feat: Add code signing for Android release artefacts by JohananOppongAmoateng · Pull Request #2724 · beeware/briefcase

JohananOppongAmoateng · 2026-03-07T21:14:36Z

Add code signing for Android release artefacts Closes #1268

PR Checklist:

All new features have been tested
All new features have been documented
I have read the CONTRIBUTING.md file
I will abide by the code of conduct

freakboy3742

Thanks for the PR. I've given a partial review; the general shape of things looks good, but there's some reorganisation that will be required, and I'm not 100% certain about some of the details in the implementation (specifically, if the -P arguments you're referring to are standard features, or something we'll need to accomodate).

I haven't done a full review of the test cases yet, mostly because they'll see a bunch of changes from the reorganisation.

docs/en/reference/platforms/android/gradle.md

src/briefcase/platforms/android/gradle.py

freakboy3742 · 2026-03-09T07:05:37Z

src/briefcase/platforms/android/gradle.py

+                f"-Pandroid.injected.signing.store.file={signing_config.keystore_path!s}",
+                f"-Pandroid.injected.signing.store.password={signing_config.store_password}",
+                f"-Pandroid.injected.signing.key.alias={signing_config.alias}",
+                f"-Pandroid.injected.signing.key.password={signing_config.key_password}",


Are these standard configuration points, or do we need to modify the Android gradle template to support these?

These work with the android gradle plugin so we dont need to modify the gradle template

Although these properties aren't documented, it looks like they've always been the way in which Android Studio passes signing settings to Gradle when building from the GUI, so they should be safe.

However, for future reference, the code should include the above explanation and link.

src/briefcase/platforms/android/gradle.py

JohananOppongAmoateng · 2026-03-09T15:30:01Z

@freakboy3742 i will address all your concerns later bogged down with work now

mhsmith · 2026-03-20T16:48:51Z

src/briefcase/platforms/android/gradle.py


+        build_type, build_artefact_path = {
+            "aab": ("bundleRelease", "bundle/release/app-release.aab"),
+            "apk": ("assembleRelease", "apk/release/app-release-unsigned.apk"),


When the signing options are passed, this filename changes to app-release.apk – see #2189 (comment).

mhsmith · 2026-03-20T16:53:09Z

docs/en/reference/platforms/android/gradle.md

-### run
+### package { #android-package }
+
+#### `--keystore-alias <alias>`


For consistency, this and its references elsewhere should be called key-alias.

mhsmith · 2026-03-20T16:57:32Z

docs/en/reference/platforms/android/gradle.md

+#### `-i <path>` / `--identity <path>`
+
+The path to a `.jks` keystore file to use for signing. If not provided, Briefcase will search for existing keystores in the project folder (`.android/`), and in the `.android` folder in the user's home directory, and offer to create a new one if none are found.


I know we're trying to be consistent with macOS and Windows, but Android doesn't really have an equivalent to those platforms' --identity options, so reusing the same name is confusing. Suggest renaming it to --keystore. @freakboy3742: what do you think?

Either way, a note about Android should be added to the --identity section of package.md.

mhsmith · 2026-03-20T17:02:49Z

docs/en/reference/platforms/android/gradle.md

+* The project's `.android/` subfolder
+* The `.android/` folder in the user's home directory


@freakboy3742: Was this based on some existing convention? My impression is that the .android/ folder in the user's home directory mostly contains ephemeral files automatically managed by the Android build tools, so encouraging the user to put a permanent key in there seems like a bad idea. Encouraging them to put it in the project directory is also risky, as this will likely lead them to commit it to source control.

