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Prerequisites

To publish on the Play Store you need a Google Play Developer account — a one-time $25 fee, not a yearly one.
Google verifies your identity when you sign up, which usually takes a day or two and occasionally longer. Start this early — it’s the most common thing that delays a first Android launch.
You don’t need the account to build an APK for testing. You need it before you can upload anything to Google Play.

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Choosing your Android build target

The Deploy modal has four Android targets. Pick the one that matches what you’re actually doing:
Only the AAB target takes you through the signing wizard, because only Play Store uploads need a release key. See Android Signing Keys.

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Connecting your Google Play account

Connecting Play Console lets Newly verify your Android store readiness against your actual developer account.
  1. Open your project and go to the Accounts panel — or open the Deploy modal, select an Android store target, and find it in the readiness checklist
  2. Click Connect Google Play Console
  3. Sign in with the Google account that owns your Play Developer account and approve the permissions
  4. You’ll be returned to Newly, and the card switches to Google Play Connected showing the connected email address
To disconnect, click Disconnect on that same card.
Use the Google account that actually owns (or has access to) the Play Developer account. A personal Gmail that isn’t attached to Play Console will connect fine but won’t be able to verify anything.
Connecting Play Console is separate from your signing key. The Google connection identifies you to Newly; the signing key identifies your app to Google. You need both, and losing one doesn’t affect the other. Signing keys are covered in Android Signing Keys.

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Release tracks

Play Console gives you four release tracks, in increasing order of exposure. Your .aab is the same file for all of them — the track is chosen in Play Console when you create the release:
If you registered a personal Google Play Developer account after November 2023, Google requires you to run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 consecutive days before you can apply for production access. This catches a lot of first-time publishers by surprise — start your closed test as early as you can.

Running a Google Play closed test

Step-by-step walkthrough of the 12-tester / 14-day requirement.

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Restricted permissions

Some Android permissions — background location, SMS/call log access, and others — are classed as high-risk by Google. Requesting one triggers a Permissions Declaration in Play Console, and in most cases you need approval before your app or any update can publish.

Permissions & Entitlements

How to declare restricted Android permissions and apply for approval.

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Troubleshooting

Click Disconnect, then reconnect and pick the correct Google account at the sign-in step. Google may sign you in silently with whichever account your browser is already using, so check the account picker rather than clicking straight through.
Every upload to Google Play needs a higher version code than the last one, and codes can never be reused — even for a release you deleted. Bump the version code on step 2 of the AAB wizard and rebuild.
Check that android.package in your app.json matches the app you created in Play Console. Package names cannot be changed after your first submission — see Changing your bundle ID.
Play Store releases require an AAB, not an APK. Switch to the AAB target in the Deploy modal and rebuild.

Android Signing Keys

Generating and safeguarding your release key

App Store Submission

Start-to-finish submission for both stores

App Deployment

How Newly builds APKs and AABs

Permissions & Entitlements

Restricted Android permissions