Database Info

help: how to add removable apk to roms?

I wasn't able to find info about this until now. But I need to know how to make the apks I include in a rom removable. I guess, maybe, I have to copy into a different folder instead or /system/app. is it right?
thanks

you have to install it in data directory not in system directory. so data/app

ok, thanks, but, if it doesn't exist, should I create it?

no u should not create it because then it wouldnt be a proper directory for your rom, the rom may not recognize it, i think.
which rom are you on? most rom has a data directory, that is where third party apps are installed and where apps downloaded from the market is also installed

this one
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=556962&highlight=enomther

ok i see what u mean when there's no data directory. what you should test out first is go to market and download an app. then see where that app is install. see if it created a data directory or not. it should...

I had a look using root explorer, and there is a folder in the root called /data/app , and there inside are every installed apk, even the ones I installed by astro...
and there is another one called /data/data where I find folder of every app too
ANd another one called /data/app-private (there I found one apk that I downloaded from market.
I try to download a new one

Yup put your apks in data/app

on a related note, is there any way to flash unsigned ROMs? like if I want to drop .apk 's into the data folder of a rom before flashing?

The_Chrome_Coyote said:
on a related note, is there any way to flash unsigned ROMs? like if I want to drop .apk 's into the data folder of a rom before flashing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think no, but have a look for a program called autosign.
It very easy

NguyenHuu said:
Yup put your apks in data/app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but it only appear in my phone,not in the files of the rom.
Anyway I'm going to ask enomther, the creator of the rom, maybe he can help me

joshuas_79 said:
but it only appear in my phone,not in the files of the rom.
Anyway I'm going to ask enomther, the creator of the rom, maybe he can help me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok your running a reg rom system, thus meaning 1.5/1.6 non hero. i can teach you step by step on how to set up "signing .zip's". its super super convenient!! i promise and its not to hard. just pm me if you need help. its way way easier to flash a rom with whatever apk you want then to push them and hope you pushed them to the right spot.

[Q] Trying to create a CW zip with all the apps i want to install automatically

Can some one provide some instructions on how to go about making a CW zip file to flash and install all the apps that is on my phone?
I've seen a few of these floating around in the forum, and wanted to make my own to save time after every ROM flash
Do I just grab all the APK files throw them into a folder and Zip & Sign it?
or do I have to do a Nandroid backup first, then only use the app files from the backup?

I would like to know this too....

Would be nice as well instead of restoring
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Take an existing update.zip type file. Add a folder to it with the full proper path for your apps you want to pre-install (typically this will be /data/app) and put all the apps in that folder. Should look something like this in a windows/mac explorer window:
Code:
META-INF
/com/google/android/updater-script
data
/app/myfirstapp.apk
/app/mysecondapp.apk
Then use a text editor to edit the META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script file to include the commands to copy over your stuff. It would something along the lines of:
Code:
ui_print("Installing New App Files to /data");
package_extract_dir("data", "/data");
Edit out anything in the update template you're working out of that you don't want to happen (ie., format or symlinks, etc).
Repackage the zip file and make sure nothing else got in there by mistake by re-opening it (like those pesky Mac .ds-store files).
You can re-sign it with the android tools, but I don't believe you need to with Clockwork.
I would have a fresh nandroid before testing anything, of course.
You feel this approach is better than just using Titanium to restore apps? You won't get back any app data that isn't stored on the sdcard.

Thanks!
yes, now that makes sense, i recall reading that some where else to add extra APK to the ROMs
so it's the same idea, just without the ROM portion
now i get it

distortedloop said:
Take an existing update.zip type file. Add a folder to it with the full proper path for your apps you want to pre-install (typically this will be /data/app) and put all the apps in that folder. Should look something like this in a windows/mac explorer window:
Code:
META-INF
/com/google/android/updater-script
data
/app/myfirstapp.apk
/app/mysecondapp.apk
Then use a text editor to edit the META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script file to include the commands to copy over your stuff. It would something along the lines of:
Code:
ui_print("Installing New App Files to /data");
package_extract_dir("data", "/data");
Edit out anything in the update template you're working out of that you don't want to happen (ie., format or symlinks, etc).
Repackage the zip file and make sure nothing else got in there by mistake by re-opening it (like those pesky Mac .ds-store files).
You can re-sign it with the android tools, but I don't believe you need to with Clockwork.
I would have a fresh nandroid before testing anything, of course.
You feel this approach is better than just using Titanium to restore apps? You won't get back any app data that isn't stored on the sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya essentially this method is doingan advanced nandroid restore for data only except without the settings.
Sent from my MattedBlues CM7 Nexus S from the XDA Premium app.

