diff --git a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/MSBuild/Xamarin/Android/Xamarin.Android.Bindings.ClassParse.targets b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/MSBuild/Xamarin/Android/Xamarin.Android.Bindings.ClassParse.targets
index 4e1b6e05063..5a9e9a29c69 100644
--- a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/MSBuild/Xamarin/Android/Xamarin.Android.Bindings.ClassParse.targets
+++ b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/MSBuild/Xamarin/Android/Xamarin.Android.Bindings.ClassParse.targets
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ This file is only used by binding projects.
 
   <Target Name="_ExportJarToXml"
       DependsOnTargets="_ExtractJavadocsFromJavaSourceJars;_ExportJarToXmlInputs"
-      Inputs="@(EmbeddedJar);@(EmbeddedReferenceJar);@(InputJar);@(ReferenceJar);@(_AndroidMSBuildAllProjects)"
+      Inputs="@(EmbeddedJar);@(EmbeddedReferenceJar);@(InputJar);@(ReferenceJar);@(_JavaBindingClassFile);@(_AndroidMSBuildAllProjects)"
       Outputs="@(_ExportJarToXmlOutputs)">
 
     <PropertyGroup>
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ This file is only used by binding projects.
     </ItemGroup>
     <ClassParse
         OutputFile="$(ApiOutputFile).class-parse"
-        SourceJars="@(EmbeddedJar);@(InputJar)"
+        SourceJars="@(EmbeddedJar);@(InputJar);@(_JavaBindingClassFile)"
         ReferenceOutputFile="$(ApiOutputFile).reference.class-parse"
         ReferenceJars="@(EmbeddedReferenceJar);@(ReferenceJar)"
         DocumentationPaths="@(_AndroidDocumentationPath)"
diff --git a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/MSBuild/Xamarin/Android/Xamarin.Android.Javac.targets b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/MSBuild/Xamarin/Android/Xamarin.Android.Javac.targets
index b7867c60764..ccc0f980748 100644
--- a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/MSBuild/Xamarin/Android/Xamarin.Android.Javac.targets
+++ b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/MSBuild/Xamarin/Android/Xamarin.Android.Javac.targets
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ It is shared between "legacy" binding projects and .NET 7+ projects.
       Inputs="@(_AndroidMSBuildAllProjects);$(_AndroidCompileBindingJavaFileList);$(MonoPlatformJarPath);@(_JavaBindingSource)"
       Outputs="$(_AndroidCompileBindingJavaStampFile)">
 
-    <!-- remove existing <Javac /> outputs, since *.class files and classes.zip could contain old files -->
+    <!-- remove existing outputs, since *.class and *.jar files could contain old files -->
     <RemoveDirFixed Directories="$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingJavaClassDirectory)" Condition="Exists('$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingJavaClassDirectory)')" />
     <Delete Files="$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingClassesZip)" Condition="Exists('$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingClassesZip)')" />
     <!-- Compile java code -->
@@ -114,7 +114,6 @@ It is shared between "legacy" binding projects and .NET 7+ projects.
         Condition=" '@(_JavaBindingSource->Count())' != '0' "
         JavaPlatformJarPath="$(JavaPlatformJarPath)"
         ClassesOutputDirectory="$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingJavaClassDirectory)"
-        ClassesZip="$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingClassesZip)"
         StubSourceDirectory="$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingJavaSourceDirectory)"
         JavaSourceFiles="@(_JavaBindingSource)"
         ToolPath="$(JavacToolPath)"
@@ -126,6 +125,12 @@ It is shared between "legacy" binding projects and .NET 7+ projects.
         IntermediateOutputPath="$(IntermediateOutputPath)"
         AssemblyIdentityMapFile="$(_AndroidLibrayProjectAssemblyMapFile)"
     />
+    <ZipDirectory
+        Condition=" '$(AndroidApplication)' != 'true' or '$(AndroidClassParser)' == 'jar2xml' "
+        SourceDirectory="$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingJavaClassDirectory)"
+        DestinationFile="$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingClassesZip)"
+        Overwrite="true"
+    />
     <JavaSourceUtils
         Condition=" '@(_JavaBindingSource->Count())' != '0' "
         JavaSourceUtilsJar="$(AndroidJavaSourceUtilsJar)"
@@ -142,6 +147,14 @@ It is shared between "legacy" binding projects and .NET 7+ projects.
     />
     <Touch Files="$(_AndroidCompileBindingJavaStampFile)" AlwaysCreate="true" />
     <ItemGroup>
+      <_JavaBindingClassDirectory
+          Condition=" '$(AndroidApplication)' == 'true' and '$(AndroidClassParser)' != 'jar2xml' "
+          Include="$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingJavaClassDirectory)"
+      />
+      <_JavaBindingClassFile
+          Condition=" '$(AndroidApplication)' == 'true' and '$(AndroidClassParser)' != 'jar2xml' "
+          Include="$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingJavaClassDirectory)**\*.class"
+      />
       <EmbeddedJar Include="$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingClassesZip)" Condition="Exists('$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingClassesZip)')" />
       <AndroidJavaLibrary Include="$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingClassesZip)" Condition="Exists('$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingClassesZip)')" />
       <FileWrites Include="$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingClassesZip)" Condition="Exists('$(_AndroidIntermediateBindingClassesZip)')" />
@@ -154,21 +167,19 @@ It is shared between "legacy" binding projects and .NET 7+ projects.
     Inputs="@(_AndroidMSBuildAllProjects);$(_AndroidCompileJavaFileList);$(MonoPlatformJarPath);@(_JavaStubFiles);@(_JavaSource)"
     Outputs="$(_AndroidCompileJavaStampFile)">
 
