Android Signing Configuration

Android Signing Configuration

Configures release build signing with dual-source strategy: environment variables (CI/​CD) and gradle.properties (local dev).

Prerequisites

• Keystores exist in keystores/ directory (run android-keystore-generation first)
• Android project with Gradle
• Kotlin DSL (build.gradle.kts)

Inputs

Process

Step 1: Detect and Select Environment Variable Prefix

Purpose: Avoid variable name conflicts with other projects by using a project-specific prefix.

Step 1a: Auto-detect project name

# From settings.gradle.kts
PROJECT_NAME=$(grep "rootProject.name" settings.gradle.kts | sed 's/​.*"\(.*\)".*/\1/' | tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]' | tr '-' '_')
echo "Detected project: $PROJECT_NAME"

Step 1b: Ask user for prefix preference

"Choose environment variable prefix for signing configuration:

1. ${PROJECT_NAME} (detected from project) - e.g., ${PROJECT_NAME}_SIGNING_KEY_STORE_PATH
2. APP (generic) - e.g., APP_SIGNING_KEY_STORE_PATH
3. Custom - Enter your own prefix

Select option (1/​2/​3):"

Step 1c: Store selected prefix

# Based on user selection:
# Option 1: PREFIX="$PROJECT_NAME"
# Option 2: PREFIX="APP"
# Option 3: PREFIX="{user_custom_prefix}"

echo "Using prefix: $PREFIX"
echo "Example variable: ${PREFIX}_SIGNING_KEY_STORE_PATH"

GitHub Secrets to create later:

• ${PREFIX}_SIGNING_KEY_STORE_BASE64
• ${PREFIX}_SIGNING_KEY_ALIAS
• ${PREFIX}_SIGNING_STORE_PASSWORD
• ${PREFIX}_SIGNING_KEY_PASSWORD

Step 2: Add Signing Configuration to build.gradle.kts

Update app/​build.gradle.kts to add signing configuration:

android {
    namespace = "com.example.app" // Keep existing
    compileSdk = 34 // Keep existing

    defaultConfig {
        // Keep existing config
    }

    // ADD THIS SECTION
    signingConfigs {
        create("release") {
            // Use the prefix selected in Step 1 (replace {PREFIX} with actual prefix)
            val prefix = "{PREFIX}"  // e.g., "APP" or project-specific prefix

            // Priority: environment variables (CI/​CD) > gradle.properties (local dev)
            val keystorePath = System.getenv("${prefix}_SIGNING_KEY_STORE_PATH")
                ?: project.findProperty("${prefix}_SIGNING_KEY_STORE_PATH")?.toString()
            val storePass = System.getenv("${prefix}_SIGNING_STORE_PASSWORD")
                ?: project.findProperty("${prefix}_SIGNING_STORE_PASSWORD")?.toString()
            val alias = System.getenv("${prefix}_SIGNING_KEY_ALIAS")
                ?: project.findProperty("${prefix}_SIGNING_KEY_ALIAS")?.toString()
            val keyPass = System.getenv("${prefix}_SIGNING_KEY_PASSWORD")
                ?: project.findProperty("${prefix}_SIGNING_KEY_PASSWORD")?.toString()

            if (keystorePath != null && storePass != null && alias != null && keyPass != null) {
                storeFile = file(keystorePath)
                storePassword = storePass
                keyAlias = alias
                // For PKCS12 keystores, storePassword and keyPassword must be identical
                keyPassword = keyPass
            }
        }
    }

    buildTypes {
        release {
            signingConfig = signingConfigs.getByName("release")
            // ProGuard config set by android-proguard-setup skill
        }
    }

    // Validate signing config only when building release variants
    tasks.matching {
        it.name.matches(Regex(".*[aA]ssemble.*Release.*|.*[bB]undle.*Release.*"))
    }.configureEach {
        doFirst {
            val releaseConfig = android.signingConfigs.getByName("release")
            if (releaseConfig.storeFile == null) {
                throw GradleException(
                    """
                    Release signing not configured!

