Install Application programmatically on Android

Question

I m interested in knowing if it is possible to programmatically install a dynamically downloaded apk from a custom Android application

User · Answer

I just want to share the fact that my apk file was saved to my app  Data  directory and that I needed to change the permissions on the apk file to be world readable in order to allow it to be installed that way  otherwise the system was throwing  Parse error  There is a Problem Parsing the Package   so using solution from  Horaceman that makes   File file   new File dir   App apk    file setReadable true  false   Intent intent   new Intent Intent ACTION VIEW   intent setDataAndType Uri fromFile file    application vnd android package-archive    startActivity intent

User · Answer

First add the following line to AndroidManifest xml     lt uses-permission android name  android permission INSTALL PACKAGES      tools ignore  ProtectedPermissions    gt    Then use the following code to install apk   File sdCard   Environment getExternalStorageDirectory                String fileStr   sdCard getAbsolutePath       MyApp        app-release apk               File file   new File fileStr   TaghvimShamsi apk                Intent promptInstall   new Intent Intent ACTION VIEW  setDataAndType Uri fromFile file                        application vnd android package-archive                startActivity promptInstall

User · Answer

It s worth noting that if you use the DownloadManager to kick off your download  be sure to save it to an external location e g  setDestinationInExternalFilesDir c  null    lt your name here gt   apk    The intent with a package-archive type doesn t appear to like the content  scheme used with downloads to an internal location  but does like file    Trying to wrap the internal path into a File object and then getting the path doesn t work either  even though it results in a file  url  as the app won t parse the apk  looks like it must be external    Example   int uriIndex   cursor getColumnIndex DownloadManager COLUMN LOCAL URI   String downloadedPackageUriString   cursor getString uriIndex   File mFile   new File Uri parse downloadedPackageUriString  getPath     Intent promptInstall   new Intent Intent ACTION VIEW           setDataAndType Uri fromFile mFile    application vnd android package-archive            addFlags Intent FLAG ACTIVITY NEW TASK   appContext startActivity promptInstall

User · Answer

Well  I digged deeper  and found sources of PackageInstaller application from Android Source   https   github com android platform packages apps packageinstaller  From manifest I found that it require permission        lt uses-permission android name  android permission INSTALL PACKAGES    gt    And the actual process of installation occurs after confirmation  Intent newIntent   new Intent    newIntent putExtra PackageUtil INTENT ATTR APPLICATION INFO  mPkgInfo applicationInfo   newIntent setData mPackageURI   newIntent setClass this  InstallAppProgress class   String installerPackageName   getIntent   getStringExtra Intent EXTRA INSTALLER PACKAGE NAME   if  installerPackageName    null       newIntent putExtra Intent EXTRA INSTALLER PACKAGE NAME  installerPackageName     startActivity newIntent

User · Answer

Try this - Write on Manifest   uses-permission android name  android permission INSTALL PACKAGES          tools ignore  ProtectedPermissions    Write the Code   File sdCard   Environment getExternalStorageDirectory    String fileStr   sdCard getAbsolutePath       Download        app-release apk   File file   new File fileStr   app-release apk    Intent promptInstall   new Intent Intent ACTION VIEW  setDataAndType Uri fromFile file                            application vnd android package-archive     startActivity promptInstall

User · Answer

You can easily launch a market link or an install prompt  Intent promptInstall   new Intent Intent ACTION VIEW       setDataAndType Uri parse  quot file    path to your apk quot                          quot application vnd android package-archive quot    startActivity promptInstall     source Intent goToMarket   new Intent Intent ACTION VIEW       setData Uri parse  quot market   details id com package name quot     startActivity goToMarket    source However  you cannot install  apks without user s explicit permission  not unless the device and your program is rooted

User · Answer

Yes it s possible  But for that you need the phone to install unverified sources  For example  slideMe does that  I think the best thing you can do is to check if the application is present and send an intent for the Android Market  you should use something the url scheme for android Market   market   details id package name   I don t know exactly how to start the activity but if you start an activity with that kind of url  It should open the android market and give you the choice to install the apps

