App Designer package and encrypt code

Hi

I develped an AppDesigner, and Shared(packaged) it as .mlappinstall

• I already 'pcode' the used functions as .p before packaging.
• While when I unzip the .mlappinstall, I could see the .mlapp, which means the user could also see the .mlapp part code.

How could I encrypt the .mlapp and package.

BTW: I knew I could export the .mlapp to .m then 'pcode' to .p, while I could not use AppDesigner tool to share(package) a .m

Answer 1

[Shivam Ahuja]

I understand that you want to encrypt the .mlapp file and package

The following 3 ways will help you to achieve this:-

1) Use MATLAB Compiler to compile everything. MATLAB Compiler encrypts using AES. You can refer to below two links for more understanding on how to use MATLAB Compiler to encrypt.

https://in.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/380730-how-can-i-protect-files-other-than-m-file-with-matlab-compiler

https://in.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/94674-can-i-depend-on-the-matlab-compiler-4-0-r14-to-protect-my-intellectual-property

2) Use your own encryption scheme. It will be necessary to decrypt the code before it can be executed. You can refer to below link.

https://in.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/43896-encryption-of-mat-files

3)Use pcode which obfuscates code (makes it more difficult to access and understand) but does not actually encrypt it. You can refer to documentation of pcode.

https://in.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/pcode.html

[Yoni]

How can you obfuscates mlapp source code and still be able to package it as a MATLAB app that can be installed in MATLAB?

[Yoni]

I found a solution. It turns out you can run the m-files that you get from exporting MLAPP files. This means you don't need to carry over the MLAPP files to your package. But, before you package, convert the m-files to p-files. Now your packaged app is protected.