What causes "Could not find file: {dexName}" in iBotPeaches/Apktool?

List the real entry names and use one of them: `unzip -l app.apk | grep dex` or ZipDexContainer.getDexEntryNames()

iBotPeaches/Apktool · error · AndrolibException

Could not find file: {dexName}

Error message

Could not find file: {dexName}

What it means

SmaliDecoder.decode(dexName, outDir) asked the ZipDexContainer for a specific dex entry and getEntry returned null, so no such dex file exists in the APK under that exact name. The message names the requested dex name.

Source

Thrown at brut.apktool/apktool-lib/src/main/java/brut/androlib/smali/SmaliDecoder.java:68

        mDebugMode = debugMode;
        mDexFiles = ConcurrentHashMap.newKeySet();
        mInferredApiLevel = new AtomicInteger();
    }

    public Set<String> getDexFiles() {
        return mDexFiles;
    }

    public int getInferredApiLevel() {
        return mInferredApiLevel.get();
    }

    public void decode(String dexName, File outDir) throws AndrolibException {
        try {
            // Fetch the requested dex file from the dex container.
            ZipDexContainer.DexEntry<DexBackedDexFile> dexEntry = mDexContainer.getEntry(dexName);
            if (dexEntry == null) {
                throw new AndrolibException("Could not find file: " + dexName);
            }

            // Add the requested dex file.
            Map<Integer, DexBackedDexFile> dexFiles = new TreeMap<>();
            dexFiles.put(1, dexEntry.getDexFile());

            // Add additional dex files if it's a multi-dex container.
            for (String dexEntryName : mDexContainer.getDexEntryNames()) {
                if (dexEntryName.equals(dexName)) {
                    continue;
                }

                String prefix = dexName + "/";
                if (!dexEntryName.startsWith(prefix)) {
                    continue;
                }

                int dexNum;

View on GitHub (pinned to 79b63384d7)

Solutions

List the real entry names and use one of them: `unzip -l app.apk | grep dex` or ZipDexContainer.getDexEntryNames()
Check for case/path mismatches (Classes.dex vs classes.dex, leading directories)
If decoding programmatically, derive dex names from the same container instance you decode from
Confirm you opened the intended APK (base vs split), since dex names come from the opened file only

Example fix

// before
decoder.decode("Classes.dex", outDir); // wrong case -> Could not find file

// after
for (String name : new ZipFile(apk).stream()
        .map(ZipEntry::getName)
        .filter(n -> n.endsWith(".dex"))
        .toList()) {
    decoder.decode(name, outDir);
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Enumerate real dex names from the container itself before decoding
Collection<String> names;
try {
    java.lang.reflect.Method unused = null; // placeholder
    names = new ZipFile(apk).stream().map(ZipEntry::getName)
        .filter(n -> n.endsWith(".dex")).toList();
} catch (IOException e) { throw new UncheckedIOException(e); }
if (!names.contains(dexName)) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("No such dex entry '" + dexName + "' in " + apk + "; have: " + names);
}

Try / catch

try {
    decoder.decode(dexName, outDir);
} catch (AndrolibException e) {
    if (e.getMessage() != null && e.getMessage().startsWith("Could not find file")) {
        // list container entries and correct the name; never blind-retry
    } else { throw e; }
}

Prevention

Always derive dex names from the same container you decode from
Treat dex names as case-sensitive on all platforms
Prefer iterating all entries over hardcoding names like classes2.dex

When it happens

Trigger: Calling decode with a name that does not exactly match an entry in the container, e.g. "Classes.dex" vs "classes.dex", "classes2.dex" vs "classes2.dex" with a path prefix, or a name obtained from a different APK than the one opened.

Common situations: Hard-coded dex names in scripts after an app changed its multidex layout; case-sensitivity differences between platforms; iterating dex names from one split while decoding another split's file.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of iBotPeaches/Apktool@79b63384d7 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/905a9e50efcd9956. Report an issue: GitHub.