Develop Reference

Android ProGuard obfuscating specific classes

I need ProGuard only for the purpose of obfuscating specific classes. I tried to proguard all but I'm having problems making the application work properly.
How should I define the proguard-project.txt?

Steps:-
1) Create a proguard.cfg file and place at the top directory of the project
2) In project.properties enable proguard something like this
# To enable ProGuard to shrink and obfuscate your code, uncomment this available properties: sdk.dir, user.home):
proguard.config=proguard.cfg
The example proguard.cfg is
-optimizationpasses 5
#When not preverifing in a case-insensitive filing system, such as Windows. Because this tool unpacks your processed jars, you should then use:
-dontusemixedcaseclassnames
#Specifies not to ignore non-public library classes. As of version 4.5, this is the default setting
-dontskipnonpubliclibraryclasses
#Preverification is irrelevant for the dex compiler and the Dalvik VM, so we can switch it off with the -dontpreverify option.
-dontpreverify
#Specifies to write out some more information during processing. If the program terminates with an exception, this option will print out the entire stack trace, instead of just the exception message.
-verbose
#The -optimizations option disables some arithmetic simplifications that Dalvik 1.0 and 1.5 can't handle. Note that the Dalvik VM also can't handle aggressive overloading (of static fields).
#To understand or change this check http://proguard.sourceforge.net/index.html#/manual/optimizations.html
-optimizations !code/simplification/arithmetic,!field/*,!class/merging/*
#To repackage classes on a single package
#-repackageclasses ''
#Uncomment if using annotations to keep them.
#-keepattributes *Annotation*
#Keep classes that are referenced on the AndroidManifest
-keep public class * extends android.app.Activity
-keep public class * extends android.app.Application
-keep public class * extends android.app.Service
-keep public class * extends android.content.BroadcastReceiver
-keep public class * extends android.content.ContentProvider
-keep public class com.android.vending.licensing.ILicensingService
#To remove debug logs:
-assumenosideeffects class android.util.Log {
public static *** d(...);
public static *** v(...);
}
#To avoid changing names of methods invoked on layout's onClick.
# Uncomment and add specific method names if using onClick on layouts
#-keepclassmembers class * {
# public void onClickButton(android.view.View);
#}
#Maintain java native methods
-keepclasseswithmembernames class * {
native <methods>;
}
#To maintain custom components names that are used on layouts XML.
#Uncomment if having any problem with the approach below
#-keep public class custom.components.package.and.name.**
#To maintain custom components names that are used on layouts XML:
-keep public class * extends android.view.View {
public <init>(android.content.Context);
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet);
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet, int);
public void set*(...);
}
-keepclasseswithmembers class * {
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet);
}
-keepclasseswithmembers class * {
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet, int);
}
#Maintain enums
-keepclassmembers enum * {
public static **[] values();
public static ** valueOf(java.lang.String);
}
#To keep parcelable classes (to serialize - deserialize objects to sent through Intents)
-keep class * implements android.os.Parcelable {
public static final android.os.Parcelable$Creator *;
}
#Keep the R
-keepclassmembers class **.R$* {
public static <fields>;
}
###### ADDITIONAL OPTIONS NOT USED NORMALLY
#To keep callback calls. Uncomment if using any
#http://proguard.sourceforge.net/index.html#/manual/examples.html#callback
#-keep class mypackage.MyCallbackClass {
# void myCallbackMethod(java.lang.String);
#}
#Uncomment if using Serializable
#-keepclassmembers class * implements java.io.Serializable {
# private static final java.io.ObjectStreamField[] serialPersistentFields;
# private void writeObject(java.io.ObjectOutputStream);
# private void readObject(java.io.ObjectInputStream);
# java.lang.Object writeReplace();
# java.lang.Object readResolve();
#}