kenvan19 said:
Ya essentially this method is doingan advanced nandroid restore for data only except without the settings.
Sent from my MattedBlues CM7 Nexus S from the XDA Premium app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suppose if you want the app data restored as well, you would just need to identify it's location in the /data directory and add it to the /data folder in the update you're making. Seems like most of the app data goes into /data/data.
Just thinking out loud here...
So for a sample app on my phone I have called jefit pro I'd put the following in the update file.
Code:
/data/je.fit.pro-1.apk <---apk itself
/data/data/je.fit.pro <--the folder
/data/data/je.fit.pro/databases/data
/data/data/je.fit.pro/lib
/data/data/je.fit.pro/preferences/preferences.xml
I'd just pull the whole folder for the /data/data/je.fit.pro from the phone via adb.
I'm not sure how useful putting the data back is, since that's not a static set of files on many apps, but for some apps where the data is just some settings or preference files it may be a nice touch.
I don't really see any advantage to this over just use Titanium to restore apps and data, but it should work.
(<<---- this would be the whole folder and its subfolders that I pulled via adb off the phone)

distortedloop said:
I don't really see any advantage to this over just use Titanium to restore apps and data, but it should work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AllGamer, I'm glad you brought this up, while I don't personally have any apps I want to put on the phone in this method, except perhaps titanium itself, I just realized we could of course do the same thing for all those little custom tweaks we put on our phones, like for me I push my personalized ringtones/notification sounds to /system. That's easy enough with adb or rootexplorer, but why not just flash them from a zip while in CW after a wipe or install of a new rom?

distortedloop said:
AllGamer, I'm glad you brought this up, while I don't personally have any apps I want to put on the phone in this method, except perhaps titanium itself, I just realized we could of course do the same thing for all those little custom tweaks we put on our phones, like for me I push my personalized ringtones/notification sounds to /system. That's easy enough with adb or rootexplorer, but why not just flash them from a zip while in CW after a wipe or install of a new rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the idea came up from several places, first Titanium Backup itself offers to create a signed .zip installer for CW
and i've seen other devices forums with people packing up like 100+ apps/tweaks/mods into it to flash after CW is done flashing the new ROM
yes, of course we can use TI, i have TI pro and it's very easy, but Ti is slow.... at restoring 300+ Apps
but everytime i see CW restoring a Zip file or even a full Nandroid backup, it does it so fast and quickly, that i though... hell might as well keep an updated signed .zip wtih all my must have apps, and flash it along right after any new ROM flash (when testing out different Custom ROMs) then i don't need to spend like an hour everytime restoring + configuring the phones
i noticed that Ti works a hell of a lot faster if the apps are already installed, and you only need to restore the data.
and that is the main reason i want to compile a list of all the apps
once they are all installed, then i can use any of the good market utilities that can do mass Apps2SD and i'll be up and running in as quickly as 15min vs. a whole hour waste on a restore/config everytime you change the ROM
using Ti i found most of the System settings can be restored safely without corrupting the new ROM
email
accounts & syncs
bluetooth pairings
wifi
... ah shoot forgot the rest
only do not restore settings for:
launcher,
wireless network (phone company)
android market
and anything that has to do with default settings
probably this weekend i'll dissect the CW zip created by Ti itself, and add more to it

Sounds like a good plan...but you've got 300+ apps if I recall correctly. I imagine that will take a long time to restore either method!
The Titanium update zip is a good place to start. Use the setting to make it a "user" app and it will put it in /data, where you want the rest of your apps as well. You could just dump what you want right into the zip file there in the folder that has titanium's apk itself and not even worry about messing with the updater-script file.