-    <!-- remove existing <Javac /> outputs, since *.class files and classes.zip could contain old files -->
+    <!-- remove existing <Javac /> outputs, since *.class files could contain old files -->
     <RemoveDirFixed Directories="$(_AndroidIntermediateJavaClassDirectory)" />
-    <Delete Files="$(_AndroidIntermediateClassesZip)" />
 
     <!-- Compile java code -->
     <Javac
         JavaPlatformJarPath="$(JavaPlatformJarPath)"
         ClassesOutputDirectory="$(_AndroidIntermediateJavaClassDirectory)"
-        ClassesZip="$(_AndroidIntermediateClassesZip)"
         StubSourceDirectory="$(_AndroidIntermediateJavaSourceDirectory)"
         AdditionalStubSourceDirectories="@(_AdditionalJavaStubDirectory)"
         JavaSourceFiles="@(_JavaSource)"
         ToolPath="$(JavacToolPath)"
         ToolExe="$(JavacToolExe)"
-        Jars="@(_JavaLibrariesToCompile);@(_ReferenceJavaLibs)"
+        Jars="@(_JavaBindingClassDirectory);@(_JavaLibrariesToCompile);@(_ReferenceJavaLibs)"
         JavacTargetVersion="$(JavacTargetVersion)"
         JavacSourceVersion="$(JavacSourceVersion)"
         JdkVersion="$(_JdkVersion)"
diff --git a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tasks/D8.cs b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tasks/D8.cs
index 78717d986d5..35bcc78dd89 100644
--- a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tasks/D8.cs
+++ b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tasks/D8.cs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ public class D8 : JavaToolTask
 		public bool EnableDesugar { get; set; } = true;
 
 		// Java libraries to embed or reference
-		public string? ClassesZip { get; set; }
+		public ITaskItem []? ClassFiles { get; set; }
 		[Required]
 		public string JavaPlatformJarPath { get; set; } = "";
 		public ITaskItem []? JavaLibrariesToEmbed { get; set; }
@@ -135,21 +135,23 @@ protected virtual string CreateResponseFile ()
 				}
 			}
 
-			// --lib and input jars
-			var injars = new List<string> ();
+			// --lib and program inputs
+			var inputs = new List<string> ();
 			var libjars = new List<string> ();
+			if (ClassFiles != null) {
+				foreach (var classFile in ClassFiles) {
+					inputs.Add (classFile.ItemSpec);
+				}
+			}
 			if (AlternativeJarLibrariesToEmbed?.Length > 0) {
 				Log.LogDebugMessage ("  processing AlternativeJarLibrariesToEmbed...");
 				foreach (var jar in AlternativeJarLibrariesToEmbed) {
-					injars.Add (jar.ItemSpec);
+					inputs.Add (jar.ItemSpec);
 				}
 			} else if (JavaLibrariesToEmbed != null) {
-				Log.LogDebugMessage ("  processing ClassesZip, JavaLibrariesToEmbed...");
-				if (!ClassesZip.IsNullOrEmpty () && File.Exists (ClassesZip)) {
-					injars.Add (ClassesZip);
-				}
+				Log.LogDebugMessage ("  processing JavaLibrariesToEmbed...");
 				foreach (var jar in JavaLibrariesToEmbed) {
-					injars.Add (jar.ItemSpec);
+					inputs.Add (jar.ItemSpec);
 				}
 			}
 			libjars.Add (JavaPlatformJarPath);
@@ -163,8 +165,8 @@ protected virtual string CreateResponseFile ()
 				WriteArg (response, "--lib");
 				WriteArg (response, jar);
 			}
-			foreach (var jar in injars) {
-				WriteArg (response, jar);
+			foreach (var input in inputs) {
+				WriteArg (response, input);
 			}
 
