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Click to collapse
I think this is where some of my confusion comes from - it was never zipped. There was a group of tarred files, an MD5sum and a few other items. But nothing there was zipped.
waldojim said:
I think this is where some of my confusion comes from - it was never zipped. There was a group of tarred files, an MD5sum and a few other items. But nothing there was zipped.
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Click to collapse
I guess what I meant to say by "zipped" was just in general they are compressed by the recovery in a way that it knows how to go and use them to restore data to the device.