Android Fastlane Setup

Android Fastlane Setup

Configures Fastlane with supply for Play Store deployment and screengrab for screenshot automation.

Prerequisites

• Ruby 2.7+ installed
• Android project
• Play Store service account JSON

Inputs

Process

Step 1: Check Ruby Installation

# Check Ruby version
ruby --version || echo "❌ Ruby not found. Please install Ruby 2.7+ first."

# Install Bundler if needed
gem install bundler --no-document

Step 2: Create Gemfile

Create ./​Gemfile:

source "https://rubygems.org"

gem "fastlane"
gem "screengrab"

Step 3: Install Dependencies

bundle install

This will create Gemfile.lock and install all dependencies.

Step 4: Create Fastlane Directory Structure

mkdir -p fastlane
mkdir -p fastlane/​metadata/​android/​en-US/​images/​phoneScreenshots
mkdir -p fastlane/​metadata/​android/​en-US/​images/​sevenInchScreenshots
mkdir -p fastlane/​metadata/​android/​en-US/​images/​tenInchScreenshots
mkdir -p fastlane/​metadata/​android/​en-US/​changelogs

Step 5: Create Appfile

Create ./​fastlane/​Appfile:

# Path to service account JSON for Play Store API
json_key_file(ENV['PLAY_STORE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT'] || "service-account.json")

# Your app's package name
package_name("{PACKAGE_NAME}")

Important: Replace {PACKAGE_NAME} with the actual package name.

Step 6: Create Fastfile

Create ./​fastlane/​Fastfile with comprehensive deployment lanes:

default_platform(:android)

platform :android do
  # ============================================
  # Build Lanes
  # ============================================

  desc "Build debug APK and test APK for screenshots"
  lane :build_for_screenshots do
    gradle(task: "clean")
    gradle(task: "assembleDebug")
    gradle(task: "assembleAndroidTest")
  end

  desc "Build release bundle"
  lane :build_release do
    gradle(task: "clean")
    gradle(task: "bundleRelease")
  end

  # ============================================
  # Screenshot Lane
  # ============================================

  desc "Capture screenshots for Play Store"
  lane :screenshots do
    build_for_screenshots
    capture_android_screenshots
  end

  # ============================================
  # Deployment Lanes
  # ============================================

  desc "Deploy to internal testing track"
  lane :deploy_internal do
    build_release
    upload_to_play_store(
      track: "internal",
      release_status: "completed",
      aab: "app/​build/​outputs/​bundle/​release/​app-release.aab"
    )
  end

  desc "Deploy to beta/​closed testing track"
  lane :deploy_beta do |options|
    build_release

    # Support staged rollout
    rollout = options[:rollout] || 1.0

    upload_to_play_store(
      track: "beta",
      release_status: rollout < 1.0 ? "inProgress" : "completed",
      rollout: rollout < 1.0 ? rollout.to_s : nil,
      aab: "app/​build/​outputs/​bundle/​release/​app-release.aab"
    )
  end

  desc "Deploy to production track"
  lane :deploy_production do |options|
    build_release

    # Default to 10% staged rollout for safety
    rollout = options[:rollout] || 0.1

    upload_to_play_store(
      track: "production",
      release_status: rollout < 1.0 ? "inProgress" : "completed",
      rollout: rollout < 1.0 ? rollout.to_s : nil,
      aab: "app/​build/​outputs/​bundle/​release/​app-release.aab"
    )
  end

  desc "Increase production rollout percentage"
  lane :increase_rollout do |options|
    rollout = options[:rollout] || 0.5

    upload_to_play_store(
      track: "production",
      release_status: rollout < 1.0 ? "inProgress" : "completed",
      rollout: rollout < 1.0 ? rollout.to_s : nil,
      skip_upload_aab: true,
      skip_upload_metadata: true,
      skip_upload_images: true,
      skip_upload_screenshots: true
    )
  end

  desc "Halt production rollout"
  lane :halt_rollout do
    upload_to_play_store(
      track: "production",
      release_status: "halted",
      skip_upload_aab: true,
      skip_upload_metadata: true,
      skip_upload_images: true,
      skip_upload_screenshots: true
    )
  end

  # ============================================
  # Metadata Lanes
  # ============================================

  desc "Upload metadata only (no APK/​AAB)"
  lane :upload_metadata do
    upload_to_play_store(
      skip_upload_aab: true,
      skip_upload_apk: true
    )
  end

  desc "Upload screenshots only"
  lane :upload_screenshots do
    upload_to_play_store(
      skip_upload_aab: true,
      skip_upload_apk: true,
      skip_upload_metadata: true
    )
  end

