Android Publishing (Cloud)

Draftbit supports publishing your app to the Google Play Store. In order to do this, you’ll need to complete a few setup steps and provide us with some information. This guide details those steps.

App Configuration

Before you start the publishing process, make sure your app’s configuration properties are up to date in the App Configuration view. At a minimum, we recommend you review and update:

• App Name: The name shown on the device home screen after install
• Slug: A URL-friendly identifier used in publishing/build processes
• URL Scheme: URL scheme for deep linking into your app (e.g., myapp:// would use ‘myapp’).
• Description: A short description of your app
• App Icon: Your app’s icon (we recommend uploading a 1024×1024 PNG)
• Splash Screen: The launch screen users see while your app loads

For more details (and the full list of available properties), see App Configuration.

Google Developer Account

First, in order to publish to the Google Play Store, you’ll need a Google Developer account.

• Create a Google Developer Account if you don’t already have one
• Pay the $25 fee.
• Provide the required information
• Verify your account by providing a government-issued photo ID that matches the information you provided on sign-up if required.

See this guide for more information on how to sign up.

Create a Package Name

Next, you’ll need to create a Package Name for your app. This is unique to your app which identifies it inside of Google’s system. You’ll need to add it to the Google Play Console configuration in Draftbit.

Note

Your Package Name should use the reverse-dns name structure. For example, if the domain you will use for this app is example.com, set your Package Name to com.example.appname.

Create a new app in Google Play

You’ll need to create an App in your Google Play Console in order to upload Draftbit app binaries.

1. Open Google Play Console

   Go to your Google Play Console

   

2. Create a new app

   Navigate to the All Apps page, then click the Create app button in the upper right.

   Select Default language, App or game, Free or paid, fill in the App name input and click Create app in the bottom right.

   

You’ll be redirected to a new page, Dashboard, where you can fill in all information about your application. This step can be done later if you prefer.

Create Service Account Key

In order for Draftbit to publish builds to your Google Play Console, you’ll need to create a Google Service Account Key and upload it to your Draftbit account.

1. Open Google Cloud Console

   You will be directed to New Project page. You need to enter your project name and organization name (optional) and press on Create to continue.

2. Enable Google Play Android Developer API

   

   In the upcoming page ensure that you have selected the project you have recently created and then click on Enable button

3. Create credentials

   Now select Credentials tab and click Create Credentialsbutton. From the dropdown menu select Service Account option.

   

You will be directed to IAM & Admin page.

1. Enter a Service account name

   Enter a Service account name. Pick a name that makes it easy to identify that this account is for the Google Play Store.

   A “Service account ID” will be added automatically, but you can edit to be whatever you like.

   

   Copy the email address given when you have entered the Service account name and click on Create and Continue button.

2. Select a role

   Next, you’ll grant your service account access to your Google Play Console Developer account. Click Select a role and choose Service Accounts > Service Account User. Note that typing in the filter text box won’t return the Service Accounts role - you’ll have to scroll to it.

   Important

   This is an important step. Missing this step will cause a failure of auto submissions.

   

3. Done

   The third step is optional, you can leave it as it is and click Done to continue.

   

You will be navigated back to APIs & Services page.

1. Navigate to Service Accounts

   Now select the service account you have created here and the page will be directed to Service Accounts automatically.

   

2. Create new key

   In the navigated page, select Keys from the options button for your newly created Service Account. Select Create new key.

   

   Select JSON and then click Create. Download the .json file and store it in a safe place for future reference.

   

   Keep it safe

   The JSON file you download at this step won’t be available for you to download again in the future, so ensure you keep it somewhere secure and easy for you to find in the future.

Set up account permissions

1. Open Google Play Console

   Now in your Google Play Console go to the Users and permissions page and select Invite new users option.

   Paste the copied email address at the beginning of the key generation process and then select the account permissions.

   

2. Account permissions

   In Account permissions, you should choose Admin for enabling all the permissions. Then click Invite User.

   

Ready for takeoff

Now, in the builder you can hit the Publish button to start the build process.

Upload your first Android binary

Now that you have a successful build, you would need to submit it. When submitting your Android app to Google Play Store for the first time, Google requires that you manually upload it in the Google Play Console. As a result, when you first request an Android publish from Draftbit for a new app, we’ll send you your app binary (.aab) and you’ll need to upload it via your Google Play Console account. Future publishes for that app will be uploaded automatically by Draftbit

1. Open Google Play Console

   Go to your Google Play Console and navigate to your app’s Dashboard. Click on Testing in the left-hand sidebar, then select Internal testing.

   

2. Create new release

   Click the Create new release button

   

   App signing by Google Play.

