gpc-multi-app

Managing multiple Google Play apps with GPC using profiles, scripting, and automation patterns.

When to use

• Managing multiple Android apps (portfolio, white-label, variants)
• Running the same GPC command across several apps
• Setting up per-app configurations and credentials
• Monorepo with multiple Android modules
• Different service accounts for different apps

Inputs required

• Authenticated GPC — gpc auth status must show valid credentials
• Package names — for all apps being managed
• Service account keys — may differ per app or developer account

Procedure

0. Understand app resolution

GPC resolves the target app in this order:

1. --app CLI flag (highest priority)
2. GPC_APP environment variable
3. .gpcrc.json in project directory
4. User config at ~/.config/gpc/config.json
5. Active profile override

1. Per-app configuration with profiles

Set up named profiles for each app:

# Configure profiles in ~/.config/gpc/config.json

{
  "app": "com.example.main",
  "profiles": {
    "main": {
      "app": "com.example.main",
      "auth": { "serviceAccount": "/keys/main-sa.json" }
    },
    "lite": {
      "app": "com.example.lite",
      "auth": { "serviceAccount": "/keys/main-sa.json" }
    },
    "enterprise": {
      "app": "com.example.enterprise",
      "auth": { "serviceAccount": "/keys/enterprise-sa.json" }
    }
  }
}

Use profiles per command:

gpc releases list --profile main
gpc releases list --profile lite
gpc releases list --profile enterprise

Or set via environment:

export GPC_PROFILE=enterprise
gpc releases list  # uses enterprise profile

Read: references/profile-patterns.md for advanced profile configurations.

2. Project-level .gpcrc.json

For monorepos, place .gpcrc.json in each app's directory:

monorepo/
├── apps/
│   ├── main/
│   │   ├── .gpcrc.json          # { "app": "com.example.main" }
│   │   └── build.gradle
│   ├── lite/
│   │   ├── .gpcrc.json          # { "app": "com.example.lite" }
│   │   └── build.gradle
│   └── enterprise/
│       ├── .gpcrc.json          # { "app": "com.example.enterprise" }
│       └── build.gradle
└── .gpcrc.json                  # shared defaults

GPC walks up from the current directory to find .gpcrc.json, so running commands from each app's directory automatically uses the right package name.

3. Batch operations with shell scripts

Run the same command across all apps:

#!/bin/bash
# deploy-all.sh — upload to internal track for all apps

APPS=(
  "com.example.main"
  "com.example.lite"
  "com.example.enterprise"
)

for app in "${APPS[@]}"; do
  echo "Uploading $app..."
  gpc releases upload "build/$app/app-release.aab" --track internal --app "$app"
done

4. Batch vitals check

#!/bin/bash
# check-vitals.sh — check crash rate across all apps

APPS=("com.example.main" "com.example.lite" "com.example.enterprise")
THRESHOLD=2.0
FAILED=0

for app in "${APPS[@]}"; do
  echo "Checking $app..."
  if ! gpc vitals crashes --threshold "$THRESHOLD" --app "$app"; then
    echo "FAIL: $app crash rate exceeds ${THRESHOLD}%"
    FAILED=1
  fi
done

exit $FAILED

5. CI/CD for multiple apps

Read: references/ci-multi-app.md for CI platform-specific multi-app workflows.

GitHub Actions matrix strategy

name: Deploy All Apps
on:
  push:
    tags: ['v*']

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        app:
          - { package: "com.example.main", aab: "main/app-release.aab" }
          - { package: "com.example.lite", aab: "lite/app-release.aab" }
          - { package: "com.example.enterprise", aab: "enterprise/app-release.aab" }
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - name: Upload to internal
        env:
          GPC_SERVICE_ACCOUNT: ${{ secrets.PLAY_SA_KEY }}
          GPC_APP: ${{ matrix.app.package }}
        run: npx @gpc-cli/cli releases upload ${{ matrix.app.aab }} --track internal

6. Different service accounts per app

When apps belong to different developer accounts:

# Use different env vars per command
GPC_SERVICE_ACCOUNT=$(cat keys/main.json) gpc releases list --app com.example.main
GPC_SERVICE_ACCOUNT=$(cat keys/client.json) gpc releases list --app com.client.app

Or use profiles (recommended):

{
  "profiles": {
    "main": {
      "app": "com.example.main",
      "auth": { "serviceAccount": "/keys/main-sa.json" }
    },
    "client": {
      "app": "com.client.app",
      "auth": { "serviceAccount": "/keys/client-sa.json" }
    }
  }
}

7. Bulk metadata sync

Sync listings for all apps from a shared metadata structure:

# metadata/
# ├── com.example.main/
# │   └── en-US/
# ├── com.example.lite/
# │   └── en-US/

for dir in metadata/*/; do
  app=$(basename "$dir")
  echo "Syncing $app..."
  gpc listings push --dir "$dir" --app "$app" --dry-run
done

Verification

• gpc config list --profile <name> shows correct app and auth per profile
• Commands with --app or --profile target the right app
• Batch scripts exit 0 when all apps succeed
• CI matrix runs deploy independently per app
• .gpcrc.json in subdirectories correctly overrides the default app

Failure modes / debugging

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
Wrong app targeted	--app not set, picking up default	Always pass --app or use profiles explicitly
API_FORBIDDEN on one app	Service account lacks access for that app	Check permissions per app in Play Console
Batch script fails silently	Missing error handling in loop	Use set -e or check $? after each command
Profile not found	Typo in profile name	Check gpc config list for available profiles
CI matrix job fails one app	Independent failure	Matrix jobs run independently — check logs per app
.gpcrc.json not picked up	Running from wrong directory	GPC walks up from cwd; ensure you're in the right dir

Related skills

• gpc-setup — initial auth and profiles configuration
• gpc-ci-integration — CI pipeline setup for single apps
• gpc-sdk-usage — programmatic multi-app management with the TypeScript SDK
• gpc-user-management — managing per-app permissions for team members