Publishing to Google Play

Flet Studio can build your Android app, sign it with your key and release it on a Google Play track — Internal testing, Closed testing, Open testing or Production — in one run. This page covers the one-time setup, publishing, and getting a test build onto your phone.

In short

1. Create the app in Play Console and upload its first release yourself (Google requires it) — Studio's Create an app bundle (.aab) makes the file.
2. Connect Google Play: a Google Cloud service account with release permissions in Play Console.
3. Run Publish to Google Play: Studio builds, signs and uploads every later release.

Before you start

You need:

• A Google Play developer account (Play Console).
• An Android signing key selected for the app in Studio — see Android apps. Google Play only accepts updates signed with the key the app's first release was uploaded with, so keep using the same one.
• The app's package name set in Studio (Publish › Settings › Android › 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.

Step 1. Create the app and upload its first release

Google doesn't let tools create an app or upload its very first release: that has to happen in Play Console. Do it once per app:

1. In Play Console, Create app: enter its name, language and type, and accept the declarations.
2. In Studio, open Publish and run Create an app bundle (.aab) for the app. When the run finishes, Download the .aab.
3. In Play Console, go to Test and release › Testing › Internal testing and Create new release. Upload the .aab and roll the release out.

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 2. 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.

   Leave the rest unticked: Studio doesn't need Admin, financial data, store presence 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 Publish to Google Play action screen (or Publish › Settings › Android › Signing & accounts, or Settings › Store accounts), click Connect Google Play, 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, and selected for this app. Studio checks access straight away: under the account the action screen shows Connected · com.example.myapp · latest build 28, or what's wrong and how to fix it.

Step 3. Publish

Open Publish, then Publish to Google Play in the Android section.

• Track: where the build goes.

  Track	Who gets it	Button
  Internal testing	Up to 100 testers you list in Play Console; available within minutes	Upload to Internal testing
  Closed testing	Testers you invite (lists or Google Groups)	Upload to Closed testing
  Open testing	Anyone who joins from your store listing	Upload to Open testing
  Production	Everyone, after Google's review	Submit for review

• 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.

• Version and build number: 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 track's button.

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.
2. The upload. When the build is done, the run shows Uploading to Google Play 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

Once the run succeeds, the Google Play row on Overview says where the build is:

Status	Meaning	What to do
On Internal testing (or another testing track)	Released on the track	Testers get it through the Play Store — on Closed and Open testing once Google's review passes
In review	Submitted to Production	Wait for Google's review; Play Console shows its progress
Draft in Play Console	The app's setup in Play Console isn't finished, so Google only accepts draft releases	Finish the app's setup, then roll the draft out in Play Console
Not sent for review	The app uses managed publishing	Send the changes for review in Play Console

Play Console on the row and in the run's details opens Play Console.

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 (on Overview 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 release yourself (step 1), then Retry upload
Service account can't release this app	Give it the app's permissions in Play Console › Users and permissions (step 2), 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	Select the key the app's first release was uploaded with. Play Console › Test and release › App integrity shows its SHA-1; Settings › Signing keys shows yours
Google Play rejected a debug build	Select a signing key for the app and start a new run
Google Play rejected the target SDK	Raise Target SDK version in Publish › Settings › Android (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. Fill in Grow users › Store presence › Main store listing in Play Console (name, descriptions, graphics) 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 your key works. Studio's Create an app bundle (.aab) 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. Import its upload key (the keystore you've been signing with), 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, store listing and graphics, and in-app products. Use Play Console for those.