Android application package file

Android application package file (APK) is the file format used to distribute and install application software and middleware onto Google's Android operating system. To make an APK file, a program for Android is first compiled, and then all of its parts are packaged into one file. This holds all of that program's code (such as .dex files), resources, assets, certificates, and manifest file. As is the case with many file formats, APK files can have any name needed, provided that the file name ends in ".apk". APK files are ZIP file formatted packages based on the JAR file format, with .apk file extensions. The MIME type associated with APK files is application/vnd.android.package-archive