.APK file signature
A Android package file begins with the bytes 50 4B 03 04 (PK.. in ASCII) at the start of the file. The signature is the same whatever the file is named, which is why a renamed or extensionless APK file is still recognisable.
Signature
| Offset | Hex | ASCII |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 50 4B 03 04A ZIP archive containing AndroidManifest.xml and classes.dex. | PK.. |
MIME type: application/vnd.android.package-archive · usual extensions: .apk
How to check a file's signature
Without installing anything: drop the file on our detector. It reads the bytes in your browser and shows the hex dump alongside the verdict; nothing is uploaded.
macOS and Linux (Terminal):
xxd -l 32 file.apk
file file.apkWindows (PowerShell):
Format-Hex -Path file.apk -Count 32If the bytes do not match
A file named .apk whose first bytes are something else is not a APK file. The common explanations are a wrong or deliberately misleading extension, a download that saved an HTML error page instead of the file, or a container such as ZIP wrapping the real content. The detector reports what the bytes say; the APK guide explains what a genuine file should contain.