Setting up Proguard with a Library project that depends on external jars

My android project has many dependencies, one of them has a libs folder with some jars, and everything is working fine until i try using proguard.
When running proguard i got an error with this log:
Warning: [!!few lines like this!!]: can't find superclass or interface [...]
Warning: [!!many lines like this!!]: can't find referenced class [...]
You should check if you need to specify additional program jars.
Warning: there were 190 unresolved references to classes or interfaces.
You may need to specify additional library jars (using '-libraryjars').
Warning: there were 6 unresolved references to program class members.
Your input classes appear to be inconsistent.
You may need to recompile them and try again.
Alternatively, you may have to specify the option
'-dontskipnonpubliclibraryclassmembers'.
java.io.IOException: Please correct the above warnings first.
then i tried to add the -libraryjars flag in my proguard config file, resulting in this additional warning, above the others:
Note: there were 698 duplicate class definitions.
The library project i cannot proguard is ShowcaseView (com.espian.showcaseview).
The jars in its library's libs folder are:
android-support-v4.jar
mockito-all-1.9.5.jar
nineoldandroids-2.4.0.jar
What should i do?!
EDIT
here's my proguard.cfg
-optimizationpasses 5
-dontusemixedcaseclassnames
-dontskipnonpubliclibraryclasses
-dontskipnonpubliclibraryclassmembers
-dontpreverify
-verbose
-optimizations !code/simplification/arithmetic,!field/*,!class/merging/*
#-libraryjars ../ShowcaseView-master/library/libs/android-support-v4.jar
#-libraryjars ../ShowcaseView-master/library/libs/mockito-all-1.9.5.jar
#-libraryjars ../ShowcaseView-master/library/libs/nineoldandroids-2.4.0.jar
-keep public class * extends android.app.Activity
-keep public class * extends android.app.Application
-keep public class * extends android.app.Service
-keep public class * extends android.content.BroadcastReceiver
-keep public class * extends android.content.ContentProvider
-keep public class * extends android.app.backup.BackupAgentHelper
-keep public class * extends android.preference.Preference
-keep public class com.android.vending.licensing.ILicensingService
-assumenosideeffects class android.util.Log {
public static *** d(...);
public static *** v(...);
public static *** i(...);
public static *** w(...);
}
-keepclasseswithmembernames class * {
native <methods>;
}
-keepclasseswithmembers class * {
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet);
}
-keepclasseswithmembers class * {
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet, int);
}
-keepclassmembers class * extends android.app.Activity {
public void *(android.view.View);
}
-keepclassmembers enum * {
public static **[] values();
public static ** valueOf(java.lang.String);
}
-keep class * implements android.os.Parcelable {
public static final android.os.Parcelable$Creator *;
}
#this is a try for all assets and res/raw/*html!
-keepclassmembers class **.R$* {
public static <fields>;
}
-keep class **.R$*
#ACRA specifics
# Restore some Source file names and restore approximate line numbers in the stack traces,
# otherwise the stack traces are pretty useless
-keepattributes SourceFile,LineNumberTable
# ACRA needs "annotations" so add this...
# Note: This may already be defined in the default "proguard-android-optimize.txt"
# file in the SDK. If it is, then you don't need to duplicate it. See your
# "project.properties" file to get the path to the default "proguard-android-optimize.txt".
-keepattributes *Annotation*
# keep this class so that logging will show 'ACRA' and not a obfuscated name like 'a'.
# Note: if you are removing log messages elsewhere in this file then this isn't necessary
-keep class org.acra.ACRA {
*;
}
# keep this around for some enums that ACRA needs
-keep class org.acra.ReportingInteractionMode {
*;
}
-keepnames class org.acra.sender.HttpSender$** {
*;
}
-keepnames class org.acra.ReportField {
*;
}
# keep this otherwise it is removed by ProGuard
-keep public class org.acra.ErrorReporter
{
public void addCustomData(java.lang.String,java.lang.String);
public void putCustomData(java.lang.String,java.lang.String);
public void removeCustomData(java.lang.String);
}
# keep this otherwise it is removed by ProGuard
-keep public class org.acra.ErrorReporter
{
public void handleSilentException(java.lang.Throwable);
}

Try this
-libraryjars /libs/mail.jar
-libraryjars /libs/activation.jar
-libraryjars /libs/additionnal.jar
Write your jar file path into the progurd.cfg or proguard-project.txt

