gpc-sdk-usage

Use @gpc-cli/api and @gpc-cli/auth as standalone TypeScript SDK packages for programmatic Google Play access.

When to use

• Building a backend service that interacts with Google Play
• Creating custom dashboards or automation scripts
• Programmatic release management from TypeScript/JavaScript
• Using the typed API client directly (not through the CLI)
• Integrating Google Play operations into a larger application

Inputs required

• Node.js 20+ and TypeScript 5+
• @gpc-cli/api and @gpc-cli/auth packages
• Service account key — JSON file or raw JSON string

Procedure

0. Install packages

npm install @gpc-cli/api @gpc-cli/auth

These are standalone packages — no need to install the full CLI.

1. Authenticate

import { resolveAuth } from "@gpc-cli/auth";

// From file path
const auth = await resolveAuth({
  serviceAccountPath: "/path/to/key.json",
});

// From JSON string (e.g., from environment variable)
const auth = await resolveAuth({
  serviceAccountJson: process.env.PLAY_SA_KEY,
});

// From environment (GPC_SERVICE_ACCOUNT or GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS)
const auth = await resolveAuth();

Read: references/auth-patterns.md for advanced auth patterns and token caching.

2. Create API client

import { createApiClient } from "@gpc-cli/api";

const client = createApiClient({
  auth,
  maxRetries: 3,
  timeout: 30_000,
});

The client provides typed access to all 217 Google Play Developer API endpoints across the Android Publisher v3, Play Developer Reporting v1beta1, and (new in v0.9.56) Play Custom App Publishing v1 APIs.

2a. Create the Enterprise client (v0.9.56+)

For private app publishing via the Play Custom App Publishing API, use a separate factory:

import { createEnterpriseClient, type CustomApp } from "@gpc-cli/api";

const enterprise = createEnterpriseClient({ auth });

const app: CustomApp = await enterprise.apps.create(
  "1234567890",              // developer account ID (int64, from Play Console URL)
  "./app.aab",                // bundle path
  {
    title: "My Private App",
    languageCode: "en_US",
    organizations: [{ organizationId: "customer-org-id" }],
  },
);

console.log("Assigned package name:", app.packageName);
// com.google.customapp.A1B2C3D4E5 (Google-assigned, you cannot influence)

Notes:

• Private apps are permanently private. Once created, they cannot be made public.
• After creation, subsequent operations (version uploads, tracks, listings) go through the regular createApiClient() using the returned packageName.
• Requires the "create and publish private apps" permission on your service account in Play Console.
• The underlying HttpClient.uploadCustomApp<T>(path, filePath, metadata, contentType) method handles a multipart resumable upload where the initial session-initiation POST carries the JSON metadata. See ResumableUploadOptions.initialMetadata for reusing this pattern with other Google APIs.

See the gpc-enterprise skill for the CLI equivalent and full setup walkthrough.

Read: references/api-reference.md for the complete client API with all namespaces and methods.

3. Edit lifecycle

Most Google Play operations require an edit session:

const APP = "com.example.app";

// 1. Create an edit
const edit = await client.edits.insert(APP);

// 2. Make changes within the edit
const tracks = await client.tracks.list(APP, edit.id);
const details = await client.details.get(APP, edit.id);

// 3. Validate before committing
await client.edits.validate(APP, edit.id);

// 4. Commit the edit (applies all changes)
await client.edits.commit(APP, edit.id);

// Optional: commit with options (v0.9.51+)
await client.edits.commit(APP, edit.id, {
  changesNotSentForReview: true,
  changesInReviewBehavior: "HALT_REVIEW",
});

Important: Only one edit can be open at a time. Always commit or delete edits.

