How to open a .apk file
Android package · Executable / archive
An .apk file is an Android app installer. It only installs on Android, where you must first allow installation from unknown sources. On a computer you can inspect it, because an APK is a ZIP archive.
What a .apk file actually is
APK stands for Android Package. It is a ZIP containing compiled code, resources, a manifest and a signature, and it is what the Play Store delivers to your phone behind the scenes.
Because the container is an ordinary ZIP, any archiver can list its contents. That is useful for checking what an app declares before installing it, and it is the only thing you can meaningfully do with an APK on a desktop.
Why it will not open
Windows and macOS have nothing to run an APK with; they are not Android. On the phone itself, Android blocks installation from outside the Play Store until you explicitly grant permission to the app that is doing the installing.
Renaming it to an extension you can open will not help: changing the extension does not convert the file, it only changes what Windows tries to open it with.
Step by step
Windows
- 01To inspect it: right-click and open with 7-Zip. You can read AndroidManifest.xml and see the permissions and components the app declares.
- 02To actually run it: install an Android emulator such as BlueStacks, then drag the .apk onto its window.
- 03To install it on a phone from a computer, use adb: "adb install app.apk" with USB debugging enabled.
macOS
- 01Open it with Keka or The Unarchiver to inspect the contents.
- 02For running apps, use an Android emulator, or Google Play Games on supported Macs.
What usually goes wrong
Sideloading is where Android malware lives
An APK from outside the Play Store has bypassed Google's scanning entirely. Only install one from the developer's own site, and check the signature or hash if the developer publishes it. Modified APKs of paid apps are a standard malware delivery method.
On Android 8 and later the permission is per-app
There is no longer a single global "unknown sources" switch. You grant the permission to whichever app is doing the installing, usually your browser or file manager, in Settings under Apps and special access.
Programs that open .apk
Our pick, in order. Every one links to the publisher's official download URL and the SHA-256 hash of the installer. Once you have downloaded it, you can check the file against our index before you run it.
If you end up downloading one of these from somewhere other than the publisher, what you can and cannot verify about that is worth two minutes.
Also registers .apk in its manifest
Taken straight from publisher manifests. Some of these handle the format for a narrow purpose rather than as their main job.
Common questions
- How do I open an APK file on Windows?
- To inspect it, open it with 7-Zip, since an APK is a ZIP archive. To actually run the app, install an Android emulator such as BlueStacks and drag the file onto it. Windows itself cannot execute Android code.
- Is it safe to install APK files?
- Only from the developer's own website, and even then verify a hash if one is published. An APK installed outside the Play Store has skipped Google's malware scanning, and repackaged versions of popular paid apps are a common attack vector.