Generate JSON key for Google Play deployment

Starting August 2021 the new build of your app can be automatically deployed to Google Play Store once the resubmission is triggered. In order to achieve that, you will need to generate a JSON key on your Google Play Console account as explained in this article.

Note: Only the owners of Google Play Console account where the app is created can generate a JSON key for deployment.

The process goes as follows:

1. Log into your Google Play Console account

2. On the left menu expand Setup tab and click API access

3. Under Service accounts click Create new service account

4. On a pop-up dialogue click Google Cloud Platform which will open Service Accounts in a new tab in your browser (don’t close API access tab)

5. On Google Cloud Platform under Service Accounts tab click CREATE SERVICE ACCOUNT

6. Name your service account, for example “automatic_deploy_shoutem” (Service account ID will generate automatically; Service account description is optional) and click Create and continue

7. Choose Service Account User on a drop-down menu under Role and click Continue

8. Do not click DONE just yet – stay on this page, open Service Accounts tab and choose the service account you’ve previously created

9. Go to KEYS tab and click ADD KEY > CREATE NEW KEY

10. On a pop-up dialogue choose JSON and click CREATE

11. A .json file with a key will be saved to your computer

12. Go back to the previous tab where Create service account is opened to finish creating the account and click DONE

13. You can now close the Google Cloud Platform and go to your Google Play Console account

14. Click DONE – the page will automatically refresh and your service account will become visible on the list

15. Find the service account you’ve created and click Grant access

16. Leave permission as they are and click Invite user > Send invite

And it’s done! You’ve created a JSON key for automatic deployment. Copy values from JSON file you’ve generated and paste it in Android Store metadata of your app.

The automatic upload is possible for app updates only so once you decide to publish your app, its build won’t automatically deploy to Google Play as our publishing team need to prepare it for submission and manually upload it with Google Play Store metadata you’ve provided. Automatic deployment doesn't mean that your app will automatically be resubmitted (sent for review) in Google Play Store, but it will significantly shorten resubmission time.