singwhatiwanna/dynamic-load-apk
Dynamic Load Apk
Dynamic-load-apk is an Android plugin framework that enables a host application to load and run uninstalled APK files as plugins at runtime. It provides the core infrastructure for loading APKs from storage, launching their activities, and managing their lifecycle without requiring the user to install them through the system package manager.
The framework handles the fundamental challenges of running uninstalled code on Android through several key mechanisms. It isolates plugin classes in a separate DexClassLoader to prevent conflicts with the host class hierarchy, merges plugin resources into a custom AssetManager so standard R identifiers work, and extracts native .so libraries from the plugin APK into a private directory for native code execution. Plugin activities are managed through a proxy pattern where a host proxy activity delegates lifecycle callbacks to the plugin's real activity class, and broadcast receivers can be registered dynamically at runtime without manifest entries.
For plugin development, the framework offers a single-JAR dependency model that encapsulates class loading, resource handling, and lifecycle delegation transparently. It supports three integration modes that define the degree of code dependency between a plugin and its host, ranging from no access to full access. Plugins can also be run in their own dedicated Linux process for memory and resource isolation, and the same APK can run as a standalone app when installed to simplify debugging and testing.
