Porting jadx to HarmonyOS NEXT PC via embedded JVM - Courtesy notice & name check

[afk59]

jadx ported to HarmonyOS NEXT PC

Hello, and thank you for jadx.

This is a courtesy heads-up rather than a bug report. I have ported jadx to HarmonyOS NEXT PC, a platform without a standard Java runtime or desktop window toolkit, and I wanted to let you know about it directly.

What I did

The jadx decompiler engine itself is not modified. I did not patch the jadx source or modify the Maven artifacts. jadx-core and the input plugins are consumed from Maven Central as published, and they run on an embedded BiSheng JDK 17 (aarch64, musl) inside the application package.

What I replaced is the interface. The jadx-gui Swing UI cannot run on HarmonyOS NEXT, so I wrote a new frontend using the platform's native language and UI framework (ArkTS/ArkUI). It communicates with the engine through a small native bridge:

ArkTS / ArkUI
    Node-API
native bridge (C++)
    JNI Invocation API
embedded JVM, same process
    URLClassLoader
jadx-core and input plugins, unchanged

The bridge currently exposes open, tree, code, search, usage, status, and close, using JSON for communication.

Measured on a real device

Metric	Result
Engine runtime dependencies	27 JARs, 14 MB
jadx-core sources touching AWT	5 of 568 (0.9%)
java.desktop classes loaded at runtime	0
Embedded runtime after jlink	40.2 MB, 14 ELF files
Application package	52.6 MB
Runtime startup	99–141 ms
Decompiling one class	~110 ms

The java.desktop result was particularly useful. With resource decoding enabled, across two real APKs, the engine did not load any classes from that module. This allowed us to omit it from the runtime image.

The main AWT-related path we found in core is Res9patchStreamDecoder. It was not triggered in our test cases, and the application handles its absence gracefully rather than shipping the entire java.desktop module.

License and attribution

I have tried to keep the distribution and attribution requirements explicit:

• The jadx-related components retain their Apache-2.0 licensing and copyright notices.
• Our LICENSE file includes the applicable license text.
• NOTICE identifies this as a modified distribution and points to the original jadx NOTICE, including the third-party and AOSP-related components.
• The toolbar and tree icons are based on the icons used by jadx-gui; their JetBrains origins and applicable licensing are documented in docs/ICONS-NOTICE.md.
• The 27 bundled JARs are listed together with their respective licenses in docs/THIRD-PARTY.md.

I would appreciate it if the jadx maintainers could point out anything in this distribution that should be changed from a licensing, attribution, or redistribution perspective.

Where it is

https://atomgit.com/OpenHarmonyPCDeveloper/ohos_jadx

The project is published in the HarmonyOS PC developer community. The repository includes the build scripts, runtime module list, permission and signing steps, and notes about the issues encountered during the port.

The main goal was also to document the process so that others attempting to bring Java applications to HarmonyOS NEXT PC do not have to rediscover the same problems.

Happy to provide more details or make changes if anything in the port or its distribution should be handled differently.

[afk59]

Hi @skylot , following up on my own post here.

The HarmonyOS NEXT PC port already works end to end, the engine runs unchanged, and i have documented the whole build process. so honestly most of the groundwork is already done. bringing jadx to HarmonyOS PC (and eventually AppGallery) wouldn’t take much effort on your side. the platform is rolling out overseas now and jadx is popular enough that there’s a real audience for it there.

As a Huawei developer, If that’s something you’d be open to exploring, i am glad to do the heavy lifting: testing on real HarmonyOS hardware, keeping the port in sync, and acting as a bridge to the chinese HarmonyOS teams I just need a channel to reach you. could you share an email or whatever works best?

Thanks for jadx.

[skylot]

HarmonyOS NEXT PC port already works

@afk59 nice work 👍

bringing jadx to HarmonyOS PC (and eventually AppGallery) wouldn’t take much effort on your side

Not sure what you mean, but I was hoping that someone else will maintain this port

need a channel to reach you. could you share an email

Sorry, I don't want to share my email, just post everything right here.

[afk59]

Thank you for your feedback @skylot

just to clarify, HarmonyOS NEXT is Huawei's operating system for PCs , mobile and wearabke, with devices already available in China and expanding into the European market. AppGallery is its official app distribution platform. Publishing the jadx ohos build there requires a Huawei Developer account. wouldn't it make more sense for you to publish it under your own account? if not, do you know someone who could handle the submission, or could any interested contributor publish it under their own account? it is Jadx for HarmonyOS