User · Answer

Do not forget to request permissions   android Manifest permission WRITE EXTERNAL STORAGE  android Manifest permission READ EXTERNAL STORAGE   Add in AndroidManifest xml the provider and permission    lt uses-permission android name  android permission REQUEST INSTALL PACKAGES   gt       lt application gt               lt provider         android name  android support v4 content FileProvider          android authorities    applicationId           android exported  false          android grantUriPermissions  true  gt           lt meta-data             android name  android support FILE PROVIDER PATHS              android resource   xml provider paths   gt       lt  provider gt   lt  application gt    Create XML file provider res xml provider paths xml   lt  xml version  1 0  encoding  utf-8   gt   lt paths xmlns android  http   schemas android com apk res android  gt       lt external-path         name  external          path       gt       lt external-files-path         name  external files          path       gt       lt cache-path         name  cache          path       gt       lt external-cache-path         name  external cache          path       gt       lt files-path         name  files          path       gt   lt  paths gt    Use below example code      public class InstallManagerApk extends AppCompatActivity        static final String NAME APK FILE    some apk       public static final int REQUEST INSTALL   0         Override     protected void onCreate  Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState            super onCreate savedInstanceState               required permission             android Manifest permission WRITE EXTERNAL STORAGE             android Manifest permission READ EXTERNAL STORAGE          installApk                                    Install APK File             private void installApk              try                File filePath   Environment getExternalStorageDirectory      path to file apk             File file   new File filePath  LoadManagerApkFile NAME APK FILE                Uri uri   getApkUri  file getPath         get Uri for  each SDK Android              Intent intent   new Intent Intent ACTION INSTALL PACKAGE               intent setData  uri                intent setFlags  Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION   Intent FLAG ACTIVITY NEW TASK                intent putExtra Intent EXTRA NOT UNKNOWN SOURCE  true               intent putExtra Intent EXTRA RETURN RESULT  true               intent putExtra Intent EXTRA INSTALLER PACKAGE NAME  getApplicationInfo   packageName                if   getPackageManager   queryIntentActivities intent  0      null       checked on start Activity                  startActivityForResult intent  REQUEST INSTALL                  else                   throw new Exception  don t start Activity                              catch   Exception e                  Log i TAG     InstallApk    Failed installl APK file   e               Toast makeText getApplicationContext    e getMessage    Toast LENGTH LONG                   show                                      Returns a Uri pointing to the APK to install              private Uri getApkUri String path                Before N  a MODE WORLD READABLE file could be passed via the ACTION INSTALL PACKAGE            Intent  Since N  MODE WORLD READABLE files are forbidden  and a FileProvider is            recommended          boolean useFileProvider   Build VERSION SDK INT  gt   Build VERSION CODES N           String tempFilename    tmp apk           byte   buffer   new byte 16384           int fileMode   useFileProvider   Context MODE PRIVATE   Context MODE WORLD READABLE          try  InputStream is   new FileInputStream new File path                 FileOutputStream fout   openFileOutput tempFilename  fileMode                  int n              while   n   is read buffer    gt   0                    fout write buffer  0  n                            catch  IOException e                Log i TAG     getApkUri    Failed to write temporary APK file   e                      if  useFileProvider                 File toInstall   new File this getFilesDir    tempFilename               return FileProvider getUriForFile this   BuildConfig APPLICATION ID  toInstall              else                return Uri fromFile getFileStreamPath tempFilename                                      Listener event on installation APK file              Override     protected void onActivityResult int requestCode  int resultCode   Nullable Intent data            super onActivityResult requestCode  resultCode  data            if requestCode    REQUEST INSTALL                 if  resultCode    Activity RESULT OK                    Toast makeText this  Install succeeded    Toast LENGTH SHORT  show                  else if  resultCode    Activity RESULT CANCELED                    Toast makeText this  Install canceled    Toast LENGTH SHORT  show                  else                   Toast makeText this  Install Failed    Toast LENGTH SHORT  show