So I suggest we remove all assumptions about the keystore location, and require the user always to specify it explicitly, including when creating it.

mhsmith · 2026-03-20T17:05:20Z

src/briefcase/integrations/android_sdk.py

+    keystore_path: Path
+    alias: str
+    store_password: str
+    key_password: str


The order and names of these fields should match the documentation of the command-line arguments (see comments in gradle.md).

mhsmith · 2026-03-20T18:06:34Z

src/briefcase/integrations/android_sdk.py

+            keystore_alias = self.tools.console.text_question(
+                description="Key alias",
+                intro="Enter an alias for the signing key.",
+                default=app.app_name,


A better default would be "mykey", since that's the default used by keytool itself.

mhsmith · 2026-03-20T18:07:25Z

src/briefcase/integrations/android_sdk.py

+                default=app.app_name,
+            )
+
+        if store_password is None:


The question order should match the documentation of the command-line arguments (see comments in gradle.md).

mhsmith · 2026-03-20T18:18:09Z

src/briefcase/integrations/android_sdk.py

+                        "-keyalg",
+                        "RSA",
+                        "-keysize",
+                        "2048",


This should link to https://developer.android.com/build/building-cmdline#sign_cmdline.

mhsmith · 2026-03-20T18:22:37Z

src/briefcase/platforms/android/gradle.py

+
+        extra_gradle = getattr(app, "build_gradle_extra_content", "") or ""
+        if "signingConfig" in extra_gradle:
+            if identity is not None:


This error should appear when passing any keystore options, not just --identity.

mhsmith · 2026-03-20T18:27:05Z

src/briefcase/platforms/android/gradle.py

+""")
+                adhoc_sign = True
+
+        if app.packaging_format != "debug-apk" and not adhoc_sign:


In order to upgrade in-place between debug and release builds, both apps must be signed with the same key. So It should be possible to sign the app even in debug-apk mode, even though this is not the default.

mhsmith · 2026-03-20T18:41:58Z

src/briefcase/platforms/android/gradle.py

+                adhoc_sign = True
+
+        if app.packaging_format != "debug-apk" and not adhoc_sign:
+            with self.console.wait_bar("Selecting signing credentials..."):


Either select_keystore will show some interactive questions, or it'll return immediately. Either way, I don't think a wait_bar is necessary.

mhsmith · 2026-03-20T18:44:23Z

src/briefcase/integrations/android_sdk.py

+    {keystore_path}
+
+Keep this file secure and backed up. If you lose it, you will not be able to
+publish updates to this app on the Play Store.


This is enforced by Android itself, not just the Play Store.

Suggested change

publish updates to this app on the Play Store.

publish updates to this app.

mhsmith · 2026-03-30T19:46:57Z

Thanks, I'll look at this as soon as I can.

JohananOppongAmoateng and others added 5 commits March 7, 2026 21:03

feat: Add code signing for Android release artefacts

0cd811d

fix ci

ce78e0e

fix coverage

47a05c9

fix

01b1277

Merge branch 'beeware:main' into publishing-android

0934f76

freakboy3742 requested changes Mar 9, 2026

View reviewed changes

JohananOppongAmoateng added 4 commits March 13, 2026 20:25

address reviews

70f2b75

fix tests

ce4b950

fix tests

533c286

fix coverage

969e8ea

JohananOppongAmoateng requested a review from freakboy3742 March 13, 2026 22:54

mhsmith requested review from mhsmith and removed request for freakboy3742 March 17, 2026 14:46

mhsmith reviewed Mar 20, 2026

View reviewed changes

JohananOppongAmoateng added 2 commits March 21, 2026 22:59

address review concerns

1dcfbd0

fix doc linting

25c8ba9

JohananOppongAmoateng requested a review from mhsmith March 21, 2026 23:30

		#### `-i <path>` / `--identity <path>`

		The path to a `.jks` keystore file to use for signing. If not provided, Briefcase will search for existing keystores in the project folder (`.android/`), and in the `.android` folder in the user's home directory, and offer to create a new one if none are found.

		* The project's `.android/` subfolder
		* The `.android/` folder in the user's home directory

	publish updates to this app on the Play Store.
	publish updates to this app.

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JohananOppongAmoateng commented Mar 7, 2026

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JohananOppongAmoateng commented Mar 9, 2026

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mhsmith commented Mar 30, 2026

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