 			return responseFile;
diff --git a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tasks/Javac.cs b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tasks/Javac.cs
index 4dfbfa17629..abcef357f1a 100644
--- a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tasks/Javac.cs
+++ b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tasks/Javac.cs
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
 using Microsoft.Build.Utilities;
 using System.Text;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
-using Xamarin.Tools.Zip;
 using Xamarin.Android.Tools;
 using Microsoft.Android.Build.Tasks;
 
@@ -22,8 +21,6 @@ public class Javac : JavaCompileToolTask
 		[Required]
 		public string ClassesOutputDirectory { get; set; } = "";
 
-		public string? ClassesZip { get; set; }
-
 		public string? JavaPlatformJarPath { get; set; }
 
 		public string? JavacTargetVersion { get; set; }
@@ -37,17 +34,7 @@ public override bool RunTask ()
 		{
 			if (!Directory.Exists (ClassesOutputDirectory))
 				Directory.CreateDirectory (ClassesOutputDirectory);
-			var result = base.RunTask ();
-			if (!result)
-				return result;
-			// compress all the class files
-			if (!ClassesZip.IsNullOrEmpty ()) {
-				using (var zip = new ZipArchiveEx (ClassesZip, FileMode.OpenOrCreate)) {
-					zip.AutoFlush = false;
-					zip.AddDirectory (ClassesOutputDirectory, "", CompressionMethod.Store);
-				}
-			}
-			return result;
+			return base.RunTask ();
 		}
 
 		protected override string GenerateCommandLineCommands ()
diff --git a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tests/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tests/BuildTest.cs b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tests/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tests/BuildTest.cs
index 63a575f42a2..5025442ac33 100644
--- a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tests/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tests/BuildTest.cs
+++ b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tests/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tests/BuildTest.cs
@@ -2152,9 +2152,23 @@ public static Toolbar GetToolbar (Context context) {
 	}
 }
 ",
-						Encoding = Encoding.ASCII
+						Encoding = Encoding.ASCII,
+						Metadata = { { "Bind", "True" } },
 					},
-				}
+				},
+				Sources = {
+					new BuildItem.Source ("UseToolbarEx.cs") {
+						TextContent = () => """
+using Android.Content;
+
+class UseToolbarEx
+{
+	public AndroidX.AppCompat.Widget.Toolbar GetToolbar (Context context) =>
+		Com.Unnamedproject.Unnamedproject.ToolbarEx.GetToolbar (context);
+}
+""",
+					},
+				},
 			};
 			proj.SetRuntime (runtime);
 			proj.PackageReferences.Add (KnownPackages.AndroidXAppCompat);
@@ -2162,6 +2176,14 @@ public static Toolbar GetToolbar (Context context) {
 				b.ThrowOnBuildFailure = false;
 				Assert.IsTrue (b.Build (proj), "Build should have succeeded");
 
+				var intermediate = Path.Combine (Root, b.ProjectDirectory, proj.IntermediateOutputPath);
+				var bindingJar = Path.Combine (intermediate, "binding", "bin", $"{proj.ProjectName}.jar");
+				FileAssert.DoesNotExist (bindingJar, "Application builds should pass bound Java class files directly to D8/R8.");
+				var dexFile = Path.Combine (intermediate, "android", "bin", "classes.dex");
+				FileAssert.Exists (dexFile);
+				Assert.IsTrue (DexUtils.ContainsClass ("Lcom/unnamedproject/unnamedproject/ToolbarEx;", dexFile, AndroidSdkPath),
+					$"`{dexFile}` should contain the bound Java source.");
+
 				Assert.IsTrue (b.Clean (proj), "Clean should have succeeded.");
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tests/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tests/BuildTest2.cs b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tests/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tests/BuildTest2.cs
index 48cd2eb9d58..cc229e477b4 100644
--- a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tests/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tests/BuildTest2.cs
+++ b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tests/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tests/BuildTest2.cs
@@ -1432,35 +1432,30 @@ public void BuildIncrementingClassName ([Values (AndroidRuntime.CoreCLR, Android
 			using (var b = CreateApkBuilder ()) {
 				Assert.IsTrue (b.Build (proj), "Build should have succeeded.");
 
