Flutter App Publishing

Once you have finished building your Flutter app, it is time to publish it! Below are guides for publishing to both the App Store and the Google Play Store.

Publish to App Store

Prerequisites: review App Review Guidelines and enroll in Apple Developer Program

1. Register Bundle ID

The Bundle ID is a unique identifier for the iOS app. Bundle IDs generally follow reverse domain name notation.

Steps:

  1. Go to Apple Developer page.
  2. Navigate to Certificate, IDs, and Profiles → Identifiers.
  3. Complete the form for the app information.

2. Create a Record in App Store Connect

Create a record in App Store Connect for the app.

Steps:

  1. Go to Apple Developer page.
  2. Navigate to App Store Connect → Apps.
  3. Create a New App and fill in the details for the app.
  4. Select the Bundle ID registered in Step 1.

3. Modify Xcode Settings

General Settings

  1. In Xcode, navigate to the Runner.
  2. Update the following settings under General:
    • Choose a minimum iOS version.
    • Choose a display name and set the Bundle ID to the ID registered in Step 1.

App Icon Location

  1. In Xcode, navigate to Assets under the Runner project.
  2. Upload a 1024x1024 image as “AppIcon” or the name given in Step 2.

Signing & Capabilities

  1. Signing ensures to the user that the app is not tampered with.
  2. Ensure automatically managed signing is enabled.
  3. Specify the team that is publishing the app.

4. Update Build Version

Apple uses a CFBundleVersion to version the number.

Steps:

  1. Set pubspe3.yaml version field to 1.0.0 for the initial release.

5. Create a Build Archive

Steps:

  1. Run flutter build ios --release - builds .app.
  2. Run flutter build ipa - builds .ipa, required to distribute on the App Store.
  3. Find the .ipa file under the build/ios/ipa directory.

6. Upload App

Steps:

  1. Download the Apple Transporter App for Mac.
  2. Upload & deliver the .ipa file from Step 5 to App Store Connect.
  3. In App Store Connect, add for review on the App Store.
    • Additionally, can add for beta review in TestFlight.

Publish to Google Play Store

Prerequisites: register as a Google Developer, review Flutter Android Deployment, and create a Terms of Service (TOS) document.

1. Set an App Icon

App icons are essential for brand identity and should follow Google’s guidelines.

Steps:

  1. Use an icon generator like IconKitchen to create the app icon.
  2. Add a 256x256 PNG image under the /assets directory.
  3. Add the latest version of Launch Icons to dev_dependencies in pubspec.yaml.
  4. Add a flutter_icons key in pubspec.yaml with the following configuration:
    • Set image_path to the path of the icon created in Step 1.
    • Set android to true.
    • Set ios to false.
  5. Run flutter pub get to download the Launch Icons package.
  6. Run flutter pub run flutter_launcher_icons to generate Android app icons.

2. Set an App Name

The app name is defined in the manifest file, which contains metadata for the application.

Steps:

  1. Navigate to android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml.
  2. Set the value of android:label to the desired application name.
  3. Navigate to android/app/build.gradle.
  4. Set the applicationId in the defaultConfig map to the Bundle ID used for the iOS version.

3. Sign the App

Signing your app ensures that it is secure and can be trusted by users.

Steps:

  1. Copy and paste the following code into android/key.properties:

    storePassword=<your_store_password>
keyPassword=<your_key_password>
keyAlias=<your_key_alias>
storeFile=<path_to_your_keystore_file>

  2. Create and upload a keystore using the following commands:

    keytool -genkey -v -keystore upload-keystore.jks -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 -alias <your_key_alias>

  3. Locate the created upload-keystore.jks file and move it to the android/app directory.

  4. Specify the path to the keystore in key.properties, e.g., storeFile=../app/upload-keystore.jks.

  5. Copy the signing configuration code into build.gradle under the android block. Ensure you do not overwrite any existing configurations.

  6. Run the following command to generate a release build:

    flutter build appbundle --release

4. Create an App in Google Play Console

Create an entry for your app in the Google Play Console.

Steps:

  1. Navigate to the Google Play Console.
  2. Create a new app from the Home page.
  3. Provide the necessary app information under Grow → Store Presence → Main Store Listing.
  4. Fill in the developer information under Grow → Store Presence → Store Settings.

5. Create a Release

Publishing a release makes your app available to users on Google Play.

Steps:

  1. Navigate to Release → Production in the Google Play Console.
  2. Create a new release and follow the on-screen instructions.
  3. Upload the .aab file generated in Step 3g.
  4. Navigate to Policy → App Content and complete all required declarations.

6. Send for Review

Submit your app for review to be listed on the Google Play Store.

Steps:

  1. Navigate to Release → Releases Overview in the Google Play Console.
  2. Confirm all declarations are filled out.
  3. Save the changes and submit the app for review.

More Resources