4. Common patterns

Upload a release

const edit = await client.edits.insert(APP);

// Upload the bundle
const bundle = await client.bundles.upload(APP, edit.id, "app-release.aab");

// Upload with device tier config (v0.9.51+)
const bundle2 = await client.bundles.upload(APP, edit.id, "app-release.aab", {
  deviceTierConfigId: "my-tier-config",
});

// Set the track
await client.tracks.update(APP, edit.id, "beta", {
  track: "beta",
  releases: [{
    versionCodes: [bundle.versionCode],
    status: "completed",
    releaseNotes: [
      { language: "en-US", text: "Bug fixes and improvements" },
    ],
  }],
});

// Commit
await client.edits.validate(APP, edit.id);
await client.edits.commit(APP, edit.id);

List and respond to reviews

// No edit needed for reviews
const reviews = await client.reviews.list(APP, {
  maxResults: 50,
  translationLanguage: "en",
  startIndex: 0,  // pagination offset (v0.9.51+)
});

for (const review of reviews.reviews ?? []) {
  if (review.comments?.[0]?.userComment?.starRating <= 2) {
    await client.reviews.reply(APP, review.reviewId, "Thanks for the feedback!");
  }
}

Manage subscriptions

// No edit needed for subscriptions
const subs = await client.subscriptions.list(APP);

// Get a specific subscription
const sub = await client.subscriptions.get(APP, "premium_monthly");

// Update with mutation options (v0.9.51+)
await client.subscriptions.update(APP, "premium_monthly", data, "price", {
  allowMissing: true,
  latencyTolerance: "PRODUCT_UPDATE_LATENCY_TOLERANCE_LATENCY_TOLERANT",
});

// Activate a base plan
await client.subscriptions.activateBasePlan(APP, "premium_monthly", "monthly");

Verify purchases

// No edit needed for purchases
const purchase = await client.purchases.getProduct(APP, "coins_100", purchaseToken);

if (purchase.purchaseState === 0 && purchase.acknowledgementState === 0) {
  await client.purchases.acknowledgeProduct(APP, "coins_100", purchaseToken);
}

Upload deobfuscation files (v0.9.51+)

// Upload ProGuard mapping
await client.deobfuscation.upload(APP, edit.id, versionCode, "mapping.txt", "proguard");

// Upload native debug symbols
await client.deobfuscation.upload(APP, edit.id, versionCode, "symbols.zip", "nativeCode");

Manage expansion files (v0.9.51+)

// Get expansion file info
const obb = await client.expansionFiles.get(APP, edit.id, versionCode, "main");

// Upload a new expansion file
const uploaded = await client.expansionFiles.upload(APP, edit.id, versionCode, "main", "main.obb");

// Patch expansion file references
await client.expansionFiles.patch(APP, edit.id, versionCode, "main", {
  referencesVersion: 10,
});

List one-time products with pagination (v0.9.51+)

const products = await client.oneTimeProducts.list(APP, {
  pageSize: 25,
  pageToken: nextToken,
});

5. Pagination

Use the built-in pagination utilities for large result sets:

import { paginate, paginateAll } from "@gpc-cli/api";

// Async generator (stream results)
for await (const page of paginate(
  (token) => client.subscriptions.list(APP, { pageToken: token }),
  { limit: 100 },
)) {
  for (const sub of page) {
    console.log(sub.productId);
  }
}

// Collect all results
const all = await paginateAll(
  (token) => client.subscriptions.list(APP, { pageToken: token }),
);

6. Rate limiting

Since v0.9.47, createApiClient() automatically applies rate limiting to all API calls using Google's 6-bucket model (3,000 queries/min each). No manual configuration needed:

// Rate limiting is automatic — all calls are throttled by resource type
const client = createApiClient({ auth });
// Buckets: edits, purchases, reviews, reporting, monetization, default

To customize rate limits (e.g., for shared quota across multiple processes):

import { createRateLimiter, RATE_LIMIT_BUCKETS } from "@gpc-cli/api";

// Override specific buckets
const limiter = createRateLimiter([
  { ...RATE_LIMIT_BUCKETS.edits, maxTokens: 1500 },     // Half of default
  { ...RATE_LIMIT_BUCKETS.purchases, maxTokens: 1500 },
]);

const client = createApiClient({ auth, rateLimiter: limiter });

The resolveBucket(path) function maps API paths to buckets automatically:

• /edits/ paths → edits bucket
• /purchases/, /orders → purchases bucket
• /reviews → reviews bucket
• Reporting API → reporting bucket
• /subscriptions, /oneTimeProducts, /inappproducts → monetization bucket
• Everything else → default bucket