-				var classesZipPath = Path.Combine (Root, b.ProjectDirectory, proj.IntermediateOutputPath, "android", "bin", "classes.zip");
-				FileAssert.Exists (classesZipPath);
-				var expectedBuilder = new StringBuilder ();
-				using (var zip = ZipHelper.OpenZip (classesZipPath)) {
-					foreach (var file in zip) {
-						expectedBuilder.AppendLine (file.FullName);
-					}
-				}
-				var expectedZip = expectedBuilder.ToString ();
+				var classesDirectory = Path.Combine (Root, b.ProjectDirectory, proj.IntermediateOutputPath, "android", "bin", "classes");
+				DirectoryAssert.Exists (classesDirectory);
+				var expectedClasses = Directory.GetFiles (classesDirectory, "*.class", SearchOption.AllDirectories)
+					.Select (path => Path.GetRelativePath (classesDirectory, path))
+					.OrderBy (path => path)
+					.ToArray ();
+				Assert.IsNotEmpty (expectedClasses);
 
 				source.Timestamp = null; //Force the file to re-save w/ new Timestamp
 				Assert.IsTrue (b.Build (proj), "Second build should have succeeded.");
 
-				var actualBuilder = new StringBuilder ();
-				using (var zip = ZipHelper.OpenZip (classesZipPath)) {
-					foreach (var file in zip) {
-						actualBuilder.AppendLine (file.FullName);
-					}
-				}
-				var actualZip = actualBuilder.ToString ();
-				Assert.AreNotEqual (expectedZip, actualZip);
+				var actualClasses = Directory.GetFiles (classesDirectory, "*.class", SearchOption.AllDirectories)
+					.Select (path => Path.GetRelativePath (classesDirectory, path))
+					.OrderBy (path => path)
+					.ToArray ();
+				CollectionAssert.AreNotEqual (expectedClasses, actualClasses);
 
 				//Build with no changes
 				Assert.IsTrue (b.Build (proj), "Third build should have succeeded.");
-				FileAssert.Exists (classesZipPath);
+				DirectoryAssert.Exists (classesDirectory);
 
 				//Clean
 				Assert.IsTrue (b.Clean (proj), "Clean should have succeeded.");
-				FileAssert.DoesNotExist (classesZipPath);
+				DirectoryAssert.DoesNotExist (classesDirectory);
 			}
 		}
 
diff --git a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tests/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tests/Tasks/D8Tests.cs b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tests/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tests/Tasks/D8Tests.cs
index 7ed141a91f0..5146ab04bde 100644
--- a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tests/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tests/Tasks/D8Tests.cs
+++ b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Tests/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tests/Tasks/D8Tests.cs
@@ -46,10 +46,12 @@ public void ResponseFileContainsLibAndInputJars ()
 			var inputJar1 = Path.Combine (tempDir, "input1.jar");
 			var inputJar2 = Path.Combine (tempDir, "input2.jar");
 			var libJar1 = Path.Combine (tempDir, "lib1.jar");
+			var classFile = Path.Combine (tempDir, "Example.class");
 			File.WriteAllText (platformJar, "mock");
 			File.WriteAllText (inputJar1, "mock");
 			File.WriteAllText (inputJar2, "mock");
 			File.WriteAllText (libJar1, "mock");
+			File.WriteAllText (classFile, "mock");
 
 			var d8Task = new D8TestTask {
 				BuildEngine = engine,
@@ -60,6 +62,9 @@ public void ResponseFileContainsLibAndInputJars ()
 					new TaskItem (inputJar1),
 					new TaskItem (inputJar2),
 				},
+				ClassFiles = new ITaskItem [] {
+					new TaskItem (classFile),
+				},
 				JavaLibrariesToReference = new ITaskItem [] {
 					new TaskItem (libJar1),
 				},
@@ -87,6 +92,7 @@ public void ResponseFileContainsLibAndInputJars ()
 				// Should contain input jars as direct arguments (no --lib prefix)
 				Assert.IsTrue (responseFileContent.Any (line => line.Contains ("input1.jar")), "Response file should contain input1.jar");
 				Assert.IsTrue (responseFileContent.Any (line => line.Contains ("input2.jar")), "Response file should contain input2.jar");
+				Assert.IsTrue (responseFileContent.Any (line => line.Contains ("Example.class")), "Response file should contain class files");
 
