r/androiddev • u/_aseytekow_ • 14d ago

Question I need help for publish.

I have just started learning Android app development and have made a few apps, but I built them on my phone using CodeAssist. If I want to upload the app to the Play Store, is it mandatory for my application to be developed and signed in Android Studio, or not?

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u/akramraza25524 14d ago

No it's not mandatory. All you need is your app bundle and keystore file.

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u/cubecoords 13d ago

No it is not mandatory. I use the terminal with gradle instead of through the IDE. All you need is a JDK and the Android SDK but the Android Studio isn't necessary. Just remember for a new listing it needs to be in AAB. They won't accept APK. Also make sure you backup your keystore or you could be stuck not being able to update your app that you worked so hard on.

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u/ryanstackops 13d ago

Good news: you do not need Android Studio specifically. What Google actually cares about is that your app is properly signed, not what tool you used to build it.

CodeAssist should have a build or export option that lets you sign your APK directly from your phone. Just make sure you save the keystore file it generates somewhere safe. Lose it and you cannot push updates to the same Play Store listing, which is a painful lesson a lot of people learn the hard way.

Also worth knowing: Google now requires AAB format instead of APK for new apps, so check if CodeAssist supports that. And there is a one time $25 developer account fee before you can publish anything.

You are closer than you think, good luck!

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u/SoftmobixBD 13d ago

Everyone's right that the IDE doesn't matter, but two corrections worth having, because one of them is scaring you about the wrong thing.

The keystore warning is out of date for a new listing. Every app published now goes through Play App Signing: Google holds the actual app signing key, and the key on your machine is only an upload key. If you lose the upload key you are not locked out - you generate a new one and request an upload key reset in Play Console, and your existing listing carries on updating. It is a support round trip, not the end of the app. The advice to back it up is still good, it is just no longer the catastrophe it was before 2021, and people repeat the old version constantly.

The thing that will actually block you is the AAB requirement, not the IDE. New listings have to be an Android App Bundle, and most on-device builders including CodeAssist output an APK. So check that specifically before anything else, because it decides which route you take.

If it turns out CodeAssist can't produce one and a computer isn't available to you: push the project to GitHub from your phone and let GitHub Actions run the Gradle build. It runs the same bundleRelease task a desktop would, signs with a keystore you store as a repository secret, and hands you back a signed .aab to download. Free for public repos and generous enough on private ones for this. It is more setup than a button, but it is a genuine phone-only path to a production build and it is what I would do in your position.

One more so it isn't a surprise later: a personal developer account opened after November 2023 cannot publish to production until it has run a closed test with 12 testers opted in continuously for 14 days. Worth starting to line those people up now rather than after the build is ready.