[Tutorial] Change the internal ringtones of your rom

After you have read and follow this tutorial, you will be able to do the following:
*Remove ringtones, alarms, and notification tones that you don't use
*Add your own ringtones, alarms, and notification tones that you WILL use
**This is not the same as downloading and using a ringtone from the internet, or wherever. Those methods allow the phone to play the file from your memory card. With this method, we are physically removing or adding directly in the ROM itself.
**Make a backup! I am NOT responsible for ANYTHING that YOU do.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Now, Let's proceed.
Alright... So you wanna do this, here is what you will need:
*ADB Installed and working
*Root Manager of some sort (I use Android Commander)
*Format Factory - This is freeware, so it's not warez.
Step 1. Download and install Format Factory. This is the program I use for everything. If you have one of your own preference, it can be substituted.
IMPORTANT: When installing Format Factory, choose CUSTOM install, and uncheck the toolbar boxes. Otherwise, you are gonna get toolbars installed. You have been warned.
Step 2. Open Format Factory and click "All to OGG", located under the "Audio" tab on the left. (OGG is universal from Android to Android. That's why this is the chosen option. Also, the sound quality is not noticeably different, and uses less space than an MP3)
Step 3. Now a new screen appears. Click "Add File", and navigate to your audio files that you want as ringtones, alarm, etc. Once selected, click "OK"
DO NOT CHANGE THE OGG SETTINGS. DEFAULT SETTINGS WORK FINE
Step 4. Now you should be back at your main window, as if you just started the program. You should now see your selected files listed in the right window of the program. On the top bar, click "Start."
**Once the conversion process is finished, you may close the program. By default, your saved files will go to documents/FFOutput
Step 5. Open your Root Explorer program, I use Android Commander
**In Android Commander, the left window is your PC, the right is your phone
Step 6. With your Root Explorer program, navigate to your newly created OGG files. Once you see them listed, select them. In Android commander, to select a file, you must put a check mark in the box associated with that file.
Step 7. Move these newly selected files to your phone, by clicking the "Copy" button above the left window in Android Commander. In the right window, you will want to make sure that you are within your "/system/media/***" folder, to insure these files are copied to the correct location.
Step 8. Reboot and test.
Please note: "***" represents the respective folders. i.e. "ringtones", "notifications", etc.
If you want to remove audio files that you do not use, just select them, and click "Delete" from within their respective folders, using Android Commander.
**Once they are deleted, if you have no backup, they are gone!
I hope this has helped some of you, who wish to do this. If it has, please click THANKS.
Constructive criticism is always welcome. any questions, just ask.

I would suggest backing up the first first...
adb pull /system/media media-backup
You could replace steps 5-8 with this if you know how to use adb.
From cmd prompt:
adb remount /system
adb push drive:\path\to\folder-with-oggs /system/media/(ringtones/alarms/ui)
adb reboot

Can I just ask what's the advantage of doing this versus using a tone off of your SD card? Seems like a lot of extra work.

designgears said:
I would suggest backing up the first first...
adb pull /system/media media-backup
You could replace steps 5-8 with this if you know how to use adb.
From cmd prompt:
adb remount /system
adb push drive:\path\to\folder-with-oggs /system/media/(ringtones/alarms/ui)
adb reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got that in the OP, to backup your stuff first. ..And thanks for the command prompt commands. I'll give those a shot.
harlenm said:
Can I just ask what's the advantage of doing this versus using a tone off of your SD card? Seems like a lot of extra work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The advantage to doing this is nothing more than getting rid of extra stuff on your phone. Once the files are converted, you can put them aside somewhere and always have them.
This is with the understanding that you already have these ringtones on your memory card... This is a way to get them off your memory card, and on your phone. This in turn keeps your memory card clean.
I personally like this, because the only stuff that is on my phone is what I use, and nothing more. Even programs I don't use, get stripped from whatever ROM I am using.
FUNCTION > FORM

