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Releasing GVTimer to the Play Store

Prerequisites

  • Access to the Google Play Console for the GVTimer app
  • The release keystore file and its credentials

Steps

1. Update version numbers

In app/build.gradle.kts, increment:

  • versionCode — must be a higher integer than the previous release (Play Store requires this)
  • versionName — human-readable version shown to users (e.g. "1.2")
versionCode = 2        // increment by 1 each release
versionName = "1.2"   // update as appropriate

Commit this change:

git add app/build.gradle.kts
git commit -m "Bump version to 1.2 (versionCode 2)"
git tag v1.2
git push origin main --tags

2. Configure signing

Ensure a keystore.properties file exists in the project root (already in .gitignore):

storeFile=/path/to/release.keystore
storePassword=...
keyAlias=...
keyPassword=...

3. Build the release bundle

The Play Store requires an Android App Bundle (.aab), not an APK:

./gradlew bundleRelease

The output file will be at:

app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab

4. Upload to Play Store

  1. Go to Google Play Console and open GVTimer.
  2. Navigate to Release > Production (or Testing track if doing a staged rollout).
  3. Click Create new release.
  4. Upload app-release.aab.
  5. Fill in the Release notes (what's new in this version).
  6. Click Save, then Review release, then Start rollout to Production.

5. Monitor the rollout

  • Play Store review typically takes a few hours to a few days.
  • Check Release > Production for rollout status and any policy issues.
  • Monitor Android Vitals for crash reports after the release goes live.

Notes

  • versionCode must always increase; you cannot reuse or skip codes.
  • The .aab file should not be committed to the repository.
  • Keep the keystore and keystore.properties file backed up securely — losing the keystore means you cannot publish updates to the existing app listing.