You should add these lines for your libraries. They will don't warn for can't find reference class
-keep class com.nineoldandroids.** { *; }
-dontwarn -com.nineoldandroids.**

android proguard fail with mail sending

I have a project in Eclipse on Windows with a list of services and btoadcastreceivers... It works fine! Now, I have Decided to Proguard it... So, I have added to project.properties such lines...
target=android-8
proguard.config=C:\\Program Files\\Android\\android-sdk\\tools\\proguard\\proguard-android.txt
And I have proguard-android.txt ...
# This is a configuration file for ProGuard.
# http://proguard.sourceforge.net/index.html#manual/usage.html
-dontusemixedcaseclassnames
-dontskipnonpubliclibraryclasses
-verbose
-libraryjars C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_26\jre\lib\rt.jar(java/**,javax/security/**,javax/activation/**)
# Optimization is turned off by default. Dex does not like code run
# through the ProGuard optimize and preverify steps (and performs some
# of these optimizations on its own).
-dontoptimize
-dontpreverify
# Note that if you want to enable optimization, you cannot just
# include optimization flags in your own project configuration file;
# instead you will need to point to the
# "proguard-android-optimize.txt" file instead of this one from your
# project.properties file.
-keepattributes *Annotation*
-keep public class com.google.vending.licensing.ILicensingService
-keep public class com.android.vending.licensing.ILicensingService
# For native methods, see http://proguard.sourceforge.net/manual/examples.html#native
-keepclasseswithmembernames class * {
native <methods>;
}
# keep setters in Views so that animations can still work.
# see http://proguard.sourceforge.net/manual/examples.html#beans
-keepclassmembers public class * extends android.view.View {
void set*(***);
*** get*();
}
# We want to keep methods in Activity that could be used in the XML attribute onClick
-keepclassmembers class * extends android.app.Activity {
public void *(android.view.View);
}
# For enumeration classes, see http://proguard.sourceforge.net/manual/examples.html#enumerations
-keepclassmembers enum * {
public static **[] values();
public static ** valueOf(java.lang.String);
}
-keep class * implements android.os.Parcelable {
public static final android.os.Parcelable$Creator *;
}
-keepclassmembers class **.R$* {
public static <fields>;
}
# The support library contains references to newer platform versions.
# Don't warn about those in case this app is linking against an older
# platform version. We know about them, and they are safe.
-dontwarn android.support.**
I had 247 errors before added line ###-libraryjars C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_26\jre\lib\rt.jar(java/,javax/security/,javax/activation/**) ### TO proguard-android.txt.... After this modify there no errors. Projects by Export with key makes..... But the application doesn't works fully... More precisely, statistics is not sent to mail... Every time it must send - the app doesn't send... Just place it on sd as should... Could you help??? What is the matter?

I have modified project.propertis to ...
target=android-8
#proguard.config=C:\\Program Files\\Android\\android-sdk\\tools\\proguard\\proguard-android.txt
progurd.config=proguardbest.cfg
And added proguardbest.cfg to my project with...
-optimizationpasses 5
#When not preverifing in a case-insensitive filing system, such as Windows. Because this tool unpacks your processed jars, you should then use:
-dontusemixedcaseclassnames
#Specifies not to ignore non-public library classes. As of version 4.5, this is the default setting
-dontskipnonpubliclibraryclasses
-libraryjars C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\lib\rt.jar(java/**,javax/security/**,javax/activation/**)
#Preverification is irrelevant for the dex compiler and the Dalvik VM, so we can switch it off with the -dontpreverify option.
-dontpreverify
#Specifies to write out some more information during processing. If the program terminates with an exception, this option will print out the entire stack trace, instead of just the exception message.
-verbose
#The -optimizations option disables some arithmetic simplifications that Dalvik 1.0 and 1.5 can't handle. Note that the Dalvik VM also can't handle aggressive overloading (of static fields).
#To understand or change this check http://proguard.sourceforge.net/index.html#/manual/optimizations.html
-optimizations !code/simplification/arithmetic,!field/*,!class/merging/*
#To repackage classes on a single package
#-repackageclasses ''
#Uncomment if using annotations to keep them.
#-keepattributes *Annotation*
#Keep classes that are referenced on the AndroidManifest
-keep public class * extends android.app.Activity
-keep public class * extends android.app.Application
-keep public class * extends android.app.Service
-keep public class * extends android.content.BroadcastReceiver
-keep public class * extends android.content.ContentProvider
-keep public class com.android.vending.licensing.ILicensingService
#To remove debug logs:
-assumenosideeffects class android.util.Log {
public static *** d(...);
public static *** v(...);
}
#To avoid changing names of methods invoked on layout's onClick.
# Uncomment and add specific method names if using onClick on layouts
#-keepclassmembers class * {
# public void onClickButton(android.view.View);
#}
#Maintain java native methods
-keepclasseswithmembernames class * {
native <methods>;
}
#To maintain custom components names that are used on layouts XML.
#Uncomment if having any problem with the approach below
-keep public class custom.components.package.and.name.**
#To maintain custom components names that are used on layouts XML:
-keep public class * extends android.view.View {
public <init>(android.content.Context);
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet);
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet, int);
public void set*(...);
}
-keepclassmembers class * extends android.content.Context {
public void *(android.view.View);
public void *(android.view.MenuItem);
}
-keepclasseswithmembers class * {
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet);
}
-keepclasseswithmembers class * {
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet, int);
}
#Maintain enums
-keepclassmembers enum * {
public static **[] values();
public static ** valueOf(java.lang.String);
}
#To keep parcelable classes (to serialize - deserialize objects to sent through Intents)
-keep class * implements android.os.Parcelable {
public static final android.os.Parcelable$Creator *;
}
#Keep the R
-keepclassmembers class **.R$* {
public static <fields>;
}
#Uncomment if using Serializable
-keepclassmembers class * implements java.io.Serializable {
private static final java.io.ObjectStreamField[] serialPersistentFields;
private void writeObject(java.io.ObjectOutputStream);
private void readObject(java.io.ObjectInputStream);
java.lang.Object writeReplace();
java.lang.Object readResolve();
}