   

3. Choose Signing Key

   In the appearing modal select use Google-generated key option. This is critical to allow Draftbit publish future app for you.

   

4. Submit Release

   Then, enter your Release name, enter any relevant Release notes and click Review release.

   

You’ll then be navigated to the Review summary view. At the top, you’ll see the Errors section. If there are errors, click Show more to view the details.

What to do about errors

Errors in your in your build could have several causes. Some could be issues with your app code itself, some could be related to the app settings you provided us, etc. If you’re stuck, please reach out to support.

Add a privacy policy to your app

Google requires that all apps in the Play Store have an associated Privacy Policy. If you don’t have one, you may have noticed a resulting error when you uploaded your binary/.aab file the first time.

1. Open Google Play Console

   Go to your Google Play Console and navigate to your app’s Dashboard and click App content. You’ll see a Privacy Policy section at the top of that page - Click Start in that section.

   

2. Enter Privacy Policy

   Enter your Privacy Policy link in the prompt and click Save

   

Navigate back to the Internal testing page and click the Edit button for your App. You should no longer see the Privacy Policy error on the Review Summary page for your App.

Add testers for your app

You can invite people to test your app before publishing it to the Play Store. Here’s how to add testers to your app.

1. Open Google Play Console

   Go to your Google Play Console and navigate to your app’s Internal Testing by clicking on Testing > Internal testing. In the upcoming page select the Testers tab.

   

2. Create Email List

   Under “Testers,” you are able to create an email list for testers.

   

   Enter a list name and add email addresses you wish to add. You can also upload CSV file that includes listed testers. Then select Save changes, then Create.

   

3. Invite testers

   In the “Testers” tab, you can select the user lists you want to test your release.

   In the below, to gather feedback from testers, you can provide a feedback URL or email address. Copy the shareable link to share the release with testers and save the changes

   

   

Configure your app settings

Go to Publishing page and select the Google Play Store option.

• Enter the Package Name you created in the previous step into the
• Package Name field. Upload the Google Service Account Key file that you downloaded in the previous step into the Service Account field. Click the
• Save Configuration button

Publish your app

Now, you’re ready to publish your app to the Google Play Store.

1. Open the Publish dropdown

   Click the button from the top-right of the Builder to open the Publish dropdown.

2. Choose Google Play Store

   Click the button for the Google Play Store option.

3. Start a new publish

   Enter a version name, number, and environment for your publish and then click the to start the publishing process.

Name	Description
Version Name	A name for this version of your web app (e.g., “Initial Release”, “Major Update”, “v3”).
Version Number	The version number assigned to this publish (e.g., “1”, “2.0”, “3.1”).
Environment	The environment to publish your web app to. Only Production is supported.

Grab a coffee

You can leave and come back to check on the progress of your publish at any time. The publish will continue in the background and you’ll be notified when it’s complete. Visit the Publishing page in the Builder to view the status of your ongoing and completed publishes.

Publishing apps built outside Draftbit Next

If an Android app was originally published using another toolchain or Draftbit v1, update builds submitted through Draftbit Next can fail because Draftbit Next uses a different upload key. Google Play will reject the upload due to signature mismatch.

Draftbit Next signs Android builds with a different upload key. If the Play Store listing was created with another key (external build or Draftbit v1), Google Play requires an upload key reset before accepting new builds.

To resolve this issue, you need to reset the upload key for your app. Here’s how to do it:

Notes

• This reset is needed only once per app
• Do not create a new Play Store app listing
• This changes the upload key, not the Google-managed app signing key

1. Open Google Play Console

   Go to the Google Play Console and sign in.

2. Choose the app you want to reset the upload key for

   

3. Go to Test & Release → App integrity

   

4. Find App signing section

   

5. Request upload key reset / replacement

   

   

6. Provide the new upload certificate

   Download the generated signing files from Draftbit Next publish output

   

7. Upload the new upload certificate

   

8. Wait for Google confirmation

   After you’ve uploaded the new upload certificate, Google will review your request to reset the upload key. This review process is handled by Google and can take several days to complete. During this time, you don’t need to take any further action—simply wait for Google to complete their verification.

   Once Google has finished processing your request and has updated the upload key for your app, they will send a confirmation email to the address associated with your Google Play Developer account. Make sure to check your email (including your spam or promotions folder) for this notification.

   Only after receiving confirmation from Google should you proceed with submitting a new build through Draftbit. Attempting to publish before the upload key is updated may result in further errors.

9. Publish again through Draftbit

   Run a new Android publish through Draftbit. The upload should now succeed with the registered key.