Releasing for Android

Releasing an Android Flutter application requires generating a signed Android App Bundle (AAB), configuring your package identifiers, and managing signing keys securely.

Step 1: Configure application ID and permissions

Open android/app/build.gradle (or android/app/build.gradle.kts) and verify the applicationId, minSdkVersion, and targetSdkVersion:

defaultConfig {
    applicationId "com.example.myapp"
    minSdkVersion flutter.minSdkVersion
    targetSdkVersion flutter.targetSdkVersion
    versionCode flutterVersionCode.toInteger()
    versionName flutterVersionName
}

Ensure all runtime permissions requested in android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml comply with Google Play Developer Policy.

Step 2: Create an upload keystore

Google Play uses digital certificates to verify the author of an application. Create a private signing key using the keytool utility:

keytool -genkey -v -keystore ~/upload-keystore.jks \
  -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 \
  -alias upload

Keep this keystore file secure and backed up. If you lose your keystore and do not use Google Play App Signing, you cannot update your application.

Step 3: Configure signing in Gradle

Create a file named android/key.properties to reference the keystore:

storePassword=your-store-password
keyPassword=your-key-password
keyAlias=upload
storeFile=/Users/username/upload-keystore.jks

Caution

Add key.properties and all *.jks / *.keystore files to your .gitignore to prevent leaking private signing credentials into source control.

Reference the key.properties file in android/app/build.gradle:

import java.util.Properties
import java.io.FileInputStream

def keystoreProperties = new Properties()
def keystorePropertiesFile = rootProject.file('key.properties')
if (keystorePropertiesFile.exists()) {
    keystoreProperties.load(new FileInputStream(keystorePropertiesFile))
}

android {
    ...
    signingConfigs {
        release {
            keyAlias keystoreProperties['keyAlias']
            keyPassword keystoreProperties['keyPassword']
            storeFile keystoreProperties['storeFile'] ? file(keystoreProperties['storeFile']) : null
            storePassword keystoreProperties['storePassword']
        }
    }

    buildTypes {
        release {
            signingConfig signingConfigs.release
        }
    }
}

Step 4: Build the Android app bundle

Google Play requires the Android App Bundle (AAB) format for all new applications. The AAB contains all compiled code and resources, but delegates final APK generation to Google Play, which delivers tailored APKs optimized for each device’s screen density and CPU architecture:

flutter build appbundle --release

The resulting bundle is saved to: build/app/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab.

If you need a standalone APK for manual QA testing or distribution outside the Play Store, generate architecture-specific APKs:

flutter build apk --split-per-abi --release

Step 5: Google Play Console distribution tracks

Upload your .aab file to the Google Play Console through one of its release tracks:

1. Internal testing: Instant distribution to up to 100 designated testers without full store review delays.
2. Closed testing (Alpha/Beta): Testing with larger defined groups or organizations.
3. Open testing: Public pre-release track with store visibility.
4. Production: General availability for all users. Supports staged rollouts (e.g., releasing to 10%, 20%, then 100% of users over several days to monitor crash rates).

Building with Shorebird Code Push

If you are using Shorebird to enable over-the-air updates for your Android application, create your base release using the Shorebird CLI:

shorebird release android

This builds the signed .aab bundle and registers the release artifact with the Shorebird cloud. Upload the generated .aab to Google Play Console as normal. When you need to deploy Dart bug fixes later, use shorebird patch android.