ProGuard manual

    Setup - Ant Task

    ProGuard can be run as a task in the Java-based build tool Ant (version 1.8 or higher).

    Before you can use the proguard task, you have to tell Ant about this new task. The easiest way is to add the following line to your build.xml file:

    <taskdef resource="proguard/ant/task.properties"
             classpath="/usr/local/java/proguard/lib/proguard-ant.jar" />
    

    Please make sure the class path is set correctly for your system.

    There are three ways to configure the ProGuard task:

    1. using an external configuration file,
    2. using embedded ProGuard configuration options, or
    3. using the equivalent XML configuration tags.

    These three ways can be combined, depending on practical circumstances and personal preference.

    1. An external ProGuard configuration file

    The simplest way to use the ProGuard task in an Ant build file is to keep your ProGuard configuration file, and include it from Ant. You can include your ProGuard configuration file by setting the configuration attribute of your proguard task. Your ant build file will then look like this:

        <taskdef resource="proguard/ant/task.properties"
                 classpath="/usr/local/java/proguard/lib/proguard-ant.jar" />
        <proguard configuration="myconfigfile.pro"/>

    This is a convenient option if you prefer ProGuard's configuration style over XML, if you want to keep your build file small, or if you have to share your configuration with developers who don't use Ant.

    2. Embedded ProGuard configuration options

    Instead of keeping an external ProGuard configuration file, you can also copy the contents of the file into the nested text of the proguard task (the PCDATA area). Your Ant build file will then look like this:

    <taskdef resource="proguard/ant/task.properties"
             classpath="/usr/local/java/proguard/lib/proguard-ant.jar" />
    <proguard>
      -injars      in.jar
      -outjars     out.jar
      -libraryjars ${java.home}/lib/rt.jar
    
      -keepclasseswithmembers public class * {
          public static void main(java.lang.String[]);
      }
    </proguard>
    

    Some minor syntactical changes are required in order to conform with the XML standard.

    Firstly, the # character cannot be used for comments in an XML file. Comments must be enclosed by an opening <!-- and a closing -->. All occurrences of the # character can be removed.

    Secondly, the use of < and > characters would upset the structure of the XML build file. Environment variables can be specified with the usual Ant style ${...}, instead of the ProGuard style <...>. Other occurrences of < and > have to be encoded as &lt; and &gt; respectively.

    3. XML configuration tags

    If you really prefer a full-blown XML configuration, you can replace the ProGuard configuration options by XML configuration tags. The resulting configuration will be equivalent, but much more verbose and difficult to read, as XML goes. The remainder of this page presents the supported tags. For a more extensive discussion of their meaning, please consult the traditional Usage section. You can find some sample configuration files in the examples/ant directory of the ProGuard distribution.

    Task Attributes and Nested Elements

    The <proguard> task and the <proguardconfiguration> task can have the following attributes (only for <proguard>) and nested elements:

