learning_ai_common_plat/docs/_MobileApps/GOOGLE/README.md

Google Play Store — Android App Distribution Guide

Google Play Console

Field	Value
Console URL	play.google.com/console
Developer Account	ByteLyst / saravanakumardb1@gmail.com

---

Registered Apps

Product	Package Name	Play Console	Status
LysnrAI	com.bytelyst.lysnrai	❌ Needs creation	Gradle builds, pending setup
ChronoMind	com.chronomind.app	❌ Needs creation	Gradle builds, pending setup
MindLyst	com.mindlyst.android	❌ Needs creation	KMP shared module, pending setup
JarvisJr	com.jarvisjr.app	❌ Needs creation	Jetpack Compose, pending setup

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One-Time Setup

1. Google Play Console Account

If you don't have one yet:

1. Go to play.google.com/console/signup
2. Pay the one-time $25 registration fee
3. Complete identity verification (can take 48 hours)

2. Create a Service Account (for CLI uploads)

1. Go to Google Cloud Console → IAM → Service Accounts
2. Select or create a project (e.g., bytelyst-releases)
3. Click "+ Create Service Account"
   • Name: play-upload
   • Role: (skip — we'll grant access in Play Console)
4. Click "..." → "Manage keys" → "Add Key" → "Create new key" → JSON
5. Save the JSON key file to this directory and ~/.google-play/

mkdir -p ~/.google-play
cp service-account-key.json ~/.google-play/
chmod 600 ~/.google-play/service-account-key.json

3. Link Service Account to Play Console

1. Go to Play Console → Settings → API access
2. Click "Link" next to Google Cloud project
3. Under Service Accounts, find play-upload → "Grant access"
4. Set permissions: Release manager (or Admin for full control)
5. Add the apps it can manage

---

Creating a New App in Play Console

1. Go to Play Console → All apps
2. Click "Create app"
3. Fill in:
   • App name: Product name (e.g., ChronoMind)
   • Default language: English (United States)
   • App or Game: App
   • Free or Paid: Free
4. Accept declarations and click "Create app"

After Creation — Complete the Store Listing

Navigate through the Dashboard checklist:

Section	Required For
App access	If app requires login → provide test credentials
Ads	Declare if app contains ads
Content rating	Complete IARC questionnaire
Target audience	Select age groups
News apps	Declare if it's a news app
COVID-19 apps	Declare if related
Data safety	Privacy questionnaire (like Apple's App Privacy)
Government apps	Declare if government-related

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Building an Android Release

Signing Key Setup (one-time per app)

# Generate an upload keystore
keytool -genkey -v \
  -keystore ~/keystores/chronomind-upload.jks \
  -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 \
  -alias upload \
  -storepass <PASSWORD> \
  -keypass <PASSWORD> \
  -dname "CN=ByteLyst, O=ByteLyst, L=Dallas, ST=TX, C=US"

⚠️ CRITICAL: Back up the keystore file and passwords. If you lose them, you cannot update the app. Store a copy in this directory.

Configure signing in the app

Create or edit android/keystore.properties (gitignored):

storePassword=<PASSWORD>
keyPassword=<PASSWORD>
keyAlias=upload
storeFile=/Users/<you>/keystores/chronomind-upload.jks

Reference in android/app/build.gradle.kts:

val keystoreProperties = Properties()
val keystoreFile = rootProject.file("keystore.properties")
if (keystoreFile.exists()) keystoreProperties.load(keystoreFile.inputStream())

android {
    signingConfigs {
        create("release") {
            keyAlias = keystoreProperties["keyAlias"] as? String
            keyPassword = keystoreProperties["keyPassword"] as? String
            storeFile = file(keystoreProperties["storeFile"] as? String ?: "")
            storePassword = keystoreProperties["storePassword"] as? String
        }
    }
    buildTypes {
        release {
            signingConfig = signingConfigs.getByName("release")
        }
    }
}

Build the Release AAB

cd android
./gradlew :app:bundleRelease
# Output: app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab

Build a Release APK (for direct install)

./gradlew :app:assembleRelease
# Output: app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk

---

Uploading to Play Console

Manual Upload (Play Console UI)

1. Go to app → Production (or Internal testing / Closed testing)
2. Click "Create new release"
3. Upload the .aab file
4. Add release notes
5. Click "Review release" → "Start rollout"