NullPointerException with proguard

I'm using Proguard with my apps and I'm getting NullPointerExceptions sent to my Developer Console for random users. When I do a ReTrace, it seems to be an issue with the AdView I'm using. The confusing thing is, the error is happening in my Service which, obviously, doesn't use ads. Not sure if Proguard is doing something to the code or what. This is the de-obfuscated stack trace:
java.lang.NullPointerException
at com.google.ads.internal.AdWebView$1.a(Unknown Source)
at com.app.base.MainService.onHandleIntent(Unknown Source)
at android.app.IntentService$ServiceHandler.handleMessage(IntentService.java:59)
at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:130)
at android.os.HandlerThread.run(HandlerThread.java:60)
MainService is my service, which is then showing, from what I can tell, a NullPointerException related to com.google.ads.internal.AdView.
I recently realized I wasn't calling destroy() on my AdView, so I added this to the Activities that are using it:
#Override
public void onDestroy()
{
if (adView != null)
adView.destroy();
super.onDestroy();
}
Not sure if that would cause the issue.
This is my proguard.cfg file:
-optimizationpasses 5
-dontusemixedcaseclassnames
-dontskipnonpubliclibraryclasses
-dontpreverify
-verbose
-optimizations !code/simplification/arithmetic,!field/*,!class/merging/*
-libraryjars C:\Workspace\JARs\GoogleAdMobAdsSdk-6.0.0.jar
-libraryjars C:\Workspace\JARs\android-support-v4.jar
-repackageclasses ''
-allowaccessmodification
-optimizations !code/simplification/arithmetic
-keepattributes *Annotation*
-dontwarn **CompatHoneycomb
-dontwarn **CompatHoneycombMR2
-dontwarn **CompatCreatorHoneycombMR2
-keep public class * extends android.app.Activity
-keep public class * extends android.app.Application
-keep public class * extends android.app.Service
-keep public class * extends android.content.BroadcastReceiver
-keep public class * extends android.content.ContentProvider
-keep public class * extends android.app.Fragment
-keep class android.support.v4.app.** { *; }
-keep interface android.support.v4.app.** { *; }
-keep class com.actionbarsherlock.** { *; }
-keep interface com.actionbarsherlock.** { *; }
-keep class com.app.base.KeywordsFragment
-keep class com.app.base.ListingFragment
-keep public class * extends android.view.View {
public <init>(android.content.Context);
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet);
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet, int);
public void set*(...);
}
# This will avoid all the onClick listeners referenced from XML Layouts from being removed
-keepclassmembers class * extends android.app.Activity {
public void *(android.view.View);
}
-keepclasseswithmembers class * {
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet);
}
-keepclasseswithmembers class * {
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet, int);
}
-keepclassmembers class * implements android.os.Parcelable {
static android.os.Parcelable$Creator CREATOR;
}
-keepclassmembers class **.R$* {
public static <fields>;
}
-dontwarn android.support.**
UPDATE:
After looking at the Proguard manual, I found this is in the troubleshooting section:
"MissingResourceException or NullPointerException
Your processed code may be unable to find some resource files. ProGuard simply copies resource files over from the input jars to the output jars."
Wonder if I need to use keepdirectories
UPDATE 2:
I'm wondering if adding this will fix my issue. I can't test this though because I am unable to recreate the error myself. It is only happening for random users:
-keep class com.google.ads.** {*;}
UPDATE 3:
After retracing other errors I'm getting in the Developer Console, they all seem to be related to com.google.ads, eg:
java.lang.NullPointerException
at com.google.ads.InterstitialAd.a(Unknown Source)

I think using the following should work:
-keepattributes *Annotation*
-keep public class com.google.ads.**
The annotation piece may be in there already. I think the issue is that the SDK has it's own proguard, and relies on it's public classes to not be proguarded by the developer.

