Tool
GDA (GJoy Dex Analyzer)
Windows-native Dalvik decompiler and Android analysis workbench written in C++ that opens APK, DEX, ODEX, OAT, JAR, AAR and class files without installation. Besides Java and Smali views with cross-references, renaming and comments, it identifies packers, deobfuscates and decrypts strings, tracks data flow and taint, solves paths, runs rule-based malicious-behaviour, vulnerability and privacy-leak scans, and can dump device memory or hook methods with Frida. Shell and server CLI modes, Python and Java scripting and a sample malware-triage agent skill expose the same analysis to scripts and agents.
- Targets
- App
- Category
- Android tools
- Relationship
- Foundation tool
- Sources reviewed
Requirements & limits
- Releases are Windows-only zip archives; the latest, GDA 4.12 of 2026-04-07, adds shell and server CLI modes among fixes. The repository holds no decompiler source: the README says GDA is not an open-source project, at least in the short term, and the repository publishes the free binaries with open scripts, plugin examples, rule samples and colour themes.
- The executable runs without setup. Dex-family inputs need no Java, while JAR, AAR and class files need a working Java runtime for the bundled dx tool. The README says GDA is protected with VMProtect and unpacks embedded adb, a gdump memory-dump helper and rule files into the user’s application-data folder, which some antivirus products flag; the author states it has no malicious behaviour.
- The skills folder holds a gda-analyze skill in Claude Code’s format that drives a bundled GDA.exe through a Python wrapper to trace code, extract indicators and draft malware reports, plus a server-mode client and test script. Its output, like the built-in rule-based scans, needs manual confirmation.
- LICENSE is Apache-2.0, and NOTICE says most of GDA is released under it, with adb and dex libraries taken from the Android SDK and AOSP; this conflicts with the README’s closed-source statement, so the binaries’ terms are unclear. Users supply the apps they analyze.
About this entry
The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Primary sources
- README.md GitHub · charles2gan/GDA-android-reversing-Tool · Revision 20f8ce8
- LICENSE GitHub · charles2gan/GDA-android-reversing-Tool · Revision 20f8ce8
- NOTICE GitHub · charles2gan/GDA-android-reversing-Tool · Revision 20f8ce8
- skills/mal_skill/SKILL.md GitHub · charles2gan/GDA-android-reversing-Tool · Revision 20f8ce8
- update_history GitHub · charles2gan/GDA-android-reversing-Tool · Revision 20f8ce8
- https://github.com/charles2gan/GDA-android-reversing-Tool/releases/tag/GDA4.12
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