CLI Upload via bundletool + Google API

pip install google-api-python-client google-auth

python3 -c "
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from google.oauth2 import service_account

creds = service_account.Credentials.from_service_account_file(
    '$HOME/.google-play/service-account-key.json',
    scopes=['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/androidpublisher']
)

service = build('androidpublisher', 'v3', credentials=creds)
package = 'com.chronomind.app'

edit = service.edits().insert(body={}, packageName=package).execute()
edit_id = edit['id']

service.edits().bundles().upload(
    editId=edit_id, packageName=package,
    media_body='app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab',
    media_mime_type='application/octet-stream'
).execute()

service.edits().tracks().update(
    editId=edit_id, packageName=package, track='internal',
    body={'releases': [{'status': 'completed', 'versionCodes': ['1']}]}
).execute()

service.edits().commit(editId=edit_id, packageName=package).execute()
print('Upload complete!')
"

Using Gradle Play Publisher Plugin (recommended for CI)

Add to android/build.gradle.kts:

plugins {
    id("com.github.triplet.play") version "3.11.0"
}

play {
    serviceAccountCredentials.set(file("$HOME/.google-play/service-account-key.json"))
    track.set("internal")  // internal, alpha, beta, production
    defaultToAppBundles.set(true)
}

Then:

./gradlew publishBundle          # Upload AAB to configured track
./gradlew publishInternalBundle  # Upload to internal testing
./gradlew publishAlphaBundle     # Upload to closed testing
./gradlew publishBundle --track production  # Upload to production

---

Testing Tracks

Track	Testers	Review Required	Purpose
Internal testing	Up to 100 (by email)	No	Quick dev testing
Closed testing (Alpha)	Invite-only	No (first time: yes)	Wider beta
Open testing (Beta)	Anyone with link	Yes (first time)	Public beta
Production	Everyone	Yes	Full release

Internal Testing Setup

1. Go to app → Testing → Internal testing
2. Click "Create new release"
3. Upload .aab
4. Click "Review release" → "Start rollout"
5. Go to Testers tab → Create email list → Add tester emails
6. Share the opt-in link with testers

---

Play Store Submission Checklist

Required Assets

Asset	Spec	Notes
App Icon	512×512 PNG	32-bit, no alpha
Feature Graphic	1024×500 PNG or JPG	Required for store listing
Screenshots (Phone)	320-3840px, 16:9 or 9:16	Min 2, max 8 per device type
Screenshots (7" Tablet)	Same as phone	Required if targeting tablets
Screenshots (10" Tablet)	Same as phone	Required if targeting tablets
Promo Video	YouTube URL	Optional

Required Metadata

Field	Notes
App name	Max 30 characters
Short description	Max 80 characters
Full description	Max 4000 characters
App category	Select from predefined list
Contact email	Required, public
Privacy Policy URL	Required
App type & category	App or Game + category

Data Safety Declaration

In Play Console → App content → Data safety:

• Declare all data types collected
• Whether data is encrypted in transit
• Whether users can request deletion
• Whether data is shared with third parties
• Purpose of each data type

Content Rating (IARC)

1. Go to App content → Content rating
2. Complete the IARC questionnaire
3. Receive ratings for all regions automatically

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Corporate Network / Gradle Proxy

When building on the corporate network:

# Ensure NETWORK=corp is set (switch-network.sh)
echo $GRADLE_OPTS
# Should show -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStore=~/.gradle/ssl/gradle-cacerts.jks

# If not set:
export GRADLE_OPTS="-Djavax.net.ssl.trustStore=$HOME/.gradle/ssl/gradle-cacerts.jks -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword=changeit"

See learning_ai_common_plat/AGENTS.md § 9 for full proxy setup docs.

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Troubleshooting

Error	Fix
Keystore was tampered with	Wrong password or corrupted keystore
No key with alias 'upload'	Check keyAlias in keystore.properties
Version code already exists	Bump versionCode in build.gradle.kts
APK/AAB not signed	Check signingConfig in release buildType
Deobfuscation file missing	Upload mapping.txt alongside the AAB
Data safety form incomplete	Complete all sections in App content → Data safety
Target API level	Google requires targeting latest Android API (currently 34+)
Gradle proxy failure	Set GRADLE_OPTS with truststore (see above)
SDK not found	Set sdk.dir in local.properties

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Key Files

File	Location	Purpose
Service Account Key	~/.google-play/service-account-key.json	CLI uploads
Upload Keystore	~/keystores/<app>-upload.jks	Release signing
keystore.properties	android/keystore.properties (gitignored)	Local signing config