User · Answer

The solutions provided to this question are all applicable to targetSdkVersion s of 23 and below  For Android N  i e  API level 24  and above  however  they do not work and crash with the following Exception   android os FileUriExposedException  file    storage emulated 0     exposed beyond app through Intent getData     This is due to the fact that starting from Android 24  the Uri for addressing the downloaded file has changed  For instance  an installation file named appName apk stored on the primary external filesystem of the app with package name com example test would be as  file    storage emulated 0 Android data com example test files appName apk  for API 23 and below  whereas something like  content   com example test authorityStr pathName Android data com example test files appName apk   for API 24 and above   More details on this can be found here and I am not going to go through it   To answer the question for targetSdkVersion of 24 and above  one has to follow these steps  Add the following to the AndroidManifest xml    lt application         android allowBackup  true          android label   string app name  gt           lt provider             android name  android support v4 content FileProvider              android authorities    applicationId  authorityStr              android exported  false              android grantUriPermissions  true  gt               lt meta-data                 android name  android support FILE PROVIDER PATHS                  android resource   xml paths   gt           lt  provider gt   lt  application gt    2  Add the following paths xml file to the xml folder on res in src  main    lt  xml version  1 0  encoding  utf-8   gt   lt paths xmlns android  http   schemas android com apk res android  gt       lt external-path         name  pathName          path  pathValue   gt   lt  paths gt    The pathName is that shown in the exemplary content uri example above and pathValue is the actual path on the system   It would be a good idea to put a      without quotes  for pathValue in the above if you do not want to add any extra subdirectory    Write the following code to install the apk with the name appName apk on the primary external filesystem   File directory   context getExternalFilesDir null   File file   new File directory  fileName   Uri fileUri   Uri fromFile file   if  Build VERSION SDK INT  gt   24        fileUri   FileProvider getUriForFile context  context getPackageName                file     Intent intent   new Intent Intent ACTION VIEW  fileUri   intent putExtra Intent EXTRA NOT UNKNOWN SOURCE  true   intent setDataAndType fileUri   application vnd android      package-archive    intent setFlags Intent FLAG ACTIVITY CLEAR TASK   Intent FLAG ACTIVITY NEW TASK   intent addFlags Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION   context startActivity intent   activity finish       No permission is also necessary when writing to your own app s private directory on the external filesystem   I have written an AutoUpdate library here in which I have used the above

User · Answer

UpdateNode provides an API for Android to install APK packages from inside another App   You can just define your Update online and integrate the API into your App - that s it   Currently the API is in Beta state  but you can already do some tests yourself  Beside that  UpdateNode offers also displaying messages though the system - pretty useful if you want to tell something important to your users   I am part of the client dev team and am using at least the message functionality for my own Android App   See here a description how to integrate the API

User · Answer

File file   new File dir   App apk    Intent intent   new Intent Intent ACTION VIEW   intent setDataAndType Uri fromFile file    application vnd android package-archive    startActivity intent     I had the same problem and after several attempts  it worked out for me this way  I don t know why  but setting data and type separately screwed up my intent

User · Answer

try this  String filePath   cursor getString cursor getColumnIndex DownloadManager COLUMN LOCAL FILENAME    String title   filePath substring  filePath lastIndexOf      1  filePath length      Intent intent   new Intent Intent ACTION VIEW   intent setDataAndType Uri fromFile new File filePath     application vnd android package-archive    intent setFlags Intent FLAG ACTIVITY NEW TASK      without this flag android returned a intent error  MainActivity this startActivity intent

User · Answer

Just an extension  if anyone need a library then this might help  Thanks to Raghav

