Publishing to Google Play

Flet Studio builds your Android app, signs it with the app's key and releases it on a Google Play track (Internal testing, Closed testing, Open testing or Production) in one run. Everything happens on the Google Play card of Publish › Android: it shows the next step until the app is set up, then a row per track.

Creator plan

Publishing to Google Play is part of the Creator plan. On Explorer, the Free trial link on its card opens the plans, where you can start a free 7-day Creator trial with 500 bonus credits. See Plans.

In short

1. Connect Google Play: a Google Cloud service account with release permissions in Play Console.
2. Create the app in Play Console and upload its first bundle yourself (Google requires it). The card makes the bundle and tells you where to upload it.
3. Publish on a track's row: Studio builds, signs and uploads every release after that.

Before you start

You need:

• A Google Play developer account (Play Console).
• The app's package name set in Studio (Publish › Android › Settings › Package name, e.g. com.example.myapp). It must be the app's package name in Play Console, and it can't be changed after the first release.

The app's signing key is made by Studio on its first Android run. Google Play only accepts updates signed with the key the app's first release was uploaded with, so back it up. To keep updating an app that's already on Google Play, use its key instead.

Step 1. Connect Google Play

Studio uploads your releases with a service account: a Google Cloud robot user you give release permissions to in Play Console. You set it up once and can use it for all your apps.

In Google Cloud

1. Open a project in the Google Cloud console. Any project works — an existing one, or a new one just for publishing (the project picker at the top › New project). It doesn't have to be linked to your Play Console account, and it costs nothing: the Google Play Android Developer API is free, and no billing account is needed.
2. Enable the Google Play Android Developer API for it (APIs & Services › Library, search for "Google Play Android Developer").
3. Go to IAM & Admin › Service accounts and Create service account. Give it a name, e.g. my-app-google-play.
   • No role is needed: skip the optional "Grant this service account access to project" step. Permissions come from Play Console, not Google Cloud.
4. Open the service account, then Keys › Add key › Create new key › JSON. A .json key file downloads. Keep it private: anyone with it can publish as the service account.

In Play Console

1. Open Users and permissions: it's an account-level page, not an app's. From the Play Console home, click the developer account icon at the top right (next to Notifications) › Manage developer account › Users and permissions. Then Invite new users.

2. Enter the service account's email (…@….iam.gserviceaccount.com, also in the JSON key as client_email).

3. On the App permissions tab, Add app and choose your app. In Permissions for your app, tick:

   • under App access: View app information (read-only). Play Console ticks the permissions that come with it (such as View app quality information) for you;
   • under Releases: Release apps to testing tracks;
   • under Releases, only if you'll submit to Production from Studio: Release to production, exclude devices, and use Play App Signing;
   • under Store presence, only if you'll send the store listing from Studio: Manage store presence — and, while the app is still a draft in Play Console (its name shows "(unreviewed)"), Draft apps › Edit and delete draft apps too. Releases don't need it.

   Leave the rest unticked: Studio doesn't need Admin, financial data or tester lists.

4. Invite user. A service account doesn't have to accept anything.

Permission changes can take a few minutes to apply.

In Studio

On the Google Play card, click Connect Google Play. If you've connected an account before, choose it; otherwise Connect another account…, choose the JSON key file and Connect. The name is filled in from the service account's email; change it if you like.

The account is saved to your Studio account, so your other apps can use it too. Connection details on the card shows which account the app uses, with Change connection… and Disconnect from this app. Your saved accounts are listed in Settings › Publishing accounts.

Step 2. Create the app and upload its first bundle

Google doesn't let tools create an app or upload its very first release: that has to happen in Play Console. Once connected, the card shows Finish Google Play setup with the app's name and package name to copy:

1. Create the app in Play Console. Open Play Console, then Create app with the name shown: its language and type, and accept the declarations.
2. Upload the first app bundle. Click Create app bundle: Studio builds a signed .aab. When it's done, Download .aab, and in Play Console go to Test and release › Internal testing › Create new release, upload it and roll the release out.
3. Back in Studio, click Check setup. The card then shows the tracks.

