Extract text from Android system modules (APEX)
To convert APEX modules to another format, you need Android SDK or other System software.
To convert other file formats to the "Update Package Container" file type, you need software like Android SDK or a similar tool.
The .APEX file format, known as the Android Pony Express package, is a container format introduced in Android 10 to facilitate modular system updates. It allows core OS components - such as runtime libraries, media codecs, and DNS resolvers - to be updated via the Google Play Store (Project Mainline) without requiring a full system OTA update. While technically a standard ZIP archive, treating it as a simple compressed folder often confuses users. The main problem is that the useful data is not sitting loosely in the archive; it is encapsulated inside a raw filesystem image named apex_payload.img (usually formatted as ext4). Consequently, simply unzipping the file leaves you with an unreadable disk image rather than the source code or binaries you are looking for.
Users typically encounter these files when analyzing firmware dumps, developing custom ROMs, or debugging Android system behavior. Because APEX files are signed and verified by Android Verified Boot, modifying them breaks the chain of trust, making them read-only for most practical purposes outside of a rooted environment. For inspection, the best workflow is to convert or rename the file to ZIP to access the apex_manifest.json and apex_pubkey. To access the actual libraries inside, you need to extract the apex_payload.img and further unpack that filesystem image.
Convert.Guru analyzes your APEX file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted ASPX, PDF, JPG, JSON and FLOW files.
If you want to convert APEX file to PDF, JSON or FLOW, you can use Android SDK or similar software from the "Android System Module" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to APEX, try Android SDK or another comparable tool in the "Android System Module" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our APEX converter.