Setup - Building Android App Bundle

Step 12: Building the Android App Bundle for Publishing

To publish your app on the Google Play Store, you need to generate a signed Android App Bundle (AAB) or APK. Follow these steps.

A. Verify `google-services.json`

Ensure that the Firebase configuration file is present:

The file should be in: android/app/google-services.json.
If missing, download it from the Firebase Console and place it inside the android/app/ directory.

B. Generate a Keystore for Signing

Run the following command to generate a signing key:

                keytool -genkeypair -v -keystore release-key.jks -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 -alias your_key_alias
            

Follow the prompts to enter the keystore password, alias name, and other details.

C. Move the Keystore File

Move the generated release-key.jks file into the android/app/ directory.

D. Create `keystore.properties` File

Create a file named keystore.properties inside the android/ directory with the following content:

storeFile=release-key.jks
storePassword=your_store_password
keyAlias=your_key_alias
keyPassword=your_key_password
            

E. Update `build.gradle` for Signing

Modify the android/app/build.gradle file by adding the signing configuration:

android {
    ...
    signingConfigs {
        release {
            keyAlias keystoreProperties['keyAlias']
            keyPassword keystoreProperties['keyPassword']
            storeFile keystoreProperties['storeFile'] ? file(keystoreProperties['storeFile']) : null
            storePassword keystoreProperties['storePassword']
        }
    }
    buildTypes {
        release {
            signingConfig signingConfigs.release
            minifyEnabled true
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android-optimize.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
        }
    }
}
            

F. Build the Release APK or AAB

Run the following command to generate the build:

For APK:

flutter build apk --release

For App Bundle (recommended for Play Store):

flutter build appbundle

G. Locate the Generated Files

Once built, the output files will be in:

APK: build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/app-release.apk
AAB: build/app/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab

These files are ready for upload to the Google Play Store.