Ty for ya time there TribalartGod.
Works well....AND i have been trying to find something like this android commander.
So double thanks to ya

tribalartgod said:
Got that in the OP, to backup your stuff first. ..And thanks for the command prompt commands. I'll give those a shot.
The advantage to doing this is nothing more than getting rid of extra stuff on your phone. Once the files are converted, you can put them aside somewhere and always have them.
This is with the understanding that you already have these ringtones on your memory card... This is a way to get them off your memory card, and on your phone. This in turn keeps your memory card clean.
I personally like this, because the only stuff that is on my phone is what I use, and nothing more. Even programs I don't use, get stripped from whatever ROM I am using.
FUNCTION > FORM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
android reads your sd card for media just like it does on the system partition.
if you wanna keep your sdcard clean of ringtones/alarms/notifications files
just make a folder on your sd card called media then create the other folders to mimic android's system partition.
so it would be
media/audio/alarms
media/audio/notifications
media/audio/ringtones
that way the media scanner has to do less searching
and if you have small system partitions like older phones this really helps to strip them out the rom and put them on the sd card.

Thx for the info. Works great for my wife's Samsung infuse. I rooted it but for some reason it wont let me set custom ringtones without loading a custom rom. So this method worked great to replace her ringtones on rooted stock rom. Unfortunately there really isn't a solid custom rom for the infuse with what I tested so far.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium

Great tut. Ill keep it in mind as I normally just use a zip that drops my ringtones into the proper folder and deletes the ones I don't use. Or use root explorer to delete them if there are new ones not in my list.

Extract ringtones
After reading this i thought i could be able to extract ringtones from any rom from the system/media/ringtones/ but unfortunately i couldnt find any of them there.Where else could they be?

vinayakmt said:
After reading this i thought i could be able to extract ringtones from any rom from the system/media/ringtones/ but unfortunately i couldnt find any of them there.Where else could they be?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm no longer on this device...but what Rom are you trying to pull them from? I can still help. Pm me if need be
LG-P769 - Needs MIUI

I've been wondering how to do this. Now I have only my sd tones as I deleted the ones I didn't like (all of them moslty). Thanks!

Nice!
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda app-developers app

[Q] apk installer zip file to bootstrap app re-installs

Hi all.
I play with quite a few different roms, and currently add a little program apkinstaller to the rom before I load it.
I use the apkinstaller to first re-install TB off the SD card, and then I use TB to re-install everything else, then I go setup my accounts for market and syncing (don't need the cloud servers to do the re-installs wasting bandwidth).
It would be even better if I could put this apkinstaller and TB into a zip file which I could install after loading the rom.
If I can get it to load from a zip file, then I wouldn't even need the apk installer; I would just install TB from the zip file, reboot, and reload from there.
Where can I find information about what I need to do in a zip file to install an apk?
Thanks all.

Yeah I have the same question. Any one have any suggestions?

no-one able to assist
Seems there isn't much interest in replying - I assume this rather than no-one actually knowing.
I need my post count up anyway so I might as well reply with what I have seen. There was a thread somewhere else that I saw someone had a fresh_install.zip script to delete a set of files, and add launcher pro. I guess I need to pull that apart and see what I can work out from it. I only want to do the single file add, so it hopefully will be simple.

easier solution already available
Adding to my own thread again in case anyone else is interested.
I have been looking at the file, and have information about what would need to be done, but now find an easier alternative. It seems that many (most?) of the file managers have an apk installer built in. The roms typically come with a file manager, so I can just use that to start off my re-install process- nothing else required.
Will probably still play with the .zip file though just to understand what it needs.

[Q] newb problem How to rezip a rom

I have googled this alot and have not found any helpful results. I have unziped a rom I like to remove some .apks and add some of the ones I always find myself re-installing. I also have been playing with the build.prop, and the framework. I'm not trying to steal anyones work I just want to have a fresh version of this rom when I go back to it (which I do about once a week). my intent would be to flash, enter my wifi and google passwords, and start using it. I know I can just do a backup and reinstall that, but this has been helpful with my trying to understand how to build a rom and what makes it work. My question being what are the steps to rezip this rom into a flashable update. I have tried dsixda kitchen with no luck, just reziping it, and some other dumb methods. What am I missing here? plz help thank you.
also don't think it matters but this is for a o.g. evo

we got same problem, i edited a working rom for galaxy y (adding and removing some apk) then i was like huh??? what to do next, tried zipping it but doesnt work. hope.someone will reply here.
Sent from my Nokia 3310 running ICS

The problem is the signature verification of the ROM. We sign the ROMS when we create them.
No idea what custom recovery you might use but there should be an option to disable it before you try flashing.
I hope this helps.

