GPC Setup

When to use

Use this skill when the task involves:

• Installing GPC (npm install -g @gpc-cli/cli or standalone binary)
• Authenticating with Google Play Developer API (service account, OAuth, ADC)
• Managing auth profiles (gpc auth profiles, gpc auth switch)
• Configuring GPC (.gpcrc.json, env vars, gpc config init)
• Diagnosing setup issues (gpc doctor)
• Setting up GPC in a new project or CI environment

Inputs required

• Whether this is local development or CI/CD setup
• Auth method: service account JSON, OAuth, or Application Default Credentials
• Package name of the Android app (e.g., com.example.app)
• If CI: which CI platform (GitHub Actions, GitLab, etc.)

Procedure

0) Install GPC

Via npm (recommended):

npm install -g @gpc-cli/cli

Via npx (zero-install trial):

npx @gpc-cli/cli --version

Via standalone binary (no Node.js needed):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yasserstudio/gpc/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

1) Authenticate

Three auth strategies, in order of recommendation:

A) Service Account (recommended for CI/CD)

1. Create a service account in Google Cloud Console
2. Grant it access in Google Play Console (Settings → API access)
3. Download the JSON key file

gpc auth login --service-account path/to/key.json

Or via environment variable (preferred in CI):

export GPC_SERVICE_ACCOUNT=path/to/key.json
# or inline JSON:
export GPC_SERVICE_ACCOUNT='{"type":"service_account","project_id":"..."}'

Read:

• references/service-account.md

B) OAuth (for local development)

Interactive OAuth device flow — no key file needed:

gpc auth login

Tokens are cached in the OS keychain (macOS Keychain, Linux libsecret) or file fallback.

C) Application Default Credentials (for GCP environments)

Works automatically in Cloud Build, Cloud Run, GKE — no configuration needed:

# ADC is auto-detected when no other auth is configured
gpc apps list

2) Configure defaults

Interactive setup:

gpc config init

Prompts for package name, output format, and service account path.

Manual config file (.gpcrc.json in project root or ~/.config/gpc/config.json):

{
  "app": "com.example.myapp",
  "output": "table",
  "profile": "default"
}

Environment variables:

Variable	Description
GPC_APP	Default package name
GPC_OUTPUT	Default output format (table/json/yaml/markdown)
GPC_PROFILE	Auth profile name
GPC_NO_COLOR	Disable color output
GPC_NO_INTERACTIVE	Disable interactive prompts
GPC_SKIP_KEYCHAIN	Skip OS keychain, use file storage

Read:

• references/configuration.md

3) Manage auth profiles

For managing multiple Google Play accounts:

gpc auth profiles              # List profiles
gpc auth switch production     # Switch active profile
gpc auth whoami                # Show current identity
gpc auth status                # Show auth state details

Use --profile flag to override per-command:

gpc apps list --profile staging

4) Verify setup

gpc doctor

Checks:

• Node.js version
• Configuration loaded
• Default app set
• Authentication valid
• API connectivity

5) Network configuration (if needed)

For corporate proxies or custom CA certificates:

export HTTPS_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080
export GPC_CA_CERT=/path/to/ca-bundle.crt

Retry configuration:

export GPC_MAX_RETRIES=3
export GPC_TIMEOUT=30000
export GPC_BASE_DELAY=1000
export GPC_MAX_DELAY=60000

Verification

• gpc doctor shows all checks passing
• gpc auth status shows authenticated identity
• gpc apps list returns real app data
• gpc config show displays resolved configuration

Failure modes / debugging

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
AUTH_EXPIRED	Access token expired	gpc auth login to re-authenticate
AUTH_INVALID	Wrong service account or missing permissions	Check Google Play Console → Settings → API access
NETWORK_ERROR	Proxy or firewall blocking	Set HTTPS_PROXY and/or GPC_CA_CERT
CONFIG_NOT_FOUND	No config file	Run gpc config init or set GPC_APP env var
Doctor fails on "API connectivity"	Service account not granted Play Console access	Add service account in Play Console API access settings

Read:

• references/troubleshooting.md

Escalation

• For Google Play Console API access setup, refer to: https://developers.google.com/android-publisher/getting_started
• For service account creation, refer to: https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/service-accounts-create