 			} finally {
 				// Clean up response file
diff --git a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Xamarin.Android.Common.targets b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Xamarin.Android.Common.targets
index 57fa1a57afc..3be0e3b6793 100644
--- a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Xamarin.Android.Common.targets
+++ b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Xamarin.Android.Common.targets
@@ -921,7 +921,6 @@ because xbuild doesn't support framework reference assemblies.
 	<_AndroidIntermediateJavaSourceDirectory>$(IntermediateOutputPath)android\src\</_AndroidIntermediateJavaSourceDirectory>
 	<_AndroidIntermediateDexOutputDirectory>$(IntermediateOutputPath)android\bin\</_AndroidIntermediateDexOutputDirectory>
 	<_AndroidIntermediateJavaClassDirectory>$(IntermediateOutputPath)android\bin\classes\</_AndroidIntermediateJavaClassDirectory>
-	<_AndroidIntermediateClassesZip>$(IntermediateOutputPath)android\bin\classes.zip</_AndroidIntermediateClassesZip>
 	<_AndroidAotBinDirectory>$(IntermediateOutputPath)aot</_AndroidAotBinDirectory>
 	<_AndroidResgenFlagFile>$(IntermediateOutputPath)R.cs.flag</_AndroidResgenFlagFile>
 	<_AndroidResFlagFile>$(IntermediateOutputPath)res.flag</_AndroidResFlagFile>
@@ -1968,8 +1967,9 @@ because xbuild doesn't support framework reference assemblies.
 	<_CompileToDalvikInputs>
 		@(_AndroidMSBuildAllProjects)
 		;@(_JavaLibrariesToCompileForApp)
+		;@(_JavaBindingClassFile)
 		;@(AndroidExternalJavaLibrary)
-		;$(_AndroidIntermediateClassesZip)
+		;$(_AndroidCompileJavaStampFile)
 		;@(ProguardConfiguration)
 		;@(MultiDexMainDexList)
 		;$(_AndroidBuildPropertiesCache)
diff --git a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Xamarin.Android.D8.targets b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Xamarin.Android.D8.targets
index f66903d0449..9690a9ebf57 100644
--- a/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Xamarin.Android.D8.targets
+++ b/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Xamarin.Android.D8.targets
@@ -51,6 +51,8 @@ Copyright (C) 2018 Xamarin. All rights reserved.
     <ItemGroup>
       <_AndroidD8MapDiagnostics Condition=" '$(AndroidD8IgnoreWarnings)' == 'true' " Include="warning" To="info" />
       <_AndroidR8MapDiagnostics Condition=" '$(AndroidR8IgnoreWarnings)' == 'true' " Include="warning" To="info" />
+      <_JavaClassFile Include="$(_AndroidIntermediateJavaClassDirectory)**\*.class" />
+      <_JavaClassFile Include="@(_JavaBindingClassFile)" />
       <!-- User-authored AndroidJavaSource (Bind != True) is not in the acw-map; pass it to R8 so it
            is kept when shrinking is enabled rather than silently removed. -->
       <_R8KeepJavaSource Include="@(AndroidJavaSource)" Condition=" '%(AndroidJavaSource.Bind)' != 'True' " />
@@ -66,7 +68,7 @@ Copyright (C) 2018 Xamarin. All rights reserved.
         OutputDirectory="$(_AndroidIntermediateDexOutputDirectory)"
         Debug="$(AndroidIncludeDebugSymbols)"
         JavaPlatformJarPath="$(JavaPlatformJarPath)"
-        ClassesZip="$(_AndroidIntermediateClassesZip)"
+        ClassFiles="@(_JavaClassFile)"
         JavaLibrariesToEmbed="@(_JavaLibrariesToCompileForApp);"
         JavaLibrariesToReference="@(AndroidExternalJavaLibrary)"
         EnableDesugar="$(AndroidEnableDesugar)"
@@ -99,7 +101,7 @@ Copyright (C) 2018 Xamarin. All rights reserved.
         OutputDirectory="$(_AndroidIntermediateDexOutputDirectory)"
         Debug="$(AndroidIncludeDebugSymbols)"
         JavaPlatformJarPath="$(JavaPlatformJarPath)"
-        ClassesZip="$(_AndroidIntermediateClassesZip)"
+        ClassFiles="@(_JavaClassFile)"
         JavaLibrariesToEmbed="@(_JavaLibrariesToCompileForApp)"
         AlternativeJarLibrariesToEmbed="@(_AlternativeJarForAppD8)"
         JavaLibrariesToReference="@(AndroidExternalJavaLibrary)"