    configuration = "filename"
    Read and merge options from the given ProGuard-style configuration file. Note: for reading multiple configuration files or XML-style configurations, use the configuration element.
    skipnonpubliclibraryclasses = "boolean" (default = false)
    Ignore non-public library classes.
    skipnonpubliclibraryclassmembers = "boolean" (default = true)
    Ignore package visible library class members.
    target = "version" (default = none)
    Set the given version number in the processed classes.
    forceprocessing = "boolean" (default = false)
    Process the input, even if the output seems up to date.
    printseeds = "boolean or filename" (default = false)
    List classes and class members matched by the various keep commands, to the standard output or to the given file.
    shrink = "boolean" (default = true)
    Shrink the input class files.
    printusage = "boolean or filename" (default = false)
    List dead code of the input class files, to the standard output or to the given file.
    optimize = "boolean" (default = true)
    Optimize the input class files.
    optimizationpasses = "n" (default = 1)
    The number of optimization passes to be performed.
    allowaccessmodification = "boolean" (default = false)
    Allow the access modifiers of classes and class members to be modified, while optimizing.
    mergeinterfacesaggressively = "boolean" (default = false)
    Allow any interfaces to be merged, while optimizing.
    obfuscate = "boolean" (default = true)
    Obfuscate the input class files.
    printmapping = "boolean or filename" (default = false)
    Print the mapping from old names to new names for classes and class members that have been renamed, to the standard output or to the given file.
    applymapping = "filename" (default = none)
    Reuse the given mapping, for incremental obfuscation.
    obfuscationdictionary = "filename" (default = none)
    Use the words in the given text file as obfuscated field names and method names.
    classobfuscationdictionary = "filename" (default = none)
    Use the words in the given text file as obfuscated class names.
    packageobfuscationdictionary = "filename" (default = none)
    Use the words in the given text file as obfuscated package names.
    overloadaggressively = "boolean" (default = false)
    Apply aggressive overloading while obfuscating.
    useuniqueclassmembernames = "boolean" (default = false)
    Ensure uniform obfuscated class member names for subsequent incremental obfuscation.
    usemixedcaseclassnames = "boolean" (default = true)
    Generate mixed-case class names while obfuscating.
    flattenpackagehierarchy = "package_name" (default = none)
    Repackage all packages that are renamed into the single given parent package.
    repackageclasses = "package_name" (default = none)
    Repackage all class files that are renamed into the single given package.
    keepparameternames = "boolean" (default = false)
    Keep the parameter names and types of methods that are kept.
    renamesourcefileattribute = "string" (default = none)
    Put the given constant string in the SourceFile attributes.
    preverify = "boolean" (default = true)
    Preverify the processed class files if they are targeted at Java Micro Edition or at Java 6 or higher.
    microedition = "boolean" (default = false)
    Target the processed class files at Java Micro Edition.
    android = "boolean" (default = false)
    Target the processed class files at Android.
    verbose = "boolean" (default = false)
    Write out some more information during processing.
    note = "boolean" (default = true)
    Print notes about potential mistakes or omissions in the configuration. Use the nested element dontnote for more fine-grained control.
    warn = "boolean" (default = true)
    Print warnings about unresolved references. Use the nested element dontwarn for more fine-grained control. Only use this option if you know what you're doing!
    ignorewarnings = "boolean" (default = false)
    Print warnings about unresolved references, but continue processing anyhow. Only use this option if you know what you're doing!
    printconfiguration = "boolean or filename" (default = false)
    Write out the entire configuration in traditional ProGuard style, to the standard output or to the given file. Useful to replace unreadable XML configurations.
    dump = "boolean or filename" (default = false)
    Write out the internal structure of the processed class files, to the standard output or to the given file.
    addconfigurationdebugging = "boolean" (default = false)
    Adds debugging information to the code, to print out ProGuard configuration suggestions at runtime. Do not use this option in release versions.
    <injar class_path />
    Specifies the program jars (or apks, aabs, aars, wars, ears, jmods, zips, or directories).
    <outjar class_path />
    Specifies the names of the output jars (or apks, aabs, aars, wars, ears, jmods, zips, or directories).
    <libraryjar class_path />
    Specifies the library jars (or apks, aabs, aars, wars, ears, jmods, zips, or directories).
    <keepdirectory name ="directory_name" />
    <keepdirectories filter ="directory_filter" />
    Keep the specified directories in the output jars (or apks, aabs, aars, wars, ears, jmods, zips, or directories).
    <keep modifiers class_specification > class_member_specifications </keep>
    Preserve the specified classes and class members.
    <keepclassmembers modifiers class_specification > class_member_specifications </keepclassmembers>
    Preserve the specified class members, if their classes are preserved as well.
    <keepclasseswithmembers modifiers class_specification > class_member_specifications </keepclasseswithmembers>
    Preserve the specified classes and class members, if all of the specified class members are present.
    <keepnames class_specification > class_member_specifications </keepnames>
    Preserve the names of the specified classes and class members (if they aren't removed in the shrinking step).
    <keepclassmembernames class_specification > class_member_specifications </keepclassmembernames>
    Preserve the names of the specified class members (if they aren't removed in the shrinking step).
    <keepclasseswithmembernames class_specification > class_member_specifications </keepclasseswithmembernames>
    Preserve the names of the specified classes and class members, if all of the specified class members are present (after the shrinking step).
    <whyareyoukeeping class_specification > class_member_specifications </whyareyoukeeping>
    Print details on why the given classes and class members are being kept in the shrinking step.
    <assumenosideeffects class_specification > class_member_specifications </assumenosideeffects>
    Assume that the specified methods don't have any side effects, while optimizing. Only use this option if you know what you're doing!
    <assumenoexternalsideeffects class_specification > class_member_specifications </assumenoexternalsideeffects>
    Assume that the specified methods don't have any external side effects, while optimizing. Only use this option if you know what you're doing!
    <assumenoescapingparameters class_specification > class_member_specifications </assumenoescapingparameters>
    Assume that the specified methods don't let any reference parameters escape to the heap, while optimizing. Only use this option if you know what you're doing!
    <assumenoexternalreturnvalues class_specification > class_member_specifications </assumenoexternalreturnvalues>
    Assume that the specified methods don't return any external reference values, while optimizing. Only use this option if you know what you're doing!
    <assumevalues class_specification > class_member_specifications </assumevalues>
    Assume fixed values or ranges of values for primitive fields and methods, while optimizing. Only use this option if you know what you're doing!
    <optimization name ="optimization_name" />
    <optimizations filter =""optimization_filter" />
    Perform only the specified optimizations.
    <keeppackagename name ="package_name" />
    <keeppackagenames filter ="package_filter" />
    Keep the specified package names from being obfuscated. If no name is given, all package names are preserved.
    <keepattribute name ="attribute_name" />
    <keepattributes filter ="attribute_filter" />
    Preserve the specified optional Java bytecode attributes, with optional wildcards. If no name is given, all attributes are preserved.
    <adaptclassstrings filter ="class_filter" />
    Adapt string constants in the specified classes, based on the obfuscated names of any corresponding classes.
    <adaptresourcefilenames filter ="file_filter" />
    Rename the specified resource files, based on the obfuscated names of the corresponding class files.
    <adaptresourcefilecontents filter ="file_filter" />
    Update the contents of the specified resource files, based on the obfuscated names of the processed classes.
    <dontnote filter ="class_filter" />
    Don't print notes about classes matching the specified class name filter.
    <dontwarn filter ="class_filter" />
    Don't print warnings about classes matching the specified class name filter. Only use this option if you know what you're doing!
    <configuration refid = "ref_id" />
    <configuration file ="name" />
    The first form includes the XML-style configuration specified in a <proguardconfiguration> task (or <proguard> task) with attribute id = "ref_id". Only the nested elements of this configuration are considered, not the attributes. The second form includes the ProGuard-style configuration from the specified file. The element is actually a fileset element and supports all of its attributes and nested elements, including multiple files.

