Android code signing

How to set up Android code signing in the Flutter workflow editor

Code signing is required for distributing your Android app to the Google Play store. It enables to identify who developed the app and ensure that all updates to the app come from you.

Requirements

To receive a signed release .apk of your app on Codemagic, you will have to:

1. Prepare your Flutter project for code signing

2. Set up Android code signing in the Flutter workflow editor

For code signing, you need to upload the keystore containing your certificate and key. See the instructions for generating the keystore here.

As a keystore can hold multiple keys, each key in it must have an alias. Both the keystore file and the key alias are protected by passwords.

Generating a keystore

You can create a keystore for signing your release builds with the Java Keytool utility by running the following command:

keytool -genkey -v -keystore keystore_name.jks -storetype JKS -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 -alias alias_name

Keytool then prompts you to enter your personal details for creating the certificate, as well as provide passwords for the keystore and the key. It then generates the keystore as a file called keystore_name.jks in the directory you’re in. The key is valid for 10,000 days.

You need to upload the keystore and provide the keystore password, key alias and key password to have Codemagic sign your Android app on your behalf.

Preparing your Flutter project for code signing

There are several approaches you can use to prepare your Flutter project for code signing, we have described two of these in this section. Note that whichever approach you use, you still need to set up Android code signing in the Flutter workflow editor.

Option 1. Configure signing following Flutter’s documentation

You can follow the instructions in Flutter’s documentation to configure code signing in Gradle. It’s vital that you use the variable names suggested in Flutter documentation as Codemagic will reference them during the build. However, make sure to not commit your key.properties file to the repository, Codemagic will generate and populate the key.properties file during the build based on the input you provide in the workflow editor.

Option 2. Configure signing using environment variables

Alternatively, you can use environment variables to prepare your app for code signing.

Set your signing configuration in app level build.gradle or build.gradle.kts as follows:

• build.gradle
• build.gradle.kts

...
android {
    ...
    defaultConfig { ... }
    signingConfigs {
        release {
            if (System.getenv()["CI"]) { // CI=true is exported by Codemagic
                storeFile file(System.getenv()["CM_KEYSTORE_PATH"])
                storePassword System.getenv()["CM_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD"]
                keyAlias System.getenv()["CM_KEY_ALIAS"]
                keyPassword System.getenv()["CM_KEY_PASSWORD"]
            } else {
                keyAlias keystoreProperties['keyAlias']
                keyPassword keystoreProperties['keyPassword']
                storeFile keystoreProperties['storeFile'] ? file(keystoreProperties['storeFile']) : null
                storePassword keystoreProperties['storePassword']
            }
        }
    }
    buildTypes {
        release {
            ...
            signingConfig signingConfigs.release
        }
    }
}
...

import java.io.File
import java.util.*

val keystoreProperties =
    Properties().apply {
        var file = File("key.properties")
        if (file.exists()) load(file.reader())
    }

plugins { ... }

android {
    ...
    val appVersionCode = (System.getenv()["NEW_BUILD_NUMBER"] ?: "1")?.toInt()
    defaultConfig {
        ...
        versionCode = appVersionCode
        ...
    }
    signingConfigs {
        create("release") {
            if (System.getenv()["CI"].toBoolean()) { // CI=true is exported by Codemagic
                storeFile = file(System.getenv()["CM_KEYSTORE_PATH"])
                storePassword = System.getenv()["CM_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD"]
                keyAlias = System.getenv()["CM_KEY_ALIAS"]
                keyPassword = System.getenv()["CM_KEY_PASSWORD"]
            } else {
                storeFile = file(keystoreProperties.getProperty("storeFile"))
                storePassword = keystoreProperties.getProperty("storePassword")
                keyAlias = keystoreProperties.getProperty("keyAlias")
                keyPassword = keystoreProperties.getProperty("keyPassword")
            }
        }
    }
    buildTypes {
        getByName("release") {
            isMinifyEnabled = false
            signingConfig = signingConfigs.getByName("release")
        }
    }
}

dependencies { ... }

Setting up Android code signing on Codemagic

You are required to upload your keystore file and provide details about your key in order to receive signed builds on Codemagic.

1. Navigate to the Distribution section in app settings.
2. Click Android code signing.
3. Upload your release keystore file.
4. Enter the keystore password, key alias and key password.
5. Select Enable Android code signing at the top of the section to enable code signing.