Trouble Executing AAPT Commands Inside Docker Container

Question

I'm working on a Dockerfile where I'm trying to create a container environment to run Java code that requires both ADB and AAPT executables. While I've been able to successfully execute ADB commands, I'm encountering issues when attempting to run AAPT commands inside the Docker container.

Here's a simplified version of my Dockerfile:

FROM maven:3.8.6-eclipse-temurin-19-alpine as build
COPY src /home/app/src
COPY pom.xml /home/app
RUN mvn -f /home/app/pom.xml clean package

FROM eclipse-temurin:19-jdk-alpine
VOLUME /tmp
RUN apk update && \
    apk add -v --no-cache android-tools
COPY --from=build /home/app/target/*.jar /project.jar
ENTRYPOINT ["sh", "-c", "java ${JAVA_OPTS} -jar /project.jar"]

I've included the android-tools package in the container via the apk command, which allows me to run ADB commands successfully. However, I'm unable to execute AAPT commands, which are also required by my Java code.

Am I looking at the wrong package for AAPT, if so What is the correct package to run apk on to get the AAPT executable in the container?

If anyone has experience with using AAPT within a Docker container or any insights into what might be causing this issue, I'd greatly appreciate your help. Thank you!

Answer 1

Since AAPT2 (Android Asset Packaging Tool) is part of the Android SDK Build-Tools, which is a component of the Android SDK... adding that to your Dockerfile should help.
I will be using android-sdk-cmdline-tools-offline.

# Use a base image
FROM maven:3.8.6-eclipse-temurin-19-alpine as build

# Set environment variables
ENV ANDROID_SDK_ROOT /usr/local/android-sdk
ENV BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION 34.0.0
ENV CMDLINE_TOOLS_VERSION 9644228

# Install dependencies
RUN apk update && \
    apk add --no-cache wget unzip

# Download and extract Android SDK command-line tools
RUN wget https://dl.google.com/android/repository/commandlinetools-linux-${CMDLINE_TOOLS_VERSION}_latest.zip -O sdk-tools.zip && \
    mkdir -p ${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/cmdline-tools && \
    unzip sdk-tools.zip -d ${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/cmdline-tools/ && \
    mv ${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/cmdline-tools/cmdline-tools ${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/cmdline-tools/latest && \
    rm sdk-tools.zip

# Add the Android SDK tools to the PATH
ENV PATH ${PATH}:${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/cmdline-tools/latest/bin

# Install the Android Build Tools
RUN yes | sdkmanager "build-tools;${BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION}"

# Copy your project files
COPY src /home/app/src
COPY pom.xml /home/app

# Build your project
RUN mvn -f /home/app/pom.xml clean package

# Setup the runtime stage
FROM eclipse-temurin:19-jdk-alpine

# Set environment variables
ENV ANDROID_SDK_ROOT /usr/local/android-sdk
ENV BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION 34.0.0

# Install Android Build-Tools
COPY --from=build ${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT} ${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}

# Add the Android SDK tools to the PATH
ENV PATH ${PATH}:${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/cmdline-tools/latest/bin:${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/build-tools/${BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION}

# Setup a volume
VOLUME /tmp

# Copy the built jar file
COPY --from=build /home/app/target/*.jar /project.jar

# Set the entry point for your container
ENTRYPOINT ["sh", "-c", "java ${JAVA_OPTS} -jar /project.jar"]

I added the environment variables (ANDROID_SDK_ROOT, BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION and CMDLINE_TOOLS_VERSION) to make it easier to reference the Android SDK root path and the build tools version. And I installed wget and unzip to download and extract the Android SDK command-line tools.

That way, I can download and extract the Android SDK command-line tools to the specified ANDROID_SDK_ROOT, adding Android SDK cmdline-tools bin directory to the PATH.
I used the sdkmanager to install the Android Build-Tools of the specified version (adjust BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION and CMDLINE_TOOLS_VERSION as necessary).

In the runtime stage, I copied the entire Android SDK installation from the build stage to ensure that aapt and other build tools are available in the runtime environment. And I added the build-tools directory to the PATH to make the aapt executable available in the PATH in your runtime container.

Answer 2

to get the AAPT executable in the container is

android-sdk-cmdline-tools

. The

android-tools

package only includes the ADB executable. To fix your Dockerfile, you can change the apk add command to the following:

apk add -v --no-cache android-sdk-cmdline-tools

Here is the updated Dockerfile:

FROM maven:3.8.6-eclipse-temurin-19-alpine as build
COPY src /home/app/src
COPY pom.xml /home/app
RUN mvn -f /home/app/pom.xml clean package

FROM eclipse-temurin:19-jdk-alpine
VOLUME /tmp
RUN apk update && \
    apk add -v --no-cache android-sdk-cmdline-tools
COPY --from=build /home/app/target/*.jar /project.jar
ENTRYPOINT ["sh", "-c", "java ${JAVA_OPTS} -jar /project.jar"]

Answer 3

To include AAPT in your Docker container, you'll need to install the Android SDK or standalone Android build tools package, as AAPT is usually bundled with these.

Here's an updated Dockerfile that installs the Android build tools, which include AAPT, in your container:

FROM maven:3.8.6-eclipse-temurin-19-alpine as build
COPY src /home/app/src
COPY pom.xml /home/app
RUN mvn -f /home/app/pom.xml clean package

FROM eclipse-temurin:19-jdk-alpine
VOLUME /tmp
RUN apk update && \
    apk add -v --no-cache android-tools && \
    wget https://dl.google.com/android/repository/commandlinetools-linux-7583922_latest.zip -O /tmp/android-tools.zip && \
    unzip -d /usr/local/android /tmp/android-tools.zip && \
    rm /tmp/android-tools.zip && \
    /usr/local/android/cmdline-tools/bin/sdkmanager --install "build-tools;30.0.3" && \
    ln -s /usr/local/android/cmdline-tools/tools/bin/aapt /usr/bin/aapt
COPY --from=build /home/app/target/*.jar /project.jar
ENTRYPOINT ["sh", "-c", "java ${JAVA_OPTS} -jar /project.jar"]