                    For CI/​CD: Set environment variables (using prefix: $prefix):
                      - ${prefix}_SIGNING_KEY_STORE_PATH
                      - ${prefix}_SIGNING_STORE_PASSWORD
                      - ${prefix}_SIGNING_KEY_ALIAS
                      - ${prefix}_SIGNING_KEY_PASSWORD

                    For local development: Add to ~/​.gradle/​gradle.properties:
                      ${prefix}_SIGNING_KEY_STORE_PATH=/​path/​to/​local-dev-release.jks
                      ${prefix}_SIGNING_STORE_PASSWORD=your-password
                      ${prefix}_SIGNING_KEY_ALIAS=local-dev
                      ${prefix}_SIGNING_KEY_PASSWORD=your-password
                    """.trimIndent()
                )
            }
        }
    }
}

Detection logic:

• Check if signingConfigs already exists - update if present
• Check if release buildType already has signingConfig - preserve other settings
• Don't modify ProGuard settings (handled by separate skill)

Step 2: Update .gitignore

Ensure sensitive files are gitignored:

# Add to .gitignore if not present
grep -q "gradle.properties" .gitignore 2>/​dev/​null || echo -e "\n# Gradle properties with secrets\ngradle.properties" >> .gitignore

Step 3: Configure Local Development

Ask user permission to update ~/​.gradle/​gradle.properties:

# Read credentials from KEYSTORE_INFO.txt
LOCAL_PASSWORD=$(grep "Local.*Store Password:" keystores/​KEYSTORE_INFO.txt | cut -d: -f2 | xargs)
PROJECT_PATH=$(pwd)
PREFIX="{PREFIX}"  # Use the prefix selected in Step 1

# Add to ~/​.gradle/​gradle.properties (using selected prefix)
cat >> ~/​.gradle/​gradle.properties << EOF

# ${PROJECT_PATH} (using prefix: ${PREFIX})
${PREFIX}_SIGNING_KEY_STORE_PATH=${PROJECT_PATH}/​keystores/​local-dev-release.jks
${PREFIX}_SIGNING_KEY_ALIAS=local-dev
${PREFIX}_SIGNING_STORE_PASSWORD=${LOCAL_PASSWORD}
${PREFIX}_SIGNING_KEY_PASSWORD=${LOCAL_PASSWORD}
EOF

Important: Always ask permission before modifying user's global gradle.properties!

Verification

MANDATORY: Run this command to verify signing works:

# Build release APK
./​gradlew assembleRelease

# Verify APK exists
ls -lh app/​build/​outputs/​apk/​release/​app-release.apk

# Verify APK signature (supports APK Signature Scheme v2/​v3)
$ANDROID_HOME/​build-tools/​34.0.0/​apksigner verify --verbose app/​build/​outputs/​apk/​release/​app-release.apk

# Or if apksigner is in PATH:
apksigner verify --verbose app/​build/​outputs/​apk/​release/​app-release.apk

Expected output:

• Release build succeeds
• APK file exists
• apksigner shows "Verifies" with v2/​v3 scheme confirmation

Outputs

Troubleshooting

"Signing config not found"

Cause: gradle.properties not configured correctly Fix: Verify ~/​.gradle/​gradle.properties has correct paths and passwords

"Cannot find keystore file"

Cause: Path in gradle.properties is incorrect Fix: Use absolute path: /​full/​path/​to/​keystores/​local-dev-release.jks

"apksigner verification fails"

Cause: Wrong keystore or passwords Fix: Double-check credentials in KEYSTORE_INFO.txt

Completion Criteria

• signingConfigs.release exists in app/​build.gradle.kts
• Release buildType uses signingConfig
• ~/​.gradle/​gradle.properties configured (or env vars set for CI)
• ./​gradlew assembleRelease succeeds
• apksigner verify confirms APK is signed (v2/​v3 schemes)