Deploy Android

If you use GitHub to host your code, you can use GitHub Actions to build your app for Android. This is the first step in automating deployment to the Play Store.

This guide follows the same workflow as the Ionic tutorial for building an Android app with GitHub Actions.

1. Create a .github/workflows directory in your project root.
2. Create a file named app-android.yml with the following content:

name: Build Android

on:
  push:
    branches: [ "main" ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ "main" ]

jobs:
  build:
    name: Build AAB
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout source
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup java
        uses: actions/setup-java@v4
        with:
          distribution: 'zulu'
          java-version: '17'

      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20.x

      - name: Install app dependencies
        run: npm install

      - name: Build project app
        run: npm run build

      - name: Capacitor sync
        run: npx cap sync

      - name: Build app bundle
        run: cd android && ./gradlew bundle

      - name: Extract Android signing key from env
        run: |
          echo "${{ secrets.KEYSTORE_BASE64 }}" > android/release.jks.base64
          base64 -d android/release.jks.base64 > android/release.decrypted.jks

      - name: Sign build
        run: jarsigner -keystore android/release.decrypted.jks -storepass "${{ secrets.KEYSTORE_PASSWORD }}" -signedjar ./android/app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release-signed.aab ./android/app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab dust

      - name: Upload release bundle
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: app-release
          path: android/app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release-signed.aab
          retention-days: 60

This workflow requires the following repository secrets. In your GitHub repository, go to Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions and create these secrets:

• KEYSTORE_BASE64
• KEYSTORE_PASSWORD
• KEY_ALIAS
• KEY_PASSWORD

Create a Service Account

Sign in to the Google Cloud Platform Console.

1. Go to APIs & Services > Credentials.
2. Click Create Credentials.
3. Select Service Account Key.
4. Create the service account key required for your Android publishing workflow.

The Keystore File

If you do not already have a keystore file, create one with:

keytool -genkey -v -keystore keystore.jks -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 -alias release

Follow the prompts and confirm the values when asked. You will be prompted for:

• A keystore password, which you should save as KEYSTORE_PASSWORD
• An alias, which you should save as KEY_ALIAS
• A key password, which you should save as KEY_PASSWORD

Do not commit the keystore file to your repository. Add it to .gitignore if needed.

To create the KEYSTORE_BASE64 secret, run:

base64 -i keystore.jks | pbcopy

The keystore contents will be copied to your clipboard so you can paste them into the KEYSTORE_BASE64 secret.

Summary

GitHub Actions should now have the files and secrets required to build your Android app.

Review the build command, signing process, and output artifact path for your project before using the workflow in production.

The next step is extending this workflow to send the build to the Play Store.