Uploading .APK (Legacy)

Now that you have your app's build file, it's time to upload it to the Google Play Store so you can test it, market it, and release it to the world!

Before You Begin

• Native publishing requires a Professional, Team, or Business plan.

• Log into the Google account associated with your Google Developer Account.

• Ensure building your app was successful and that you have downloaded the Android App Bundle (.AAB file).

I have an .AAB file

If Adalo generated an .AAB file for you, this means that your app falls into one of three categories:

1.) Your Adalo app has no builds yet and you are publishing a new app to the Play Store. These makers should follow the Walkthrough below.

2.) Your Adalo app has builds generated after August 1, 2021 and you are updating this app in the Play Store. These makers should follow the Walkthrough below.

3.) Your Adalo app has no builds yet and you are updating an existing app in the Play Store. This applies to makers who:

• Created your app in another platform and are now publishing an Adalo app to that existing app in the Play Store.

• Have no Adalo builds yet, but are publishing to an existing Bundle ID (Play Store App)

• Copy Adalo apps as a form of versioning, but publish to the same Bundle ID (Play Store App)

Currently, makers in this category should contact Adalo support for help publishing. A future update will allow makers to do this on their own and help guides will be provided for this as well.

Note that .AAB files must be installed through test tracks in Google Play Console. Installing of apps directly to your phone is not supported with .AAB files. Apps converted from AAB back to APK by third party services are not supported by Adalo.

Walkthrough

1.) Open the Google Play Console in a new browser tab.

2.) Click All Apps in the top left corner, then click Create App in the top right corner. If you are updating an existing Play Store app where all previous releases are .AAB files generated from Adalo, skip to step 6 of this guide.

3.) Enter an App Name, select the Default Language for the app, the type of app (App or Game), and if it’s a Free or Paid app.

4.) Accept all Declarations, and click Create App in the lower right corner which will redirect you to the App Dashboard. If this is a new app, you will also see a third box to accept Google app signing - please check it as well.

5.) Before we create a version of your app, we need to fill in some details about your app's content. This is required for all release tracks (we'll look at release tracks in a moment). For now, scroll to the bottom of the left-hand menu and click on App Content. You will need to complete each section by clicking Start, then filling in the necessary information and clicking Save in the lower right. Once you've completed all sections, return to the Dashboard

6.) .AAB files cannot be installed directly to your phone. Instead, you must use the testing tracks provided by Google. You can think of these tracks as increasing levels that you "promote" your app release through. For instance, you might start with Internal Testing with some handpicked users, then move that build to Closed Testing, then to Open Beta Testing, then finally to Production. Note that you do not have to use testing tracks, but they are a great way to test your app before releasing to the Play Store. For this walkthrough, we're going to use the Internal Testing Track. In the left-hand menu, click on the Testing dropdown, then select Internal Testing

7.) Next, we'll add some testers for our Internal Testing track. Click on the Testers tab, then click Create Email List

8.) Give your list of tester emails a name. Then you can start adding tester emails one at a time, or you can upload a .CSV file of user emails (make sure you add your own email!). When done adding users, click Save Changes in the lower right corner, then click Create to acknowledge that this email list is available to all of your apps.

9.) Ensure that the email list is selected as a test group. You can also add a URL link for your users to send feedback to if you wish. When done, click Save Changes in the bottom right, then click on the Releases tab

10.) Click Create New Release.

11.) You will be prompted to opt-in to Google Play App Signing. Be sure to click Continue here. This enables Google to verify that all new updates to your app are from the correct person.

12.) Now that you've accepted app signing, click on Upload to select and upload the .AAB build file generated by Adalo.

13.) Give your release a name. This name is only visible to you and is usually automatically filled when you upload your build file. You can also add notes about new features or bug fixes in the Release Notes section. When you're done editing, click Save.

14.) When you're ready to send your release to the users of the release track (internal, closed, open, or production), click Review Release, then Start Rollout to _______, then click Rollout. Naturally, you'll want to review any warnings about your app, but these are normal for Adalo apps and will not prevent you from publishing your app.

