Decompile ,Edit, Recompile and publish into google play store

Think a scenario where you lost your source code of android application which already in google play store. And you need to do a minor modification into your android app. Here i’m going to give you main steps to decompile play store apk and recompile it. Then you need to sign using your key-store file. After that you can republish it again to google play.

1. You can decompile your apk file using apk studio. (http://vaibhavpandey.com/apkstudio/) . Decompiled source will be in .smali file types (hexadecimal values ).
2. You can edit specific value by searching in decompiled source code. You need to increase the version of your code base in order to publish it in google play store. (apktoo.yml) .
3. Once you complete the editing you can recompile it using same tool.
4. Just having apk file , you can’t install or publish it in google playstore.
5. If you have your keystore file you can use that keystore to sign your apk file. But if you does not have that keystore file you can’t publish it in your google play store in same package name. You can sign it with different keystore and publish it as a new package name in google play store.
6. You can sign it using apk signer tool. (https://shatter-box.com/knowledgebase/android-apk-signing-tool-apk-signer/)
7. If you align your apk using this tool, some times it will give you an error saying apk is not aligned properly. But this tool is best one for sign your apk using any given keystore file.
8. If previous step align failed , you can use advanced apk tool (https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2639400) to align your signed apk file.
9. Now you will able to publish this apk as new version in google playstore.