android_backup

What it is and what it does

android-backup is a command-line and programmatic tool for working with Android backup files (.ab format). It lets you unpack backups into a directory structure and repack them back into .ab format, with optional support for encrypted archives when pycrypto is available.

The package provides both a CLI interface (android-backup-unpack, android-backup-pack) and a Python API for integration into scripts. It has no runtime dependencies beyond the optional pycrypto for encryption support. However, the package is in alpha status and has not been actively maintained since 2018, so compatibility with current Android versions and modern Python environments is uncertain.

Use it for:

• Extract the contents of an Android backup file to inspect or modify individual app data and settings.
• Repack a modified Android backup directory back into .ab format for restoration to a device.
• Automate backup processing workflows that need to parse or transform Android backup archives.
• Decrypt and inspect encrypted Android backups when pycrypto is available.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Unpacks and repacks Android backup files (.ab format), with optional support for encrypted archives when pycrypto is installed.

No. The package is dormant (last release 2018, no updates for years), marked as alpha, and has high install friction due to source-only distribution. The optional pycrypto dependency is itself unmaintained and may fail on modern systems. If you need to work with Android backups, verify first that this tool works with your target Android version and Python environment, or consider whether a more actively maintained alternative exists.

Install

android-backup on PyPI

pip install android-backup

uv add android-backup

poetry add android-backup

Installing android_backup

Before you install

High install friction: the package ships as source only (no wheels), and the latest release is from 2018. Maintenance is dormant—the repo has not been updated since 2024-12-28 and the package itself has not been released in years, though the repository remains active.

License in practice

Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), so you may use, modify, and distribute it freely, including in commercial projects, provided you retain the license notice.

Quickstart

pip install android_backup

from android_backup import AndroidBackup

with AndroidBackup('foo.ab') as ab:
    ab.list()

ab.unpack()

For encrypted backups, pycrypto must be installed separately (pip install pycrypto); pycrypto itself is unmaintained and may have compatibility issues on modern systems.

Verify before relying

• Whether the package works reliably with modern Python versions (classifiers list both Python 2 and 3, but no specific version bounds are declared).
• Whether pycrypto is still the correct optional dependency for encrypted backups, or if a maintained alternative is now required.
• Current compatibility with Android backup formats from recent Android versions.

Package facts

Evidence: android_backup-0.2.0.tar.gz

Keywords: android, backup, pack, unpack, development

Tags

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