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Play Store Setup (Android)

Prerequisites

1. Create a Google Play Developer Account

  1. Go to play.google.com/console/signup
  2. Pay the $25 registration fee
  3. Complete identity verification

2. Create an App in Google Play Console

  1. Go to play.google.com/console
  2. Click Create app
  3. Fill in app details (name, language, app/game, free/paid)
  4. Accept the declarations
  5. Click Create app

3. Create a Service Account Key

This key allows EAS to upload builds to the Play Store automatically.

3.1 Enable the Google Play Android Developer API

  1. Go to console.cloud.google.com
  2. Create a new project (or use existing)
  3. Go to APIs & Services → Library
  4. Search for Google Play Android Developer API
  5. Click Enable

3.2 Create a Service Account

  1. Go to APIs & Services → Credentials
  2. Click Create Credentials → Service Account
  3. Name it something like eas-submit
  4. Click Create and Continue
  5. Skip the optional steps → Done

3.3 Generate a Key

  1. Click on the service account you just created
  2. Go to Keys tab
  3. Click Add Key → Create new key → JSON
  4. Download the JSON file
  5. Save it as play-store-key.json in your project root

Important: This file is gitignored. Never commit it to version control.

3.4 Grant Permissions in Google Play Console

  1. Go to play.google.com/console
  2. Click Users and permissions → Invite new users
  3. Enter the service account email (from the JSON file: client_email)
  4. Under App permissions, add your app
  5. Grant these permissions:
    • Release to production, exclude devices, and use Play App Signing
    • Release apps to testing tracks
    • Manage testing tracks and edit tester lists
  6. Click Invite user → Send invite

4. Configure eas.json

The template ships without a submit block so you don't have to hand-edit placeholders. Run:

eas submit:configure

EAS will prompt you and write the values into eas.json under submit.production.android:

  • serviceAccountKeyPath: path to the JSON you saved (e.g. ./play-store-key.json)
  • track: internal, alpha, beta, or production

See Expo docs: Android submission for details.

5. First Submission

Google Play requires the first AAB to be uploaded manually:

  1. Build your first production AAB: 
    eas build --platform android --profile production
  2. Download the AAB from expo.dev → your project → builds
  3. Go to Google Play Console → your app → Production (or Internal testing)
  4. Click Create new release → upload the AAB → Save → Review release → Start rollout

After the first manual upload, the CD workflow will handle all future deployments.

Troubleshooting

"Package name not found"

Ensure android.package in app.json matches what you registered in Google Play Console.

"Service account doesn't have permission"

Double-check that the service account email has been invited in Google Play Console with the correct permissions. It can take a few hours for permissions to propagate.