Google Play now knows the app and remembers the key it was signed with as the app's upload key. Google re-signs the copies it delivers with its own key (Play App Signing), which is why your key must never change. See Android apps.

Step 3. Publish

Once the app is set up, the card lists Google Play's four tracks. Each row says what's on the track and has Publish (nothing there yet) or Update.

Tracks

Track	Who gets it	Review
Internal testing	Up to 100 testers you add by email; they get it within minutes	None
Closed testing	Testers you invite by email or a Google Group	Google reviews it first
Open testing	Anyone who joins from your Play Store page	Google reviews it first
Production	Everyone on Google Play	Google reviews it first

Testers get the release with the highest version code among the tracks they can see, so a track only takes a release newer than what it has.

Publish to a track

Publish or Update on a track's row opens Publish to Google Play with that track:

• Which build: when another track already has a newer build than this one (say you tested 1.1.0 on Internal testing), you can publish that build to this track: no new build, no credits, and exactly what your testers had. Or choose A new build of the app as it is now.
• What's new: optional release notes (up to 500 characters) shown on Google Play, in the Language you enter (default en-US). They belong to this release only and aren't remembered for the next one.
• Store listing: tick Also send the store listing to send the app's name, descriptions and screenshots in the same change. See Google Play store listing.
• Version and build number (for a new build): the build number becomes the release's version code. Studio starts it above the highest one Google Play already has, so it never clashes.

Then click the button: Upload to Internal testing (or the track), Submit for review for Production, or Publish to track for a build Google Play already has.

Production and the testing tracks Google reviews need the store listing first: their rows say so until you create it.

What happens during a run

1. The build. Studio builds a signed .aab in the cloud, as for any action. This part costs credits, for the time it takes. (A build Google Play already has skips it.)
2. The upload. When the build is done, the row's button shows Uploading… while Studio's servers upload the bundle, release it on the track and send the change to Google Play. This part doesn't cost credits.

Your service account's key is only used by Studio's servers for the upload: it's never sent to the machine that builds your app.

Where your build is

Each track's row says what Google Play has, read from Google Play itself, so a release you make in Play Console shows too:

Row	Meaning	What to do
Sent	Released on the track	Testers get it through the Play Store; on Closed, Open and Production once Google's review passes
Live (Production)	The app is on Google Play	Nothing
Draft	The app's setup in Play Console isn't finished, so Google only accepts draft releases	Finish the app in Play Console, then roll the draft out there
Not sent for review	The app uses managed publishing	Send the changes for review in Play Console

Google's review result isn't something Google Play tells Studio: Play Console shows it, and Google emails you. Play Console on the card opens it.

Finish the app in Play Console

A new app stays a draft in Play Console until its setup is done: Google then only accepts draft releases, which you roll out yourself. In Play Console, open Dashboard › Set up your app and finish its tasks: app access, ads, content rating, target audience, data safety, the privacy policy, and the store listing (Studio can send that one). Then roll the draft out from the track's page. From then on, Studio's releases go out directly.

When an upload fails

If the build succeeded but the upload didn't, the run fails with what Google Play said and how to fix it. Many of these are fixed in Play Console and then Retry upload (under the track's row and in the run's details): it uploads the same build again, without building it again or charging credits. Studio first checks whether Google Play already has the build, so a retry never submits it twice.

