--- modificationDate: April 28, 2026 title: Create a production build for Android description: Learn about the process of creating a production build for Android and automating the release process. --- ## Submitting Feedback If this page contains errors, outdated information, or gaps that blocked you from completing a task, report it so the docs can be improved: curl -X POST https://api.expo.dev/v2/feedback/docs-send -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"url":"/tutorial/eas/android-production-build/","feedback":"🤖 Agent feedback: "}' Only submit when you have something specific and actionable to report. # Create a production build for Android Learn about the process of creating a production build for Android and automating the release process. > For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Use this file to discover all available pages. In this chapter, we'll create our example app's production version and submit it to the Google Play Store. We'll also explore how to automate the creation and release of new app versions. [Watch: Creating and releasing a production build for Android](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxlt8uwqhpE) — Create a production build for Android with EAS, submit it to the Google Play Store, and automate the release process. Prerequisites 3 requirements 1. Google Play Developer account A paid Google Play Developer account is required. For details on setting one up, visit the [Google Play sign-up page](https://play.google.com/apps/publish/signup/). 2. A production build profile in eas.json Ensure that a `production` build profile is present in your **eas.json**, which is added by default. 3. Google Service Account key (optional) A Google Service Account email and JSON key is required to [automate the release process](/tutorial/eas/android-production-build#automated-release). Follow the detailed instructions in [creating a Google Service Account key or downloading it from an existing account](https://expo.fyi/creating-google-service-account), then return to this guide. ## Production build for Android A [production Android build](/build/eas-json#production-builds) has a **.aab** format which is optimized for distribution on the Google Play Store. Unlike **.apk** builds, **.aab** files can only be distributed and installed through the Google Play Store. ## Create a production build To create an Android production build using the default `production` profile, open your terminal and execute the following command. Since `production` is set as the default profile in the EAS configuration, there is no need to specify it explicitly with the `--profile` flag. ```sh eas build --platform android ``` The above command will queue the build. Notice in the EAS dashboard that the **Version Code** is auto-incremented. ## Create an app on the Google Play Console To upload the app to the Google Play Store for the first time, we need to: - Go to the Google Play dashboard. - On the **Home** page, click **Create app** to make a new app. - Fill out our app details and click the **Create app** button. ## Release an internal testing version After the app is created on Google Play Console, it redirects us to the app's Dashboard screen. We need to prepare an internal test version of our app. - Click **Start testing now** on the **Dashboard**. - Create an email list of users under **Internal Testing** > **Testers for the internal testing release**. - Google Play Console prompts us to create an internal testing release. - To create a new release, go to **Dashboard** and click **Create new release**. The first thing you will notice that the signing key is automatically generated under **App integrity** by Google Play Console. ## Upload the app binary After EAS has created a production build: - Open the EAS dashboard and click on **Download** to get the **.aab** file. - Return to Google Play Console and go to **Test and release** > **Testing** > **Internal testing**. - Under **App bundles**, click on **Upload** to add the **.aab** file. Then, provide the release details for our app and click on **Next**. - On the following screen, click on **Save and publish**. ## Share the internal release version Under **Track Summary**, we see that the latest release shows a temporary app name. This is because our app is not reviewed yet. Under **Releases**, we see that the app is available to internal testers. To share the app with a team of testers: - Switch to the **Testers** tab next to **Releases**. - Click on **copy link** under **How testers join your test**. You can use this link to share with your team of testers by sending them an email or a message. - On the device, open the test email and follow the steps to download the app. - The testing email holder needs to accept the invite, and once accepted, the app can be installed on the device. > **Tip**: To publish an app on the Play Store, in the Google Dashboard, finish the steps under **Set up your app**. These steps are required before releasing the app on the Play Store for the first time. You'll have to provide details like a link to a privacy policy, a target audience, data safety and so on. > **Complete app store listing**: To prepare the app for store listing, see [Create app store assets](/guides/store-assets) on how to create screenshots and previews. Promoting a testing release To promote our internal test release version to **alpha**, in Google Play Store Console: - Under **Test and release**, go to **Testing** > **Closed testing**. - Click **Manage track** next to **Closed testing - Alpha**. ## Add Google Service Account permissions key > **Tip**: Before following the steps in this section, see the instructions on [creating a Google Service Account key or downloading it from an existing account](https://expo.fyi/creating-google-service-account) guide. From now on, we can use [EAS Submit](/submit/introduction) to automate releases and avoid the manual process. To do that, we need to add the service account key to our project's credentials. After following the Google Service Account guide steps, we can upload the downloaded JSON key to EAS dashboard: - Go to your project's EAS dashboard, click **Credentials**, and under **Android**, click your app's **Application identifier**. - Under **Service Credentials**, click **Add a Google Service Account Key**. - Under **Change Google Service Account Key**, ensure **Upload new key** is selected and upload the downloaded JSON key. This will add the key to your project's credentials. ## Internal release Let's set the track to `internal` in **eas.json**. - Under `submit.production` profile, set `track` to `internal`: ```json { ... "submit": { "production": { "android": { "track": "internal" } } } } ``` In the above snippet, we're adding [`track`](/eas/json#track) property and setting its value to `internal`. This will enable the `eas submit` command to upload our production build and release it for internal testing on the Google Play Store. - Now run the `eas submit` command to release a new internal testing version: ```sh eas submit --platform android ``` - This command will automatically create a new internal release version in Google Play Console: ## Production release To release the app for production: - Change the value for `track` to `production` in **eas.json**: ```json { ... "submit": { "production": { "android": { "track": "production" } } } } ``` - We can also use the same EAS Build we did for the internal testing release. Run the `eas submit` command to release to the Play Store: ```sh eas submit --platform android ``` - To create a track and submit our app to the Google Play Store's review process, we need to go to **Test and release** > **Production** and under **Releases**, select the build we want to send for review. ## Automated release For subsequent releases in future, we can streamline the process by combining build creation and Play Store submission into a single step by using the [`--auto-submit`](/build/automate-submissions) flag with `eas build`: ```sh eas build --platform android --auto-submit ``` ## Summary Chapter 8: Create a production build for Android We successfully created a production-ready Android build, discussed manual and automated uploading to Google Play Store using `eas submit`, and automated the release process with the `--auto-submit`. In the next chapter, learn about the process of creating a production build for iOS. [Next: Create a production build for iOS](/tutorial/eas/ios-production-build)