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Create your Google Play Console account

To publish on Google Play, you need a Google Play developer account in your company's name. This tutorial covers the steps on Google's side; the publishing assistant checks each step for you.

1. Open the developer account

  1. Open the Google Play Console (play.google.com/console).
  2. If you do not have a developer account yet, follow the registration Google offers: identity and one-off payment of the registration fee.
  3. When you see the console's dashboard, your account is active.

2. Choose your app's identifier (package)

It is written backwards, like a website address: com.yourcompany.radio. Use only lowercase letters, digits and dots, with at least two parts. If your app already exists on Google Play, reuse exactly its current identifier.

Choose it carefully

It can no longer change after the first publication.

3. Create the publishing key (service account)

This key lets us publish for you. It is a .json file that you create yourself in Google Cloud. It is encrypted on our side and is never displayed again.

  1. Open Google Cloud (console.cloud.google.com) and create a project, or choose an existing one.
  2. In APIs & Services > Library, enable Google Play Android Developer API.
  3. In IAM & Admin > Service Accounts, click Create service account and give it a name, for example "publishing".
  4. Open this service account, Keys tab, Add key, then Create new key in JSON format. The file downloads to your computer.
  5. Note the email address of the service account (it ends with iam.gserviceaccount.com): you will need it just after.
  6. Upload the .json file in the publishing assistant.

4. Give the service account its rights

The service account exists, but Google lets it do nothing until you have invited it into your Play Console. This step is manual.

  1. In the Play Console, open Users and permissions, then Invite new users.
  2. Enter the email address of the service account noted in the previous step.
  3. In App permissions, add your app and tick: View app information, Create, edit and delete draft releases and Release to testing tracks.
  4. Confirm with Invite user. The rights may take a few minutes to apply.
  5. In the assistant, click Check now: we test the rights for you.

Your app must exist in the Play Console. If it does not yet, create it from the All apps screen.

5. The app's signing key

  • New app: choose Create the key for me in the assistant. You have nothing to do: Google keeps the definitive signing key, ours is only used to upload the versions.
  • App already published: choose Upload my existing key and send the .jks or .keystore file with its alias and its two passwords.

6. Push notifications and the store listing

  • Android notifications: nothing to do, we take care of it.
  • Privacy policy: Google requires it for any published app. Enter the address of your website's "Privacy policy" page in the assistant.

Common problems