7. Error handling

import { PlayApiError } from "@gpc-cli/api";
import { AuthError } from "@gpc-cli/auth";

try {
  await client.edits.insert(APP);
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof AuthError) {
    console.error(`Auth failed: ${error.code}`);
  } else if (error instanceof PlayApiError) {
    console.error(`API error ${error.status}: ${error.code}`);
    console.error(`Suggestion: ${error.suggestion}`);
  }
}

Changelog generation (v0.9.62+)

The changelog pipeline from gpc changelog generate is exposed as standalone @gpc-cli/core exports — useful for CI tooling that wants the clustered/linted data structure directly.

import {
  generateChangelog,
  resolveLocales,
  renderPlayStore,
  PLAY_STORE_LIMIT,     // 500
  type LocaleBundle,
  type GeneratedChangelog,
} from "@gpc-cli/core";

const generated: GeneratedChangelog = await generateChangelog({
  from: "v0.9.61",
  to: "HEAD",
});

// GitHub target: three renderers exposed as RENDERERS["md" | "json" | "prompt"]
// Play Store target: resolveLocales + renderPlayStore
const locales = await resolveLocales("en-US,fr-FR,de-DE");
const { output, bundle } = renderPlayStore(generated, {
  locales,
  format: "json",
});

for (const entry of bundle.locales) {
  console.log(`${entry.language}: ${entry.chars}/${entry.limit} (${entry.status})`);
}

For --locales auto, pass { client, packageName } as the second arg to resolveLocales — it calls client.listings.list to infer the locale set from your live Play Store listing.

Apply release notes to a draft (v0.9.64+)

import {
  applyReleaseNotes,
  validateBundleForApply,
  bundleToReleaseNotes,
  waitForBundleProcessing,
} from "@gpc-cli/core";

// Convert a LocaleBundle to the API shape
const releaseNotes = bundleToReleaseNotes(bundle);

// Validate (returns blocked locale errors, if any)
const errors = validateBundleForApply(bundle);
if (errors.length > 0) throw new Error(errors.join(", "));

// Write into the latest draft on a track
await applyReleaseNotes(client, "com.example.app", "production", releaseNotes);

// waitForBundleProcessing: polls bundles.list after AAB upload
// with Fibonacci backoff (2s, 3s, 5s, 8s, 13s) until the
// uploaded versionCode appears. Fixes large-AAB race condition.
await waitForBundleProcessing(client, "com.example.app", editId, versionCode);

API correctness history (recent)

• v0.9.57: apprecovery.cancel/deploy URLs now use plural /appRecoveries/. dataSafety.update is POST, not PUT. Phantom dataSafety.get was removed. onetimeproducts.offers.activateOffer / deactivateOffer added. New getVitalsErrorCount function.
• v0.9.58 / v0.9.59: Vitals LMK metric set is lmkRateMetricSet with metrics userPerceivedLmkRate, userPerceivedLmkRate7dUserWeighted, userPerceivedLmkRate28dUserWeighted, distinctUsers. (v0.9.58 shipped the wrong resource name; v0.9.59 is the corrected build.)

Verification

• resolveAuth() returns a valid auth client
• createApiClient({ auth }) creates a working client
• client.edits.insert(APP) successfully opens an edit
• API calls return typed responses
• Error handling catches PlayApiError and AuthError

Failure modes / debugging

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
AUTH_NO_CREDENTIALS	No auth source found	Pass serviceAccountPath or set GPC_SERVICE_ACCOUNT
AUTH_INVALID_KEY	Bad JSON in key file	Re-download from Google Cloud Console
Edit insert fails with 403	Service account lacks API access	Enable Google Play Developer API in GCP
Concurrent edit conflict	Another edit is open	Commit or delete the existing edit first
PlayApiError with status 429	Rate limited	Use createRateLimiter() with appropriate buckets
Types not resolving	Wrong TypeScript config	Ensure moduleResolution: "bundler" or "node16"

Related skills

• gpc-setup — service account creation and auth configuration
• gpc-plugin-development — building plugins that use the SDK internally
• gpc-troubleshooting — interpreting API error codes