Excluded Packages

Shield provides multiple ways to exclude classes, methods, and packages from obfuscation. Exclusions can be global (all protections) or per-protection (only specific protections).

Auto-Excluded Packages

Shield automatically excludes known library and framework packages. No configuration needed for these:

You only need to add exclusions for your own packages that use reflection, serialization, or other mechanisms that require original names.

Including Dependencies

By default, the Gradle plugin only obfuscates your project's source code. To also obfuscate a specific dependency (e.g., an internal company library distributed as a JAR), use includePackages():

shield {
    projectToken = "your-token"
    preset("mobile")
    includePackages("com.mycompany.internal-lib")
}

shield {
    projectToken = "your-token"
    preset("mobile")
    includePackages("com.mycompany.internal-lib")
}

Without includePackages, dependency JARs are passed through without modification.

Global Exclusion (All Protections)

Exclude packages from all protections using the excludePackages method:

Kotlin DSL

shield {
    excludePackages("com.example.models", "com.example.api")
}

shield {
    excludePackages("com.example.models", "com.example.api")
}

Groovy DSL

shield {
    excludePackages "com.example.models", "com.example.api"
}

shield {
    excludePackages "com.example.models", "com.example.api"
}

Per-Variant Exclusions

shield {
    variant("release") {
        projectToken = "your-token"
        excludePackages("com.example.debug")

        protections {
            stringEncryption = true
        }
    }
}

shield {
    variant("release") {
        projectToken = "your-token"
        excludePackages("com.example.debug")

        protections {
            stringEncryption = true
        }
    }
}

Per-Protection Exclusion

Append :Protection1,Protection2 to a package name to exclude it only from specific protections:

shield {
    excludePackages(
        "com.example.models",                                  // exclude from ALL protections
        "com.example.networking:ControlFlowMatrix",            // exclude only from ControlFlow
        "com.example.legacy:StringEncryption,ConstantMutation" // exclude from two protections
    )
}

shield {
    excludePackages(
        "com.example.models",                                  // exclude from ALL protections
        "com.example.networking:ControlFlowMatrix",            // exclude only from ControlFlow
        "com.example.legacy:StringEncryption,ConstantMutation" // exclude from two protections
    )
}

This is useful when you want a package to get some protections but not others. For example, skip control flow on UI code for performance, but still encrypt its strings.

Protection Names

Annotation-Based Exclusion

For fine-grained control at the source code level, use Shield annotations:

import com.bytehide.shield.annotations.Keep;
import com.bytehide.shield.annotations.DoNotObfuscate;
import com.bytehide.shield.annotations.Exclude;

@Keep                  // Exclude from ALL protections
public class UserModel { }

@DoNotObfuscate        // Exclude from renaming only
public class ApiService { }

@Exclude(protections = {"StringEncryption"})  // Exclude from specific protections
public class LogHelper { }

import com.bytehide.shield.annotations.Keep;
import com.bytehide.shield.annotations.DoNotObfuscate;
import com.bytehide.shield.annotations.Exclude;

@Keep                  // Exclude from ALL protections
public class UserModel { }

@DoNotObfuscate        // Exclude from renaming only
public class ApiService { }

@Exclude(protections = {"StringEncryption"})  // Exclude from specific protections
public class LogHelper { }

See Annotations for the full annotation guide.

Why Exclude Packages

Shield transforms bytecode: it renames identifiers, encrypts strings, and restructures control flow. This can break code that relies on:

• Reflection — Frameworks that look up classes or methods by name (Gson, Retrofit, Room)
• Serialization — Libraries that map JSON keys to field names (Moshi, Jackson)
• Annotation processing — Code generated by annotation processors (Dagger, Hilt)
• Native interop — JNI methods that must match specific signatures

Common Exclusions

Example: Typical Android App

shield {
    variant("release") {
        projectToken = "your-token"

        excludePackages(
            "com.myapp.data.models",                   // Used by Gson/Retrofit
            "com.myapp.data.api",                      // Used by Retrofit
            "com.myapp.ui:ControlFlowMatrix"           // Performance
        )

        protections {
            stringEncryption = true
            controlFlowObfuscation = true
            constantMutation = true
            debugRemoval = true
        }
    }
}

shield {
    variant("release") {
        projectToken = "your-token"

        excludePackages(
            "com.myapp.data.models",                   // Used by Gson/Retrofit
            "com.myapp.data.api",                      // Used by Retrofit
            "com.myapp.ui:ControlFlowMatrix"           // Performance
        )

        protections {
            stringEncryption = true
            controlFlowObfuscation = true
            constantMutation = true
            debugRemoval = true
        }
    }
}

Decision Priority

When multiple exclusion mechanisms overlap, Shield evaluates in this order (first match wins):

1. Method exclusion — excludedMethods / @Keep on method
2. Class exclusion — excludedClasses / @Keep on class
3. Global package exclusion — excludePackages (without :)
4. Per-protection package exclusion — excludePackages (with :Protection)
5. Auto-detection — Built-in library packages

If none match, the protection is applied.

Related

• Annotations — Fine-grained exclusion with @Keep, @DoNotObfuscate, @Exclude
• Gradle DSL Reference — Complete configuration reference
• Troubleshooting — Diagnosing issues caused by obfuscation