Android Release Skill

App signing, bundling, and Play Store deployment automation.

When to Use

• Signing APK/AAB for release
• Generating release builds
• Preparing Play Store upload
• Managing signing keys
• Configuring ProGuard/R8

Signing Configuration

keystore.properties (gitignored)

storeFile=release-key.jks
storePassword=your_store_password
keyAlias=your_key_alias
keyPassword=your_key_password

build.gradle.kts

val keystoreProperties = Properties().apply {
    val file = file("keystore.properties")
    if (file.exists()) file.inputStream().use { load(it) }
}

android {
    signingConfigs {
        create("release") {
            storeFile = file(keystoreProperties["storeFile"] as String)
            storePassword = keystoreProperties["storePassword"] as String
            keyAlias = keystoreProperties["keyAlias"] as String
            keyPassword = keystoreProperties["keyPassword"] as String
        }
    }
    buildTypes {
        release {
            signingConfig = signingConfigs.getByName("release")
            isMinifyEnabled = true
            isShrinkResources = true
            proguardFiles(
                getDefaultProguardFile("proguard-android-optimize.txt"),
                "proguard-rules.pro"
            )
        }
    }
}

Build Commands

# Build signed AAB (for Play Store)
./gradlew bundleRelease

# Build signed APK
./gradlew assembleRelease

# Clean and build
./gradlew clean bundleRelease

# Build with specific variant
./gradlew bundleProdRelease

ProGuard/R8 Rules

# Keep data classes for serialization
-keepclassmembers class * {
    @kotlinx.serialization.Serializable *;
}

# Keep Compose
-keep class androidx.compose.** { *; }
-dontwarn androidx.compose.**

# Keep Koin
-keep class org.koin.** { *; }

# Keep Supabase/Ktor
-keep class io.github.jan.supabase.** { *; }
-keep class io.ktor.** { *; }

# Keep Retrofit models (if used)
-keepclassmembers class * {
    @com.google.gson.annotations.SerializedName <fields>;
}

# Remove debug logs
-assumenosideeffects class android.util.Log {
    public static int d(...);
    public static int v(...);
}

Play Store Deployment

Using Gradle Play Publisher Plugin

// plugins block
id("com.github.triplet.play") version "3.10.1"

play {
    serviceAccountCredentials.set(file("play-service-account.json"))
    track.set("internal") // internal, alpha, beta, production
    defaultToAppBundles.set(true)
}

# Upload to internal testing
./gradlew publishBundle

# Upload to production
./gradlew publishReleaseBundle --track production

# Promote from internal to production
./gradlew promoteArtifact --from-track internal --to-track production

Manual Upload

1. Build AAB:

   ./gradlew bundleRelease

2. Find at:

   app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab

3. Upload via Play Console

Version Management

android {
    defaultConfig {
        versionCode = 10
        versionName = "1.2.0"
    }
}

// Or auto-generate from git
val gitVersionCode = "git rev-list --count HEAD".execute().toInt()
val gitVersionName = "git describe --tags --always".execute()

Version Compatibility

AGP	Gradle	JDK	Target SDK
8.8+	8.10+	17+	35
8.5+	8.5+	17+	34

Error Handling

# Validate AAB before upload
bundletool validate --bundle=app-release.aab

# Check signing
jarsigner -verify -verbose -certs app-release.apk

# Test release build locally
./gradlew assembleRelease && adb install -r app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Signing failed	Verify keystore path and passwords
ProGuard errors	Add keep rules for affected classes
APK too large	Enable R8 shrinking, check resources
Upload rejected	Check version code, target SDK

Security Checklist

• Keystore NOT in version control
• Passwords in environment variables
• Play App Signing enabled
• ProGuard/R8 enabled for release
• Service account key secured
• Backup rules exclude sensitive data

CI/CD Integration

# GitHub Actions Release
- name: Build Release
  run: ./gradlew bundleRelease
  env:
    KEYSTORE_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.KEYSTORE_PASSWORD }}
    KEY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.KEY_PASSWORD }}

- name: Upload to Play Store
  uses: r0adkll/upload-google-play@v1
  with:
    serviceAccountJsonPlainText: ${{ secrets.SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON }}
    packageName: com.example.app
    releaseFiles: app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab
    track: internal

Release Checklist

• Version code/name incremented
• ProGuard rules updated for new libraries
• Release notes prepared
• Screenshots updated (if UI changed)
• Test on release build before upload
• Staged rollout configured

References

• App Signing
• Play Console
• R8 Shrinking
• Gradle Play Publisher

Use this skill for secure, automated release workflows.