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I have my phone rooted with magisk and am running a ROM based on Android Pie, which doesn't come with GApps, and therefore has builtin apps to do stuff, my interest is in the gallery app. I configured OpenGApps to not install Google Photos, and preserve the existing gallery app instead. I would like to take a backup of it so I can use it anywhere in the future, however the obvious way fails: ES File Explorer doesn't even see it, Lucky Patcher doesn't allow .apk backups of system apps, and I went into the directories manually only to find the lib folder outside the .apk. Am I safe to just copy the .apk and ignore the lib folder, or is there any other way I can try?

Thank you for your time.

Note: I would like the app saved as a single "normal" .apk file, instead of having the lib folder outside and having to carry that around, plus I wouldn't be able to place it if I didn't have root (for example, a new phone).

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The apk file should be in either /system/apps or system/priv-apps if you have not removed it. You have already said that you found the file but don't know about the lib folder being outside. Copy the folders related to the app and note their locations. That way, when you restore them, you will be able to know were to copy them back.

Another way to get access to the apk, if you are not sure that all the files will be copied/backup, is to check the package name in Settings -> Apps & notifications, then look for it online and download it.

Lucky Patcher doesn't allow .apk backups of system apps

Open Lucky Patcher, click on the app, you want to backup, select Tools then "Share this app". (I have tried it and am able to backup and save system apps' apk to the SD card or any other location of my choosing).

Use Titanium Backup to help you backup the app.

You can backup, restore, freeze (with Pro) your apps + data + Market links. This includes all protected apps & system apps, plus external data on your SD card. You can do 0-click batch & scheduled backups

Another app that you could use to backup the app (and produce a single apk file) is System app remover

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  • Unfortunately that didn't produce what I wanted, which is a single .apk file. Furthermore, I checked the files it generated, and I noticed it didn't contain the .so files from the lib folder either. Any other suggestions?
    – 404 Name Not Found
    Apr 11, 2019 at 14:27
  • See the edit made
    – Reddy Lutonadio
    Apr 11, 2019 at 18:05
  • The issue persists, I can obtain an .apk but the .so files remain outside, and am concerned as to how it would affect usability as a backup. As far as I know, those should be inside by default, so is it possible to "shove it in" somehow? Also google didn't manage to find this specific app, not on the first few pages at least. Any other suggestions?
    – 404 Name Not Found
    Apr 12, 2019 at 10:11
  • I am out of ideas. Can you tell us the package name & version? Maybe, other users can know where to find it?
    – Reddy Lutonadio
    Apr 12, 2019 at 10:29
  • It seems to be a gallery app used by AEX, I'm using a Lenovo P2a42, it has a pretty generic name of com.android.gallery3d and a version number of 1.1.40030. Could it be in the AEX installer zip?
    – 404 Name Not Found
    Apr 12, 2019 at 15:15

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