bundletool fails to generate APKs from AAB

Description

bundletool fails to generate APKs from AAB

Steps to reproduce

1. Download bundletool and appropriate .aab file (my device is arm64, so I downloaded BraveMonoarm64.aab)
2. $ alias bundletool='java -jar /home/bruno/Downloads/bundletool-all-1.6.0.jar'
3. $ bundletool build-apks --bundle=/home/bruno/Downloads/BraveMonoarm64.aab --output=/home/bruno/Downloads/BraveMonoarm64.apks

Actual result

Multiple errors of this sort: “error: failed to deserialize resources.pb: duplicate configuration in resource table.” See below.

$ bundletool build-apks --bundle=/home/bruno/Downloads/BraveMonoarm64.aab --output=/home/bruno/Downloads/BraveMonoarm64.apks
WARNING: The APKs won't be signed and thus not installable unless you also pass a keystore via the flag --ks. See the command help for more information.
/tmp/6272904776128236573/proto.apk: error: failed to deserialize resources.pb: duplicate configuration in resource table.
/tmp/6272904776128236573/proto.apk: error: failed to load APK.
/tmp/2071804396523564826/proto.apk: error: failed to deserialize resources.pb: duplicate configuration in resource table.
/tmp/2071804396523564826/proto.apk: error: failed to load APK.
/tmp/6188646547516233480/proto.apk: error: failed to deserialize resources.pb: duplicate configuration in resource table.
/tmp/6188646547516233480/proto.apk: error: failed to load APK.
/tmp/9019322073981279585/proto.apk: error: failed to deserialize resources.pb: duplicate configuration in resource table.
/tmp/9019322073981279585/proto.apk: error: failed to load APK.
/tmp/6442691279476123884/proto.apk: error: failed to deserialize resources.pb: duplicate configuration in resource table.
/tmp/6442691279476123884/proto.apk: error: failed to load APK.
/tmp/598732138771193428/proto.apk: error: failed to deserialize resources.pb: duplicate configuration in resource table.
/tmp/598732138771193428/proto.apk: error: failed to load APK.
---snip---
/tmp/4148553829505242576/proto.apk: error: failed to deserialize resources.pb: duplicate configuration in resource table.
/tmp/4148553829505242576/proto.apk: error: failed to load APK.
/tmp/5976620259936164327/proto.apk: error: failed to deserialize resources.pb: duplicate configuration in resource table.
/tmp/5976620259936164327/proto.apk: error: failed to load APK.
[BT:1.6.0] Error: Command '[/tmp/AutoValue_BuildApksCommand5394129551921328319/output/linux/aapt2, convert, --output-format, binary, -o, /tmp/5976620259936164327/binary.apk, /tmp/5976620259936164327/proto.apk]' didn't terminate successfully (exit code: 1). Check the logs.
com.android.tools.build.bundletool.model.exceptions.CommandExecutionException: Command '[/tmp/AutoValue_BuildApksCommand5394129551921328319/output/linux/aapt2, convert, --output-format, binary, -o, /tmp/5976620259936164327/binary.apk, /tmp/5976620259936164327/proto.apk]' didn't terminate successfully (exit code: 1). Check the logs.
	at com.android.tools.build.bundletool.model.exceptions.InternalExceptionBuilder.build(InternalExceptionBuilder.java:57)
	at com.android.tools.build.bundletool.androidtools.DefaultCommandExecutor.executeImpl(DefaultCommandExecutor.java:57)
	at com.android.tools.build.bundletool.androidtools.DefaultCommandExecutor.execute(DefaultCommandExecutor.java:33)
	at com.android.tools.build.bundletool.androidtools.Aapt2Command$1.convertApkProtoToBinary(Aapt2Command.java:53)
	at com.android.tools.build.bundletool.io.ApkzlibApkSerializerHelper.writeToZipFile(ApkzlibApkSerializerHelper.java:136)
	at com.android.tools.build.bundletool.io.ApkzlibApkSerializerHelper.writeToZipFile(ApkzlibApkSerializerHelper.java:109)
	at com.android.tools.build.bundletool.io.SplitApkSerializer.writeToDisk(SplitApkSerializer.java:68)
	at com.android.tools.build.bundletool.io.SplitApkSerializer.writeSplitToDisk(SplitApkSerializer.java:42)
	at com.android.tools.build.bundletool.io.ApkSetBuilderFactory$ApkSetArchiveBuilder.addSplitApk(ApkSetBuilderFactory.java:106)
	at com.android.tools.build.bundletool.io.ApkSerializerManager$ApkSerializer.serialize(ApkSerializerManager.java:461)
	at com.android.tools.build.bundletool.io.ApkSerializerManager.lambda$null$3(ApkSerializerManager.java:225)
	at com.google.common.util.concurrent.TrustedListenableFutureTask$TrustedFutureInterruptibleTask.runInterruptibly(TrustedListenableFutureTask.java:125)
	at com.google.common.util.concurrent.InterruptibleTask.run(InterruptibleTask.java:69)
	at com.google.common.util.concurrent.TrustedListenableFutureTask.run(TrustedListenableFutureTask.java:78)
	at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1149)
	at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:624)
	at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:748)

Expected result

No errors, APK gets built.

Issue reproduces how often

100% of the time.

Brave version

Release v1.24.84

[bdantas]

Thank you, wchen342!!! Now it works like a charm 😃

For other users interested in building/installing .apks from the .aab file:

1. Download appropriate .aab file from Brave’s github page
2. Make sure you have bundletool and chromium project’s aapt2 (for the latter, see wchen342’s link above)
3. Create a keystore if you don’t already have one (see https://stackoverflow.com/a/15330139)
4. Build a self-signed .apks file. My command, as an example, was this:

$ alias bundletool='java -jar /home/bruno/Downloads/bundletool-all-1.6.0.jar'
$ bundletool build-apks --bundle=/home/bruno/Downloads/BraveMonoarm64.aab --output=/home/bruno/Downloads/BraveMonoarm64.apks --aapt2=/home/bruno/Downloads/aapt2 --ks=/home/bruno/Stuff/my-release-key.keystore --ks-pass=pass:passWorD --ks-key-alias=gnuser --key-pass=pass:passWorD

1. Enable debugging on Android device, connect device to computer, choose “File transfer” on device, on computer: $ adb start-server
2. Install the .apks to your Android device:

$ bundletool install-apks --apks=/home/bruno/Downloads/BraveMonoarm64.apks

Note that if brave-browser from an official app store is already installed on your Android device, the installation step will fail because when upgrading an app your device requires that current app version and new app version be signed with same signature. Therefore, you have to uninstall the official brave-browser before you can install your self-signed version (I use the oandbackup app to backup my browser’s data so that I can restore the data after installing the self-signed apk).

Happy hacking!

[bdantas]

P.S. A wishlist item: It would be nice if a link to the appropriate aapt2 binary were provided with each brave-browser release’s “Assets”. This way, “mere mortal” users such as myself would be alerted to the fact that the aapt2 included in buildtool is not going to work. It would also safeguard against problems from users using an outdated aapt2 from chromium source tree.