  # ============================================
  # Version Management
  # ============================================

  desc "Get current version from version.properties"
  lane :get_version do
    version_file = "../​version.properties"
    if File.exist?(version_file)
      props = {}
      File.readlines(version_file).each do |line|
        key, value = line.strip.split("=")
        props[key] = value if key && value
      end
      UI.message("Version: #{props['VERSION_NAME']} (#{props['VERSION_CODE']})")
      props
    else
      UI.user_error!("version.properties not found. Run /​devtools:version-management first.")
    end
  end

  # ============================================
  # Full Release Workflows
  # ============================================

  desc "Full internal release: screenshots + build + deploy"
  lane :release_internal do
    screenshots
    deploy_internal
  end

  desc "Full beta release: build + deploy"
  lane :release_beta do |options|
    deploy_beta(rollout: options[:rollout])
  end

  desc "Full production release: build + deploy with staged rollout"
  lane :release_production do |options|
    deploy_production(rollout: options[:rollout])
  end
end

Step 7: Create Screengrabfile

Create ./​fastlane/​Screengrabfile:

# App package name
app_package_name("{PACKAGE_NAME}")

# Test instrumentation runner (AndroidX)
test_instrumentation_runner("androidx.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner")

# APK paths
app_apk_path("app/​build/​outputs/​apk/​debug/​app-debug.apk")
tests_apk_path("app/​build/​outputs/​apk/​androidTest/​debug/​app-debug-androidTest.apk")

# Locales to capture (add more as needed)
locales(["en-US"])

# Output directory (matches supply's expected structure)
output_directory("fastlane/​metadata/​android")

# Clear old screenshots
clear_previous_screenshots(true)

# Use specific test class for screenshots
use_tests_in_classes(["{PACKAGE_NAME}.screenshots.ScreenshotTest"])

# Ending locale (restore device to this locale after)
ending_locale("en-US")

Important: Replace {PACKAGE_NAME} with the actual package name.

Step 8: Create Metadata Templates

Create initial metadata files:

fastlane/​metadata/​android/​en-US/​title.txt:

Your App Name

fastlane/​metadata/​android/​en-US/​short_description.txt:

Short description (max 80 characters)

fastlane/​metadata/​android/​en-US/​full_description.txt:

Full description of your app.

Features:
• Feature 1
• Feature 2
• Feature 3

For more information, visit our website.

fastlane/​metadata/​android/​en-US/​changelogs/​default.txt:

• Bug fixes and performance improvements

fastlane/​metadata/​android/​en-US/​video.txt:

(Empty file - add YouTube URL if you have a promo video)

Step 9: Update .gitignore

Add to .gitignore:

# Fastlane
fastlane/​report.xml
fastlane/​Preview.html
fastlane/​screenshots
fastlane/​test_output
fastlane/​readme.md
vendor/​bundle

# Don't ignore metadata (we want to track store listing)
!fastlane/​metadata/

Verification

MANDATORY: Run these commands:

# Verify Fastlane installed
bundle exec fastlane --version

# Verify lanes are available
bundle exec fastlane lanes

# Test service account connection (optional, requires service account JSON)
# bundle exec fastlane run validate_play_store_json_key

Expected output:

• Fastlane version number
• List of all lanes (deploy_internal, deploy_beta, etc.)

Completion Criteria

• Gemfile exists with fastlane and screengrab
• bundle install succeeds
• fastlane/​Appfile configured with package name
• fastlane/​Fastfile has all deployment lanes
• fastlane/​Screengrabfile configured
• Metadata directory structure created
• Metadata template files created
• .gitignore updated
• bundle exec fastlane lanes shows all lanes

Outputs

Troubleshooting

"Ruby not found"

Cause: Ruby not installed Fix: Install Ruby 2.7+ (use rbenv, rvm, or system package manager)

"bundle: command not found"

Cause: Bundler not installed Fix: Run gem install bundler --no-document

"Fastlane lanes don't show"

Cause: Fastfile has syntax errors Fix: Run bundle exec fastlane lanes and check for Ruby syntax errors

"Service account validation fails"

Cause: Invalid or missing service account JSON Fix: Ensure JSON file exists and has correct permissions in Play Console

Next Steps

After completing this skill:

1. Run /​devtools:android-app-icon to generate app icon
2. Run /​devtools:android-screenshot-automation to setup screenshot capture
3. Run /​devtools:android-store-listing to create feature graphic and metadata
4. Run /​devtools:android-workflow-internal to setup GitHub Actions