    Class Path Attributes and Nested Elements

    The jar elements are path elements, so they can have any of the standard path attributes and nested elements. The most common attributes are:

    path = "path"
    The names of the jars (or apks, aabs, aars, wars, ears, jmods, zips, or directories), separated by the path separator.
    location = "name" (or file = "name", or dir = "name", or name = "name")
    Alternatively, the name of a single jar (or apk, aab, aar, war, ear, jmod, zip, or directory).
    refid = "ref_id"
    Alternatively, a reference to the path or file set with the attribute id = "ref_id".

    In addition, the jar elements can have ProGuard-style filter attributes:

    filter = "file_filter"
    An optional filter for all class file names and resource file names that are encountered.
    apkfilter = "file_filter"
    An optional filter for all apk names that are encountered.
    aabfilter = "file_filter"
    An optional filter for all aab names that are encountered.
    jarfilter = "file_filter"
    An optional filter for all jar names that are encountered.
    aarfilter = "file_filter"
    An optional filter for all aar names that are encountered.
    warfilter = "file_filter"
    An optional filter for all war names that are encountered.
    earfilter = "file_filter"
    An optional filter for all ear names that are encountered.
    jmodfilter = "file_filter"
    An optional filter for all jmod names that are encountered.
    zipfilter = "file_filter"
    An optional filter for all zip names that are encountered.

    Keep Modifier Attributes

    The keep tags can have the following modifier attributes:

    includedescriptorclasses = "boolean" (default = false)
    Specifies whether the classes of the fields and methods specified in the keep tag must be kept as well.
    allowshrinking = "boolean" (default = false)
    Specifies whether the entry points specified in the keep tag may be shrunk.
    allowoptimization = "boolean" (default = false)
    Specifies whether the entry points specified in the keep tag may be optimized.
    allowobfuscation = "boolean" (default = false)
    Specifies whether the entry points specified in the keep tag may be obfuscated.

    Class Specification Attributes and Nested Elements

    The keep tags can have the following class_specification attributes and class_member_specifications nested elements:

    access = "access_modifiers"
    The optional access modifiers of the class. Any space-separated list of "public", "final", and "abstract", with optional negators "!".
    annotation = "annotation_name"
    The optional fully qualified name of an annotation of the class, with optional wildcards.
    type = "type"
    The optional type of the class: one of "class", "interface", or "!interface".
    name = "class_name"
    The optional fully qualified name of the class, with optional wildcards.
    extendsannotation = "annotation_name"
    The optional fully qualified name of an annotation of the the class that the specified classes must extend, with optional wildcards.
    extends = "class_name"
    The optional fully qualified name of the class the specified classes must extend, with optional wildcards.
    implements = "class_name"
    The optional fully qualified name of the class the specified classes must implement, with optional wildcards.
    <field class_member_specification />
    Specifies a field.
    <method class_member_specification />
    Specifies a method.
    <constructor class_member_specification />
    Specifies a constructor.

    Class Member Specification Attributes

    The class member tags can have the following class_member_specification attributes:

    access = "access_modifiers"
    The optional access modifiers of the class. Any space-separated list of "public", "protected", "private", "static", etc., with optional negators "!".
    annotation = "annotation_name"
    The optional fully qualified name of an annotation of the class member, with optional wildcards.
    type = "type"
    The optional fully qualified type of the class member, with optional wildcards. Not applicable for constructors, but required for methods for which the parameters attribute is specified.
    name = "name"
    The optional name of the class member, with optional wildcards. Not applicable for constructors.
    parameters = "parameters"
    The optional comma-separated list of fully qualified method parameters, with optional wildcards. Not applicable for fields, but required for constructors, and for methods for which the type attribute is specified.
    values = "values"
    The optional fixed value or range of values for a primitive field or method.