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APK split bundle (.apks) file format

.apks  ·  archive (Android distribution)  ·  introduced 2018 by Google

What is a APK split bundle (.apks) file?

.apks is a ZIP-of-APKs that Google's bundletool produces from an Android App Bundle. It contains a base.apk plus per-architecture, per-density, and per-language splits, mimicking what Play Store delivers to a specific device. Sideload installers like SAI and APKMirror Installer accept .apks as input.

Most readers reach this page after double-clicking a .apks file and finding their operating system unsure what to do with it. The good news: APK split bundle (.apks) is a well-understood format with mature tooling on every major platform. It is supported in one click by mainstream archivers on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

How to extract a APK split bundle (.apks) file

Opening a .apks file is straightforward on every modern operating system. The exact steps depend on which platform you are on:

On Windows

  1. Locate the .apks file in File Explorer.
  2. Right-click the file. If you have 7-Zip installed, choose 7-Zip → Extract Here. On Windows 11 the built-in extractor handles ZIP, 7z, RAR and several other formats directly through Extract All…
  3. If prompted, pick a destination folder and click Extract.
  4. The extracted files appear in a folder next to the original archive.

On macOS

  1. Find the .apks file in Finder.
  2. Install The Unarchiver from the Mac App Store, or Keka for both creating and extracting.
  3. Right-click the file → Open With → The Unarchiver (or just double-click after Unarchiver is set as the default).
  4. The extracted folder appears next to the archive.

On Linux

  1. Use your file manager: right-click the archive → Extract Here (file-roller on GNOME, Ark on KDE).
  2. On the command line, run one of: 
    7z x archive.apks    # works for almost any format
  3. The files appear in the current directory.

How to create a APK split bundle (.apks) file

To pack files into a .apks archive, you typically need an archiver that supports writing this format. Not every tool can create every format — for example, only WinRAR can create real RAR files. The sidebar lists the software known to read and write APK split bundle (.apks).

On the command line, the canonical create command is:

# Use 7-Zip, PeaZip, or the format's reference tool to create .apks files.

If you regularly create archives at scale, a dedicated archive automation suite can wrap this command in scheduled jobs, integrity checks, and offsite replication.

Strengths

  • Mirrors Play Store delivery
  • Includes every device variant

Weaknesses and limitations

  • Requires special installer to deploy
  • Larger than a single APK

Typical use cases

  • Android sideloading from App Bundles
  • Backups of multi-split apps

Technical details

APK split bundle (.apks) uses the ZIP (DEFLATE) algorithm and is identified on disk by the magic byte sequence 50 4B 03 04. The standard MIME type is application/x-apks. The format is an open specification and is free for any use.

Frequently asked questions

Is APK split bundle (.apks) safe to open?

Archive files are containers — they are only as safe as what they contain. A .apks from a trusted source is fine; one received from a stranger can hold malicious executables, scripts, or files engineered to exploit bugs in your archiver. Always keep your archiver updated, and never run unknown executables that come out of an archive. A safe workflow is to extract into a sandbox and scan the contents before opening anything.

What is the maximum file size?

Modern ZIP-based formats use the ZIP64 extension to support archives larger than 4 GB and individual files larger than 4 GB, up to 16 EB in theory. Older tooling that does not understand ZIP64 will report a corruption error on such files.

Can I password-protect a APK split bundle (.apks)?

Some archivers can wrap APK split bundle (.apks) files in an encrypted container, but the format itself does not always include built-in encryption. Check your archiver's documentation.

How does APK split bundle (.apks) compare to other formats?

See our format comparison pages such as ZIP vs 7z, ZIP vs RAR, and tar.gz vs tar.xz for side-by-side feature tables.

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