The second proguard statement should be:
-keep public class com.google.ads.** {*;}
without {*;} it doesn't work for me

I spent an evening figuring out that introspection can cause a NullPointerException with proguard. In retrospect it is obvious.
For example, I had to remove the line:
Log.i(TAG, new Object(){}.getClass().getEnclosingMethod().getName());

How to tell ProGuard to keep everything in a particular package?

My application has many activities and uses native library too. With the default ProGuard configuration which Eclipse generates ProGuard removes many things - OnClick methods, static members, callback methods which my native library uses... Is it there a simple way to instruct ProGuard to NOT remove anything from my package? Removing things saves only about 2.5% of the application size, but breaks my application completely. Configuring, testing and maintaining it class by class in ProGuard configuration would be a pain.

EDIT This answer is 10 years old - it may not apply to newer proguard versions.
I think you need to add these flags at the very least (modify for you individual package names):
-keep class javax.** { *; }
-keep class org.** { *; }
-keep class twitter4j.** { *; }
Also, add these flags:
-dontshrink
-dontoptimize
-dontpreverify
Here's my whole config file: of my Proguard.cfg:
-dontshrink
-dontoptimize
-dontpreverify
-verbose
-dontwarn javax.management.**
-dontwarn java.lang.management.**
-dontwarn org.apache.log4j.**
-dontwarn org.apache.commons.logging.**
-dontwarn org.slf4j.**
-dontwarn org.json.**
-keep public class * extends android.app.Activity
-keep public class * extends android.app.Application
-keep public class * extends android.app.Service
-keep public class * extends android.content.BroadcastReceiver
-keep public class * extends android.content.ContentProvider
-keep public class * extends android.app.backup.BackupAgentHelper
-keep public class * extends android.preference.Preference
-keep public class com.android.vending.licensing.ILicensingService
-keep class javax.** { *; }
-keep class org.** { *; }
-keep class twitter4j.** { *; }
-keepclasseswithmembernames class * {
native <methods>;
}
-keepclasseswithmembernames class * {
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet);
}
-keepclasseswithmembernames class * {
public <init>(android.content.Context, android.util.AttributeSet, int);
}
-keepclassmembers enum * {
public static **[] values();
public static ** valueOf(java.lang.String);
}
-keep class * implements android.os.Parcelable {
public static final android.os.Parcelable$Creator *;
}

As final result I found that just keeping all class members is not enough for the correct work of my application, nor necessary. I addded to the settings file this:
-keepclasseswithmembers class * {
void onClick*(...);
}
-keepclasseswithmembers class * {
*** *Callback(...);
}
The case with onClick* is for all methods which I address in android:onClick atribute in .xml layout files (I begin the names of all such methods with 'onClick').
The case with *Callback is for all callback methods which I call from my native code (through JNI). I place a suffix 'Callback' to the name of every such method.
Also I added few rows for some special cases with variables which I use from native code, like:
-keep class com.myapp.mypackage.SomeMyClass {
*** position;
}
(for a varible with name 'position' in a class with name 'SomeMyClass' from package com.myapp.mypackage)
All this is because these onClick, callback etc. must not only be present but also kept with their original names. The other things ProGuard can optimize freely.
The case with the native methods is important also, but for it there was a declaration in the generated from Eclipse file:
-keepclasseswithmembernames class * {
native <methods>;
}

I know this is an old question but I hope that the following information might help other people.
You can prevent ProGuard from removing anything in a certain package as follows;
-keep,allowoptimization,allowobfuscation class com.example.mypackage.** { *; }
Using the modifiers allowoptimization and allowobfuscation will make sure that ProGuard still obfuscates and optimizes the code. Shrinking will of course be disabled as intended.
You can easily verify how these -keep rules affect the code without the need to (re-)build using the ProGuard Playground.