User · Answer

This can help others a lot   First   private static final String APP DIR   Environment getExternalStorageDirectory   getAbsolutePath       MyAppFolderInStorage     private void install         File file   new File APP DIR   fileName        if  file exists              Intent intent   new Intent Intent ACTION VIEW           String type    application vnd android package-archive            if  Build VERSION SDK INT  gt   Build VERSION CODES N                Uri downloadedApk   FileProvider getUriForFile getContext     ir greencode   file               intent setDataAndType downloadedApk  type               intent addFlags Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION             else               intent setDataAndType Uri fromFile file   type               intent setFlags Intent FLAG ACTIVITY NEW TASK                      getContext   startActivity intent         else           Toast makeText getContext      File not found    Toast LENGTH SHORT  show              Second  For android 7 and above you should define a provider in manifest like below        lt provider         android name  android support v4 content FileProvider          android authorities  ir greencode          android exported  false          android grantUriPermissions  true  gt           lt meta-data             android name  android support FILE PROVIDER PATHS              android resource   xml paths    gt       lt  provider gt    Third  Define path xml in res xml folder like below  I m using this path for internal storage if you want to change it to something else there is a few way  You can go to this link   FileProvider   lt  xml version  1 0  encoding  utf-8   gt   lt paths xmlns android  http   schemas android com apk res android  gt       lt external-path name  your folder name  path  MyAppFolderInStorage    gt   lt  paths gt      Forth  You should add this permission in manifest    lt uses-permission android name  android permission REQUEST INSTALL PACKAGES   gt       Allows an application to request installing packages  Apps targeting APIs greater than 25 must hold this permission in order to use Intent ACTION INSTALL PACKAGE       Please make sure the provider authorities are the same

User · Answer

In Android Oreo and above version we have to approach different methods to install apk programatically   private void installApkProgramatically           try           File path   activity getExternalFilesDir Environment DIRECTORY DOWNLOADS            File file   new File path  filename            Uri uri           if  file exists                   Intent unKnownSourceIntent   new Intent Settings ACTION MANAGE UNKNOWN APP SOURCES  setData Uri parse String format  quot package  s quot   activity getPackageName                    if  Build VERSION SDK INT  gt   Build VERSION CODES O                     if   activity getPackageManager   canRequestPackageInstalls                          startActivityForResult unKnownSourceIntent  Constant UNKNOWN RESOURCE INTENT REQUEST CODE                     else                       Uri fileUri   FileProvider getUriForFile activity getBaseContext    activity getApplicationContext   getPackageName      quot  provider quot   file                       Intent intent   new Intent Intent ACTION VIEW  fileUri                       intent putExtra Intent EXTRA NOT UNKNOWN SOURCE  true                       intent setDataAndType fileUri   quot application vnd android quot     quot  package-archive quot                        intent setFlags Intent FLAG ACTIVITY CLEAR TASK   Intent FLAG ACTIVITY NEW TASK                       intent addFlags Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION                       startActivity intent                       alertDialog dismiss                                     else if  Build VERSION SDK INT  gt   Build VERSION CODES N                     Intent intent1   new Intent Intent ACTION INSTALL PACKAGE                   uri   FileProvider getUriForFile activity getApplicationContext    BuildConfig APPLICATION ID    quot  provider quot   file                   activity grantUriPermission  quot com abcd xyz quot   uri  Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION                   activity grantUriPermission  quot com abcd xyz quot   uri  Intent FLAG GRANT WRITE URI PERMISSION                   intent1 setDataAndType uri                           quot application   quot                    intent1 setFlags Intent FLAG ACTIVITY NEW TASK                   intent1 addFlags Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION                   intent1 addFlags Intent FLAG GRANT WRITE URI PERMISSION                   startActivity intent1                  else                   Intent intent   new Intent Intent ACTION VIEW                    uri   Uri fromFile file                    intent setDataAndType uri                           quot application vnd android package-archive quot                    intent setFlags Intent FLAG ACTIVITY NEW TASK                   startActivity intent                           else                Log i TAG   quot  file  quot    file getPath      quot  does not exist quot                    catch  Exception e             Log i TAG   quot  quot    e getMessage               In Oreo and above version we need unknown resource installation permission  so in activity result u have to check the result for the permission      Override public void onActivityResult int requestCode  int resultCode   Nullable Intent data        super onActivityResult requestCode  resultCode  data       switch  requestCode             case Constant UNKNOWN RESOURCE INTENT REQUEST CODE              switch  resultCode                    case Activity RESULT OK                      installApkProgramatically                         break                  case Activity RESULT CANCELED                        unknown resouce installation cancelled                      break                            break

User · Answer

Another solution that doesn t not require to hard-code the receiving app and that is therefore safer   Intent intent   new Intent Intent ACTION INSTALL PACKAGE   intent setData  Uri fromFile new File pathToApk      startActivity intent

[android] Install Application programmatically on Android

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