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Tool

GDA (GJoy Dex Analyzer)

Windows-native Dalvik decompiler and Android analysis workbench written in C++ that opens APK, DEX, ODEX, OAT, JAR, AAR and class files without installation. Besides Java and Smali views with cross-references, renaming and comments, it identifies packers, deobfuscates and decrypts strings, tracks data flow and taint, solves paths, runs rule-based malicious-behaviour, vulnerability and privacy-leak scans, and can dump device memory or hook methods with Frida. Shell and server CLI modes, Python and Java scripting and a sample malware-triage agent skill expose the same analysis to scripts and agents.

Requirements and limitations

  • Releases are Windows-only zip archives; the latest, GDA 4.12 of 2026-04-07, adds shell and server CLI modes among fixes. The repository holds no decompiler source: the README says GDA is not an open-source project, at least in the short term, and the repository publishes the free binaries with open scripts, plugin examples, rule samples and colour themes.
  • The executable runs without setup. Dex-family inputs need no Java, while JAR, AAR and class files need a working Java runtime for the bundled dx tool. The README says GDA is protected with VMProtect and unpacks embedded adb, a gdump memory-dump helper and rule files into the user’s application-data folder, which some antivirus products flag; the author states it has no malicious behaviour.
  • The skills folder holds a gda-analyze skill in Claude Code’s format that drives a bundled GDA.exe through a Python wrapper to trace code, extract indicators and draft malware reports, plus a server-mode client and test script. Its output, like the built-in rule-based scans, needs manual confirmation; this review ran no part of GDA.
  • LICENSE is Apache-2.0, and NOTICE says most of GDA is released under it, with adb and dex libraries taken from the Android SDK and AOSP; this conflicts with the README’s closed-source statement, so the binaries’ terms are unclear. Users supply the apps they analyze. The reviewed sources establish no REA connection.

About this entry

Type
Tool
Category
Android tools
Relationship
Foundation tool
Targets
App

Sources reviewed

The description was reviewed against primary sources. This does not establish runtime testing, security auditing or verified compatibility.

Primary sources

  1. README.md GitHub · charles2gan/GDA-android-reversing-Tool · Revision 20f8ce8
  2. LICENSE GitHub · charles2gan/GDA-android-reversing-Tool · Revision 20f8ce8
  3. NOTICE GitHub · charles2gan/GDA-android-reversing-Tool · Revision 20f8ce8
  4. skills/mal_skill/SKILL.md GitHub · charles2gan/GDA-android-reversing-Tool · Revision 20f8ce8
  5. update_history GitHub · charles2gan/GDA-android-reversing-Tool · Revision 20f8ce8
  6. https://github.com/charles2gan/GDA-android-reversing-Tool/releases/tag/GDA4.12