15.) Once you have tested the app release in a given track (in this case Internal Testing), you can promote the release to the next highest track or even skip tracks altogether and go straight to Production. To promote a release, find the release in its testing track, then click the Promote Release dropdown under the release and choose the track you wish to promote it to. Note that all testing tracks have a place to assign testers the same way Internal Testing does.

All tracks above Internal Testing must be reviewed by Google before being available to users. You can see the review status of your apps in the All Apps Dashboard of Google Play Console

16.) For all tracks above Internal Testing (including Production), you will also need to assign the Countries and Regions where the app release will be made available. To do this, click on the track's tab in the left-hand menu, then Manage Track (if applicable). Next, click on the Countries/Regions tab and click Add Countries/Regions. After selecting the countries and regions, click Add Countries/Regions in the lower right, then click Add

17.) Once you're ready to push to Production, you need to setup your Store Listing before you do so, which ironically is the next guide!

I have an .APK file

If Adalo generated an .APK file for you, this means that you have at least 1 build for this Adalo app that was generated before August 1st, 2021.

You can still update old Play Store apps with .APK files, however .APK files cannot be used for Play Store apps with previous versions that use the .AAB format or for completely new Play Store apps.

If you have previous Adalo app .APK builds in your Adalo build queue but have never published them to a Bundle ID (Play Store App), please contact Adalo support.

Only use the Walkthrough below to update existing Play Store apps already using .APK with your new .APK build from Adalo.

Walkthrough

1.) Open the Google Play Console in a new browser tab

2.) Click on your developer account and the app you wish to update with the new .APK build generated by Adalo

3.) While you can install .APKs directly onto your phone, we highly recommend utilizing Google's testing tracks and they are the method we will use in this walkthrough. You can think of these tracks as increasing levels that you "promote" your app release through. For instance, you might start with Internal Testing with some handpicked users, then move that build to Closed Testing, then to Open Beta Testing, then finally to Production. Note that you do not have to use testing tracks, but they are a great way to test your app before releasing to the Play Store. For this walkthrough, we're going to use the Internal Testing Track. In the left-hand menu, click on the Testing dropdown, then select Internal Testing

4.) Next, we'll add some testers for our Internal Testing track. Click on the Testers tab, then click Create Email List

5.) Give your list of tester emails a name. Then you can start adding tester emails one at a time, or you can upload a .CSV file of user emails. When done adding users, click Save Changes in the lower right corner, then click Create to acknowledge that this email list is available to all of your apps.

6.) Ensure that the email list is selected as a test group. You can also add a URL link for your users to send feedback to if you wish. When done, click Save Changes in the bottom right, then click on the Releases tab

7.) Click Create New Release in the top right corner.

8.) Click on Upload to select and upload the .APK build file generated by Adalo.

9.) Give your release a name. This name is only visible to you and is usually automatically filled when you upload your build file. You can also add notes about new features or bug fixes in the Release Notes section. When you're done editing, click Save.

10.) When you're ready to send your release to the users of the release track (this applies to internal, closed, open, or production tracks), click Review Release, then Start Rollout to _______, then click Rollout. Naturally, you'll want to review any warnings about your app, but these will not prevent you from publishing your app.

11.) Once you have tested the app release in a given track (in this case Internal Testing), you can promote the release to the next highest track or even skip tracks altogether and go straight to Production. To promote a release, find the release in its testing track, then click the Promote Release dropdown under the release and choose the track you wish to promote it to. Note that all testing tracks have a place to assign testers the same way Internal Testing does.

All tracks above Internal Testing must be reviewed by Google before being available to users. You can see the review status of your apps in the All Apps Dashboard of Google Play Console

12.) For all tracks above Internal Testing (including Production), you will also need to assign the Countries and Regions where the app release will be made available. To do this, click on the track's tab in the left-hand menu, then Manage Track (if applicable). Next, click on the Countries/Regions tab and click Add Countries/Regions. After selecting the countries and regions, click Add Countries/Regions in the lower right, then click Add

13.) Once you're ready to push to Production, you may want to update your Store Listing before you do so, which ironically is the next guide if you need a refresher!