No I have cwm and I disabled signature verification, it still starts fine says updating than immediately says its failed
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

I also just have it in the folders it unzips in then inside a folder and I just zip that folder is that not right I don't know lol hope someone can help
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

That's what's wrong. You can't zip an entire ROM as a folder then zip that folder. Doesn't work that way.
Open a ROM. See how its packed. You'll have a system folder, data, sdcard perhaps. But that's how you package it.
This isn't as easy as you think. You can't just hack stuff up and expect it to work if you don't do it properly.

MattCrystal said:
That's what's wrong. You can't zip an entire ROM as a folder then zip that folder. Doesn't work that way.
Open a ROM. See how its packed. You'll have a system folder, data, sdcard perhaps. But that's how you package it.
This isn't as easy as you think. You can't just hack stuff up and expect it to work if you don't do it properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I'm leaving the folders inside the ROM intact. everything is in a folder with all the folders ( data folder, META-INF folder, system folder ect..., and the boot image inside that single folder and then I am ziping all those items in the folder into a zip. I just can't get it to flash it starts then after a second of installation it says aborted.

sknight13602 said:
No I'm leaving the folders inside the ROM intact. everything is in a folder with all the folders ( data folder, META-INF folder, system folder ect..., and the boot image inside that single folder and then I am ziping all those items in the folder into a zip. I just can't get it to flash it starts then after a second of installation it says aborted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Zip up the ROM you want. Take that ROM to the kitchen then build it again. Try that. Sign it and everything. If you want a walk through PM me and ill give you my gtalk address.

sknight13602 said:
No I'm leaving the folders inside the ROM intact. everything is in a folder with all the folders ( data folder, META-INF folder, system folder ect..., and the boot image inside that single folder and then I am ziping all those items in the folder into a zip. I just can't get it to flash it starts then after a second of installation it says aborted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After reading this more I'm still understanding that the data and meta, system folders are in a folder, then that folder is zipped.
This is incorrect way to package it. The data, meta, system etc needs to be zipped all together as one. Not in a folder that is zipped. Make sense? Hope this explains more.

I'll try that I guess Mabry them all being in a folder is the prob I hope thanks man
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Yup. Let me know if you need anymore help and if that works for you.

MattCrystal said:
After reading this more I'm still understanding that the data and meta, system folders are in a folder, then that folder is zipped.
This is incorrect way to package it. The data, meta, system etc needs to be zipped all together as one. Not in a folder that is zipped. Make sense? Hope this explains more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol so I find this funny but after some research I found that their were some commands in my update script I was leaving in that needed to be removed because I was removing the apk from the rom but it was looking for them and causing errors so after all my headaches it was something simple that'll teach me not to mess with something that aint broke

just tryed to flash it and now after it almost finished flashing I got
"update sdcard/romname/blah blah. failed"(status 6)
does that mean anything to you besides that I messed something up?
I playing with a sense 3.5 rom on a gb 2.3.5 base. Is their an easier rom to play with thats is more user freindly for a newb? mabey takeing the original ruu and tweaking that? I just want to start somewhere and develop my skills.

sknight13602 said:
just tryed to flash it and now after it almost finished flashing I got
"update sdcard/romname/blah blah. failed"(status 6)
does that mean anything to you besides that I messed something up?
I playing with a sense 3.5 rom on a gb 2.3.5 base. Is their an easier rom to play with thats is more user freindly for a newb? mabey takeing the original ruu and tweaking that? I just want to start somewhere and develop my skills.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
k I got it now thnx for your help MattCrystal

Your welcome. Every phone works a little differently but get used to having problems and fixing them. Part of the struggle. And to me the fun. I love troubleshooting.

i think just open the zip (not unzip it)..
when dialog box open,,you can choose the apk or the others you want to delete..
if you want add somthing to zip,,just open the folder location you want add that,,and than drag n drop the file(s)..
thats it..
than close the dialog box..
winrar will ask you to save the change or not,,choose,,save..
its work for me..
P.S.
use the rom by yourself..
as your personal rom..
if you want to publish it,,ask the permit from the devs..