enable android:debuggable in stock google app

Question

I need to enable debugging (BuildConfig.debug=true) in stock google music player apk. I checked with

aapt dump badging com.google.android.music.apk | grep -c application-debuggable

but noticed that the apk does not even have "android:debuggable" entry. Is there a way to enable debugging in a signed apk using apktool ?

Answer 1

You can decode using Apktool, but modifying the AndroidManifest.xml in anyway requires the apk to be resigned. Since you said, "debugging a signed apk", I don't know if that includes a new signature or the existing one.

If you are trying to keep the existing signature and add android:debuggable you are out of luck. You can easily add the debug attribute though and resign the apk to a new signature.