Error	Fix
Google Play has no app package yet	Create the app and upload its first bundle yourself (step 2), then Retry upload
Google Play needs a contact email for the app	Add an email under Contact details in the store listing, then send it again
Service account can't change this app's store listing	Give it Store presence › Manage store presence for the app in Play Console › Users and permissions — and Draft apps › Edit and delete draft apps while the app is a draft — wait a few minutes, then Retry upload
Service account can't release this app	Give it the app's permissions in Play Console › Users and permissions (step 1), wait a few minutes, then Retry upload
Enable the Google Play Android Developer API	Enable it in the service account's Google Cloud project, then Retry upload
Google rejected the service account key	The key was deleted or the account disabled: create a new JSON key and connect it
This build number is already on Google Play	Start a new run; leave the build number automatic, or set a higher one
Google Play expects a different upload key	Use the key the app's first release was uploaded with (Use your own key… on Publish › Android › Settings). Play Console › Test and release › App integrity shows its SHA-1; the Signing card's App registration details show yours
Google Play rejected the target SDK	Raise Target SDK version in Publish › Android › Settings (SDK), then start a new run
Google Play is busy right now	Retry upload in a few minutes

If Retry upload isn't offered, the run's details say why — usually that a new run is needed.

Install your test build on a phone

An app on a testing track doesn't show up in Play Store search. Testers get to it through links.

Add testers

In Play Console, go to Test and release › Testing › Internal testing › Testers. Create an email list, add the Google accounts of your testers (including your own), tick the list and save.

Google doesn't notify the people on the list: send them the Join on the web link yourself (next step).

Join the test

Each tester does this once:

1. Open the track's Join on the web link — Copy link on the Testers tab (https://play.google.com/apps/internaltest/…). Send it to your testers, or open it yourself.
2. Sign in with the Google account that's on the list and Accept invite. The page then says "You're a tester for …".
3. Download test app opens the app's Play Store page: Install on the phone, or on a computer choose Install and pick the phone — Google Play installs it remotely.

New releases on the track arrive as normal Play Store updates (Play Store › your profile icon › Manage apps & device › Updates available to get one now).

"Item not found"

The Play Store says Item not found until the account has joined the test:

• Join first with the Join on the web link — being on the email list isn't enough.
• Use the link behind Download test app: for an internal test it carries an ah=… token, and the plain …/details?id=<package> link without it can show Item not found.
• Check the account the Play Store app uses (its profile icon). It can differ from the phone's or the browser's account.
• Testers' addresses must be Google accounts. An address on your own domain only works if it's the address you sign in to Google with.
• A newly published app can take a few minutes, occasionally longer, to become available. If it still doesn't show, clear the Play Store's cache (Settings › Apps › Google Play Store › Storage › Clear cache) and try again.

"(unreviewed)" in the app's name

Until the app's store listing is set up and reviewed, testers see a temporary name such as com.example.myapp (unreviewed) on Google Play. Send a store listing from Studio (or fill in Grow users › Store presence › Main store listing in Play Console) to fix it. The app's name on the phone, under its icon, is already the right one: it comes from the app itself.

Production

• Google reviews releases on Production, and on Closed and Open testing too (Internal testing isn't reviewed). Reviews usually take from hours to a few days; Play Console shows their progress.
• New personal developer accounts have to run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days before they can apply for production access. Until then, Production releases fail with Google's message saying so. Publish to Closed testing from Studio in the meantime.
• Managed publishing (Play Console › Publishing overview) holds approved changes until you publish them. Studio's uploads then show Not sent for review: send them for review in Play Console.

Questions

Do I have to use Studio for the first release too?

No: any .aab signed with the app's key works. Create app bundle on the card is the easy way to get one signed with the key Studio will keep using.

Can I use an app that's already on Google Play?

Yes. Use its upload key (the keystore you've been signing with) on Publish › Android › Settings, set the same package name, connect Google Play, and publish. The build number must be higher than Google Play's latest; Studio starts above it automatically.

Can I install the APK Studio builds instead?

Yes, but not over a copy installed from Google Play, and the other way round: Google Play re-signs its copies with Google's key, and Android only updates an app with one signed by the same key. See Android apps.

What can't Studio do on Google Play yet?

Staged rollouts, custom tracks, release notes in several languages, in-app products, and the parts of the app's setup outside its store listing (category, App content declarations, pricing and countries). Use Play Console for those.