From ac9abc3fff91e75046be5775b3d2e1dff98e4548 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: kpcyrd <git@rxv.cc>
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:30:18 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Add `-tags unbundle` to read executables from filesystem

---
 adb/collector.go                        |  2 +-
 assets/{assets.go => assets_bundled.go} |  9 +++++++-
 assets/assets_darwin.go                 |  2 ++
 assets/assets_linux.go                  |  2 ++
 assets/assets_system.go                 | 29 +++++++++++++++++++++++++
 assets/assets_windows.go                |  2 ++
 6 files changed, 44 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
 rename assets/{assets.go => assets_bundled.go} (90%)
 create mode 100644 assets/assets_system.go

diff --git a/adb/collector.go b/adb/collector.go
index 7baedd3..5471fd6 100644
--- a/adb/collector.go
+++ b/adb/collector.go
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ func (c *Collector) Install() error {
 	}
 
 	log.Debugf("Deploying collector binary '%s' for architecture '%s'.", collectorName, c.Architecture)
-	collectorBinary, err := assets.Collector.ReadFile(collectorName)
+	collectorBinary, err := assets.ReadCollectorFile(collectorName)
 	if err != nil {
 		// Somehow the file doesn't exist
 		return errors.New("couldn't find the collector binary")
diff --git a/assets/assets.go b/assets/assets_bundled.go
similarity index 90%
rename from assets/assets.go
rename to assets/assets_bundled.go
index 637991a..423bb2f 100644
--- a/assets/assets.go
+++ b/assets/assets_bundled.go
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 // Use of this software is governed by the MVT License 1.1 that can be found at
 //   https://license.mvt.re/1.1/
 
+//go:build !unbundle
+
 package assets
 
 import (
@@ -15,13 +17,18 @@ import (
 )
 
 //go:embed collector_*
-var Collector embed.FS
+var collector embed.FS
 
 type Asset struct {
 	Name string
 	Data []byte
 }
 
+// Read a specific embedded collector binary
+func ReadCollectorFile(collectorName string) ([]byte, error) {
+	return collector.ReadFile(collectorName)
+}
+
 // DeployAssets is used to retrieve the embedded adb binaries and store them.
 func DeployAssets() error {
 	cwd := saveRuntime.GetExecutableDirectory()
diff --git a/assets/assets_darwin.go b/assets/assets_darwin.go
index f2e71da..a57265f 100644
--- a/assets/assets_darwin.go
+++ b/assets/assets_darwin.go
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 // Use of this software is governed by the MVT License 1.1 that can be found at
 //   https://license.mvt.re/1.1/
 
+//go:build !unbundle
+
 package assets
 
 import (
diff --git a/assets/assets_linux.go b/assets/assets_linux.go
index 28416d2..a87dfd3 100644
--- a/assets/assets_linux.go
+++ b/assets/assets_linux.go
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 // Use of this software is governed by the MVT License 1.1 that can be found at
 //   https://license.mvt.re/1.1/
 
+//go:build !unbundle
+
 package assets
 
 import (
diff --git a/assets/assets_system.go b/assets/assets_system.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d14424
--- /dev/null
+++ b/assets/assets_system.go
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+// androidqf - Android Quick Forensics
+// Copyright (c) 2026 kpcyrd.
+// Use of this software is governed by the MVT License 1.1 that can be found at
+//   https://license.mvt.re/1.1/
+
+//go:build unbundle
+
+package assets
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+)
+
+// Read a specific collector binary from filesystem
+func ReadCollectorFile(collectorName string) ([]byte, error) {
+	path := filepath.Join("/usr/lib/androidqf/android-collector", collectorName)
+	return os.ReadFile(path)
+}
+
+// Assets are expected to be installed by package manager
+func DeployAssets() error {
+	return nil
+}
+
+// No assets to clean up
+func CleanAssets() error {
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/assets/assets_windows.go b/assets/assets_windows.go
index 19031ff..55e6569 100644
--- a/assets/assets_windows.go
+++ b/assets/assets_windows.go
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 // Use of this software is governed by the MVT License 1.1 that can be found at
 //   https://license.mvt.re/1.1/
 
+//go:build !unbundle
+
 package assets
 
 import (

From 94590a12972bb2cf913d29f4405a3f31abba4b36 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Janik Besendorf <janik@besendorf.org>
Date: Wed, 27 May 2026 18:07:37 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Document unbundle package build requirements

---
 README.md | 21 +++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 21 insertions(+)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 394dc91..1a74ff0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -48,6 +48,27 @@ Then compile AndroidQF for your platform of choice:
 
 These commands will generate binaries in a *build/* folder.
 
+### Building for distribution packages without bundled assets
+
+Distribution packages can opt out of embedding the bundled ADB and collector
+binaries by building with the `unbundle` build tag:
+
+```bash
+go build -tags unbundle -o build/
+```
+
+When this tag is enabled, androidqf expects:
+
+- `adb` to be available from the system `PATH`.
+- collector binaries to be installed under
+  `/usr/lib/androidqf/android-collector/` using the names expected by
+  androidqf, such as `collector_arm` and `collector_arm64`.
+
+Packagers may remove the bundled binary assets from `assets/` before building,
+but the `assets/` package directory and its Go source files must remain present.
+The `unbundle` build still imports the `assets` package, and the build will fail
+if the whole `assets/` directory is deleted.
+
 ## How to use
 
 > [!TIP]