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Building for Android

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

The following tutorial shows you how you can create a workflow file which will be run when you commit code.

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

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name: Build Android
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on:
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push:
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branches: [ "main" ]
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pull_request:
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branches: [ "main" ]
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jobs:
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build:
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name: Build AAB
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runs-on: ubuntu-latest
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steps:
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- name: Checkout source
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uses: actions/checkout@v4
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- name: Setup java
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uses: actions/setup-java@v4
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with:
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distribution: 'zulu'
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java-version: '17'
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- name: Setup Node.js
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uses: actions/setup-node@v4
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with:
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node-version: 20.x
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- name: Install app dependencies
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run: npm install
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- name: Build project app
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run: npm run build
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- name: Capacitor sync
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run: npx cap sync
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- name: Build app bundle
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run: cd android && ./gradlew bundle
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- name: Extract Android signing key from env
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run: |
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echo "${{ secrets.KEYSTORE_BASE64 }}" > android/release.jks.base64
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base64 -d android/release.jks.base64 > android/release.decrypted.jks
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- name: Sign build
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run: jarsigner -keystore android/release.decrypted.jks -storepass "${{ secrets.KEYSTORE_PASSWORD }}" -signedjar ./android/app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release-signed.aab ./android/app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab dust
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- name: Upload release bundle
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uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
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with:
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name: app-release
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path: android/app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release-signed.aab
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retention-days: 60

This workflow has several variables that you need to setup in your repository secrets (In your GitHub repo go to Settings > Secrets & Variables > Actions > New repository secret):

Create a Service Account​

Sign into the Google Cloud Platform Console

  • Go to APIs & Services > Credentials > Create Credentials > Service Account Key.

The Keystore File​

If you do not have a keystore file you can create one using the following command:


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

Follow the prompts and enter yes to save your key. You will be asked for a Keystore password which is used for the KEYSTORE_PASSWORD secret, an alias which will be used for the KEY_ALIAS secret and a Key password which is used for the KEY_PASSWORD secret.

Do not commit the keystore file to your repository (add to .gitignore).

To create the KEYSTORE_BASE64 secret run the following command:


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base64 -i keystore.jks | pbcopy

The contents of the keystore are now in the clipboard and you can paste it into the KEYSTORE_BASE64 secret.

Summary​

The build process with GitHub Actions should now have all the required variables to build your application for Android.

The next tutorial shows how you can expand on this workflow to send the build to the Play Store.

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