GPC Release Flow

When to use

Use this skill when the task involves:

• Uploading AAB/APK files to Google Play
• Creating releases on any track (internal, alpha, beta, production)
• Promoting releases between tracks
• Managing staged rollouts (increase, halt, resume, complete)
• Setting release notes
• Using gpc publish for end-to-end release workflow
• Pre-submission validation with gpc validate
• Checking release status across tracks

Inputs required

• Path to AAB/APK file
• Target track (internal, alpha, beta, production, or custom)
• Rollout percentage (for staged rollouts)
• Release notes (inline or from file)
• Whether --dry-run is desired (preview without executing)

Procedure

0) Pre-flight validation

Before uploading, validate the bundle:

gpc validate app-release.aab
gpc validate app-release.aab --track beta  # Validate for specific track

This checks file format, version code conflicts, and track compatibility.

1) Upload and release

A) Quick release (one command)

The publish command handles the full flow — upload, track assignment, release notes, and commit:

gpc publish app-release.aab --track internal
gpc publish app-release.aab --track beta --notes "Bug fixes and improvements"
gpc publish app-release.aab --track production --rollout 10

Multi-language release notes from directory:

gpc publish app-release.aab --track beta --notes-dir ./release-notes/

B) Step-by-step release

For more control, use individual commands:

# Upload AAB (creates edit, uploads, assigns to track)
gpc releases upload app-release.aab --track internal

# Upload with staged rollout
gpc releases upload app-release.aab --track production --rollout 10

# Set release notes
gpc releases notes set --track beta --lang en-US --notes "Bug fixes"
gpc releases notes set --track beta --file release-notes/  # From directory

Read:

• references/upload-lifecycle.md

2) Check release status

gpc releases status                      # All tracks overview
gpc releases status --track production   # Specific track
gpc status                               # Cross-track overview (shorthand)

3) Promote between tracks

# Promote from internal to beta
gpc releases promote --from internal --to beta

# Promote from beta to production with staged rollout
gpc releases promote --from beta --to production --rollout 5

4) Manage staged rollouts

# Increase rollout percentage
gpc releases rollout increase --track production --to 50

# Halt rollout (stops further distribution)
gpc releases rollout halt --track production

# Resume halted rollout
gpc releases rollout resume --track production

# Complete rollout (100%)
gpc releases rollout complete --track production

Read:

• references/rollout-strategies.md

5) Track management

gpc tracks list                    # List all tracks
gpc tracks get production          # Show track details + current releases

6) Preview with dry-run

All write operations support --dry-run:

gpc releases upload app.aab --track beta --dry-run
gpc releases promote --from beta --to production --rollout 10 --dry-run
gpc releases rollout increase --track production --to 50 --dry-run

7) Interactive mode

When flags are omitted, GPC prompts interactively (if TTY detected):

gpc releases upload app.aab
# Prompts for: track, rollout percentage, release notes

Disable with --no-interactive or GPC_NO_INTERACTIVE=1.

Verification

• gpc releases status shows the release on the expected track
• Version code matches the uploaded AAB
• Rollout percentage is correct
• Release notes are set for the expected languages
• gpc vitals crashes --version <code> shows no spikes (post-release)

Failure modes / debugging

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
Version code already used	Same version code exists on this track	Increment versionCode in build
APK_NOT_SIGNED	Missing or invalid signing	Use Play App Signing or check keystore
EDIT_CONFLICT	Another edit is in progress	Wait and retry, or use Console UI to discard pending edit
Rollout stuck	Rollout was halted	gpc releases rollout resume --track <track>
Wrong track	Promoted to wrong track	Create new release on correct track

Read:

• references/troubleshooting.md

Related skills

• gpc-setup: Authentication and configuration
• gpc-metadata-sync: Store listings and screenshots
• gpc-vitals-monitoring: Post-release crash monitoring
• gpc-ci-integration: Automated releases in CI/CD