Publish to Google Play

When your app is production-ready, you can build and publish it to Google Play.

The initial publish to Google Play needs to be done manually. After you build your app in Sidekick, you need to upload the application package to the Google Play Console on your own.

Prerequisites

• Verify that you are a registered Google Play Developer.
• Verify that you have a valid Google Play self-signed code signing identity. For more information on how to generate a release certificate for Android, see the following article.

Procedure for Initial Publish

Step 1: Build an application package in NativeScript Sidekick

1. Launch NativeScript Sidekick and open your app.
2. From the top toolbar, select Build.
3. Select Android.
4. Hover on the Android box and click on the cogwheel icon to open the Manage Android Certificates dialog.
5. Next to Certificate, click Browse to choose a certificate stored on the file system or expand the drop-down to select a certificate stored in the Certificate Manager (Windows) or the Keychain (macOS).
6. Close the Manage Android Certificates dialog.
7. Under Build Type, select Cloud or Local build.
8. Under Configuration, select Release.
9. (Optional) If any issues are present, resolve them before you continue.
10. Click on Build.
11. If you have provided a certificate stored on the file system (step 5), you will be prompted to enter its password on every build. Certificates stored in the Certificate Manager or Keychain do not require password validation.
12. When the build process is complete, you will be presented with a path to the produced APK. Remember the location of the application package so you can upload it to the Google Play Console in the next step.

Step 2: Upload your app to the Google Play Console and publish your release

1. Open and log in to the Google Play Console.
2. In the All applications tab, click on the Create Application button to create a new app.
3. In the Create application dialog, select a default language, provide an application title, and click Create to proceed.
4. In the Store listing tab, complete the required fields and provide the needed assets, and then click Save Draft.
5. In the Pricing & distribution tab, complete the pricing and distribution settings for your app and click Save Draft.
6. In the App releases tab, select between the Alpha, Beta and Production tracks and click on the respective Manage button. The Alpha and Beta tracks are used for initial testing of your application. Only the Production track can be used to publish your app to Google Play.
7. In the screen of the selected track, click Create Release.
8. Under APKs to add provide the application package (APK) created in Step 1. Review your draft release and make any additional changes if needed.
9. Select Review. In the Review and rollout release screen, verify there are no issues with the release before rolling it out to users. Address any warnings or errors.
10. Click Confirm rollout to publish your app.

Procedure for Publishing Updates to Existing Apps

Step 1: Configure a Service Account and obtain a JSON key

1. Open and log in to the Google Play Console.
2. Select Settings tab, followed by the API access tab.
3. (Optional) Click Create New Project.
4. Click the Create Service Account button and follow the Google API Console link in the dialog.
5. Click the Create Service account button at the top of the developers' console screen.
6. Provide a name for the service account.
7. Click Select a role and choose Project → Service Account Actor.
8. Check the Furnish a new private key checkbox.
9. Select JSON as the Key type.
10. Click Create to close the dialog. This should automatically download the required JSON file to your computer.
11. Back on the Google Play developer console, click Done to close the dialog.
12. Click on Grant Access for the newly added service account.
13. Choose Release Manager from the Role drop-down.
14. Click Add user to close the dialog.

Step 2: Upload your app from Sidekick to the Google Play Console

1. Launch NativeScript Sidekick and open your app.
2. From the top toolbar, select Publish.
3. Select Google Play.
4. Hover on the Google Play box and click on the cogwheel icon to open the Manage Android Certificates for Google Play Store dialog.
5. Next to Certificate, click Browse to choose a certificate stored on the file system or expand the drop-down to select a certificate stored in the Certificate Manager (Windows) or the Keychain (macOS).
6. Close the Manage Android Certificates for Google Play Store dialog.
7. Select a Build Type.
8. Click Next and wait for the build process to complete.
9. Provide the Service Account JSON key generated in Step 1.
10. Select between the Alpha, Beta, or Production tracks.
11. Click Upload.

Step 3: Review and publish your release

1. Open and log in to the Google Play Console.
2. Select your app.
3. On the left menu, select Release management → App releases.
4. Next to the release you want to rollout, select Edit release.
5. Review your draft release and make any additional changes if needed.
6. Click Review. In the Review and rollout release screen, verify there are no issues with the release before rolling it out to users. Address any warnings or errors.
7. For production releases, select your rollout percentage.
8. Click Confirm rollout.