Skip to content

Developer Documentation – GitHub Actions: Release Bundle with Tag, Cache, and Version Bump

📌 Overview

This workflow automates the release process for the Android app. It performs the following tasks:

  1. Checks out the repository and sets up the Java environment.
  2. Caches Gradle dependencies to speed up builds.
  3. Decodes the Keystore from GitHub Secrets (used for signing builds).
  4. Reads and bumps the app version in version.properties.
  5. Commits version changes, tags the release, and pushes tags.
  6. Builds both AAB and APK artifacts (signed).
  7. Uploads artifacts to GitHub Actions for download.
  8. Creates a GitHub Release with the artifacts attached.

⚙️ Workflow File Location

.github/workflows/release.yml

🛠️ Trigger

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  • This workflow runs manually via the GitHub Actions UI.
  • Useful for controlled releases (instead of automatic CI/CD builds).

🔑 Environment Variables / Secrets

The following GitHub Secrets must be set in your repository:

Secret Name Description
KEYSTORE_FILE Base64-encoded keystore file.
KEYSTORE_PASSWORD Password for the keystore.
SIGNING_KEY_ALIAS Alias of the signing key.
SIGNING_KEY_PASSWORD Password for the signing key.
GITHUB_TOKEN Default GitHub Actions token (used for commits, tags, and releases).

🚀 Steps Breakdown

1. Checkout Code

- name: Checkout code
  uses: actions/checkout@v4
  with:
    fetch-depth: 0  # Required for tagging
  • Fetches the entire repo (not shallow), so tags and history are available.

2. Set Up JDK

- name: Set up JDK
  uses: actions/setup-java@v4
  with:
    distribution: 'temurin'
    java-version: '17'
  • Configures Java 17 (Temurin distribution) for Gradle builds.

3. Setup Gradle Cache

- name: Setup Gradle cache
  uses: gradle/actions/setup-gradle@v3
  • Speeds up builds by caching Gradle dependencies.

4. Decode Keystore

- name: Decode Keystore
  run: echo "$KEYSTORE_FILE" | base64 -d > app/playstore.keystore.jks
  • Converts the base64 keystore secret into a physical .jks file required for signing.

5. Read and Bump Version

- name: Read and Bump Version
  id: versioning
  run: |
    FILE=version.properties
    VERSION=$(grep VERSION_NAME $FILE | cut -d '=' -f2)
    ...
  • Reads VERSION_NAME from version.properties.
  • Bumps patch version (e.g., 1.2.3 → 1.2.4).
  • Commits changes to main.
  • Creates a Git tag vX.Y.Z.
  • Pushes commit + tags to origin.

⚠️ This modifies your repo during workflow execution, so version history is always updated alongside releases.

6. Build AAB & APK

./gradlew bundleRelease ...
./gradlew assembleRelease ...
  • Builds signed App Bundle (.aab) and APK (.apk).
  • Uses keystore + signing configs from environment variables.

7. Upload Artifacts

- name: Upload AAB Artifact
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: release-aab
    path: app/build/outputs/bundle/release/*.aab
  • Makes AAB and APK files available for download in GitHub Actions.

8. Create GitHub Release

- name: Create GitHub Release
  uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
  with:
    tag_name: v${{ steps.versioning.outputs.version }}
    name: Release v${{ steps.versioning.outputs.version }}

  • Publishes a new GitHub Release with:

  • Correct tag (vX.Y.Z).

  • Release notes title (e.g., Release v1.2.4).
  • Attached APK and AAB artifacts.

📂 Artifacts

After a successful run, you will find:

  • In GitHub Actions (workflow run) →

  • release-aab: App Bundle for Play Store.

  • release-apk: Signed APK.

  • In GitHub Releases (repository) →

  • APK + AAB files attached to the tagged release.

🔮 Future Improvements

  • Add automatic changelog generation from commit messages.
  • Support version bump strategies (major, minor, patch).
  • Upload artifacts directly to Google Play Console (using gradle-play-publisher).
  • Add matrix builds (different flavors/variants).