How to Publish to Google Play (formerly the Android Market)
<![CDATA[This is a quick reference for publishing an Android App
from the command line. Refer to Android for precise docs.
$ indicates a command line instruction.
1. Clean up your build directory and remove Log calls.
2. Remove android:debuggable="true" from your manifest.
3. Check your versionCode and versionName in you manifest.
4. Make sure you like the package name defined in the
manifest. Users can see this when visiting the
Android Market. They can not see your APK name.
4. build your App:
$ ant release
5. Create your .keystore file (I forget how). This key and the
passwords associated are critical if you ever want to
publish an update. Do not forget the passwords! The .keystore
file is used by the jarsigner.
5. sign your App and record the alias you use (it is arbitrary).
It may be necessary to use the alias again if you update your App:
$ cd bin; jarsigner -verbose -keystore my-release-key.keystore myPackageName-unsigned.apk myPackageAlias
(note to self: you used BTmate as your alias)
6. Verify the signing process worked. Note that your filename
is not automatically renamed to "signed" in the step above.
$ jarsigner -verify -verbose myPackageName-unsigned.apk
7. Align your package. In the example below I rename the final
package to GDMate.apk:
$ zipalign -v 4 myPackageName-unsigned.apk GDMate.apk
8. Now generate all the graphical and promo assets required by
the market. Don't get lazy at this point. You have spent
weeks coding.. Go to istockphoto.com if you need a creative
start.
9. Log into your Google Play publisher account and publish.
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See also
