Compared to publishing a Flutter app on the Apple app store, deploying a Flutter app to the Google play store is relatively more straightforward. If you just finished developing an application using Flutter and wish to deploy it to the Google Play Store, then this article is just what you need. First, we highlight the basic requirements before publishing a Flutter app to avoid missing any steps when you get to the publishing stage. Finally, we share the simplified yet detailed steps for successfully deploying your Flutter App on Android Playstore and all the information you need regarding Google Playstore’s review and app release time.
Building and publishing a Flutter app to the Google Play Store is slightly easier than deployment on the Apple app store. However, the process also has some similar steps involved. For instance, both require the app icons and launch screens to be ready before launching.
Generally speaking, it's important to note that deploying an application to the app store requires a paid subscription. For the Google Play Store, a one-time payment of $25 is required to access the developer program.
Also, publishing any application or software requires the developer to follow the proper steps to avoid encountering any form of difficulty along the way. At
Fetchly Labs, our engineers take great care in following the necessary steps before deploying Flutter apps. Missing a step in the deployment process or leaving out any vital information may lead to the application undergoing comprehensive review or rejection.
Luckily, we're here to help with these simplified steps for successfully deploying your Flutter App on Android Playstore.
Basic Requirements
- Build an Android app and ensure it's ready for release.
- Add a launcher icon through the App icon generator and affirm all the app's assets are ready.
- Rename the Flutter app, Bundle ID, and App-ID. The rename package in Pub.dev can be used to do so.
- Run the following command in the terminal to start the renaming process:
pub global activate rename
- Once the command has been activated, rename the app by running the command below:
pub global run rename --appname "Counter"
- Choose your app name instead of Counter, and the message below should pop up:
💡Android appname changed successfullyto: The name chosen
- To rename the BundleId, use the following command:
pub global run rename --bundleId com.dhruvnakum.counter
💡Android bundleid changed successfullyto:com.dhruvnakum.namechosen.counter
- Double-check to be sure the BundleId and AppId are different before running the app to confirm the name change.
Publishing Steps
Step 1: Sign the app
Before publishing the Flutter app to the Play Store, giving the app a digital signature is crucial. The instructions below will help with signing the app:
- Create key.properties file within the android folder.
- Paste the command below inside key.properties:
storepassword=eChim2v6qkn3’’’use your password here and make sure to keep it in secret.’’’
Keyword=eChim2v6qKn3
KeyAlias=upload
StoreFile=<location of the key store file, such as /Users/<user name>/upload-keystore.jks>
- For Windows, run this command:
Keytool -genkey -v -keystore c:\Users\nakum\upload-keystore.jks -storetype JKS -keyyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 -alias upload
- Go to where the key is generated and move upload-keystore.jsk into the android > app folder.
- Next, the storeFile path within the key.properties file has to be updated. Use this command:
storePassword=eChim2v6qKn3
keyPassword=eChim3v6qKn3
keyAlias=upload
storeFile=,,/app/upload-keystore.jks
- Open this file: [project] > android > app > build.gradle and add this text above the android { ... }
def keystoreProperties = new Properties ()
def keystorePropertiesFile = rootProject.file (‘key.properties’)
If (keystorePropertiesFile.exists()) {keystoreProperties.load(new FileInputStream(keystorePropertiesFile))}
- When the result from the command above pops up, scroll down and replace buildType{ ... } with the text below:
signingConfigs {
release {
keyAlias keystoreProperties[ ‘keyAlias’]
keyPassword keystoreProperties[ ‘keyPassword’]
storeFile keystoreProperties[‘storeFile’] ?file(keystoreProperties[‘storeFile’]) : null storePassword keystoreProperties[‘storePassword’]
}
}
buildTypes {
release {
signingConfig signingConfigs.release
}
}
Step 2: Android App Bundle Creation
- Use flutter clean to clean the initial build.
- Generate appbundle with this command: flutter build appbundle
- The command will produce a .aab within build > app > output > bundle > app-release.aab.
- Once that is done, you can use Developer Console to publish the app.
Before deploying the app on the Google PlayStore, go to Google Play Console and provide the necessary details to Create App. To do so, on the Google Play Console platform, go to Create App and fill in the following information:
- App Name
- Default Language
- App Type
- Free or Paid
Check all the boxes provided, and you're good to go.
Step 3: Adding other essential details before deploying
The following steps will explain how to add your app description, logo, screenshots, videos, graphics, and country/region.
- Visit the Google Store Settings, choose the app's category, and include tags if necessary.
- Provide your email, phone number, and website URL, then click Save.
- From the same Console main menu, select Production, then Country/Region. Add the countries where you'd like to showcase the app.
- Next, add the app's privacy policy information through the App Content menu. You can use the automatic Privacy Policy Generator to create one or paste the link to one you have available in the space provided for the text.
- Under the same App Content menu based on your apps needs, you can edit the following information as needed:
- App Access
- Ads
- Content ratings (app category, questionnaire or FAQs, and app summary).
- Target audience and content
- News app (If your app is a news app or not).
When you're done providing all the necessary information for your application, you can publish the app for review.
Step 4: Publish the Application in the Production Menu
- On Google Play Console, click Production from the left-side tab.
- Select Create new release and go to the App Bundle section to upload the app-release.abb app bundle file.
- Under Release details, add the Release Name and Release Note information displayed on the App store's home page.
- Save the settings and Review the Release information again.
- Finally, click Start Rollout To Production to publish the Flutter app on Google Playstore.
Note: When publishing a draft app, use the roll out a release function by clicking the Release tab. If the release status of the draft app shows Error's summary as its heading, select the Show More option to find out the reason for the errors and the suggested solutions.
Ensure any errors, warnings, or minor issues are addressed before attempting to re-publish the app because until all issues are resolved, the app can’t be published successfully.
Prior to release, the Google team will review the application manually before including it on the Play Store. The formal review and publishing process takes about 1-3 days to complete, but if the app requires a comprehensive review in some cases, it may take up to 7 days or more. You can visit the
Google Play Console Help page for in-depth details about publishing your app.
Closing Remarks
Following the proper steps is necessary when deploying a Flutter app, but before that, ensure that it meets Google PlayStore's publishing guidelines when building the app. Google has made its app review and approval process more strict to provide users with bug-free and good-performing apps. Therefore, the app mustn't have performance issues or bugs to avoid increased review time or rejection.
*This is not the official Fetchly opinion but the opinion of the writer who is employed by Fetchly*