# Skymap.deploy Play Store

> Skymap.deploy Play Store is an Agent Skill for devops & security published in the sky-map-team/stardroid repository on GitHub: a SKILL.md instruction file an AI agent can load to do this task.

Deploy Sky Map to the Google Play Store using fastlane. Trigger on "deploy to Play Store", "release to internal", "promote to beta/production", "upload metadata", or similar Play Store release requests.

- Skill name: `skymap.deploy-play-store`
- Category: [DevOps & Security](https://www.openparable.com/skill/devops-security/1)
- Source: https://github.com/sky-map-team/stardroid/blob/HEAD/stardroid-v1/.claude/skills/skymap.deploy-play-store/SKILL.md
- Repository: sky-map-team/stardroid (1,746 GitHub stars when collected)

## SKILL.md

# Sky Map Play Store Deployment

Manages the full release pipeline: build → internal → alpha → beta → production.

## Prerequisites

- `fastlane/play-store-credentials.json` — service account key (never commit changes to this file)
- `fastlane` installed: `bundle exec fastlane --version` or `fastlane --version`
- `no-checkin.properties` in `app/` (required for release signing)
- Environment: `export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v 17)`

Run fastlane commands from the repo root with `bundle exec fastlane android <lane>` (or plain
`fastlane android <lane>` if not using Bundler).

## Release Pipeline

The standard path is: **internal → alpha → beta → production**. Always start at internal and
promote rather than uploading directly to later tracks.

```
Internal → Alpha (Closed Testing) → Beta (Open Testing, 10%) → Production (10% rollout)
```

### Step 0 — Pre-release checklist

Before deploying, confirm these are done:

1. **Splash screen** updated if this is a named planetary release (`/release-splash`)
2. **Sponsors** synced (`/skymap-sponsors`)
3. **Contributors** synced — ask the user: "Would you like to refresh the contributors list
   before deploying?" If yes, invoke the `/skymap-contributors` skill now before continuing.
4. **Changelog** written (`/whats-new <last-tag>`) — both `whatsnew_content.xml` and
   `fastlane/metadata/android/en-US/changelogs/default.txt`
5. **Version name** bumped if needed (see Version Management below)
6. All changes committed and on `master`

### Step 1 — Deploy to Internal Testing

This increments the version code, builds the release AAB, and uploads to the internal track.

```bash
bundle exec fastlane android internal
```

The build output is `app/build/outputs/bundle/gmsRelease/app-gms-release.aab`.
Metadata and screenshots are **not** uploaded by this lane — use `upload_metadata` separately.

### Step 2 — Upload metadata (optional but recommended)

Upload store listing text, changelogs, and/or images independently of a binary upload.

```bash
# Store text only (descriptions, title)
bundle exec fastlane android upload_metadata

# Include changelogs (whatsnew)
bundle exec fastlane android upload_metadata whatsnew:true

# Include screenshots/images
bundle exec fastlane android upload_metadata imgs:true

# Everything
bundle exec fastlane android upload_metadata all:true

# Skip store text, changelogs only
bundle exec fastlane android upload_metadata store:false whatsnew:true
```

To attach changelogs to a specific already-uploaded version code:
```bash
bundle exec fastlane android upload_metadata whatsnew:true version_code:1234
```

### Step 3 — Promote to Alpha (Closed Testing)

After verifying the internal build is stable:

```bash
bundle exec fastlane android promote_to_alpha
```

### Step 4 — Promote to Beta (Open Testing, 10% rollout)

```bash
bundle exec fastlane android promote_to_beta
```

### Step 5 — Promote to Production (10% rollout)

```bash
bundle exec fastlane android promote_to_production
```

Production starts at 10%. Increase the rollout percentage manually in the Play Console as
confidence grows.

## Version Management

```bash
# Bump version name (e.g., for a named release). No spaces in name.
bundle exec fastlane android bump_version name:"1.5.0:Earth"

# Increment version code only (done automatically by the `internal` lane)
bundle exec fastlane android increment_version_code
```

Version name and code live in `app/build.gradle`. Commit the bump before deploying.

## Screenshots

Capture Play Store screenshots using a connected device or emulator:

```bash
bundle exec fastlane android screenshots
```

Add `--device_type=sevenInch` for tablet screenshots. Results land in
`fastlane/metadata/android/en-US/images/`.

## Direct-track Lanes (use sparingly)

These upload directly without going through internal first. Prefer the promote lanes above.

```bash
bundle exec fastlane android alpha              # Direct to alpha
bundle exec fastlane android beta_yes_im_sure  # Direct to beta
bundle exec fastlane android production_yes_im_sure  # Direct to production
```

## Troubleshooting

- **Authentication error**: check `fastlane/play-store-credentials.json` is present and the
  service account has the correct Play Console permissions.
- **Build fails**: ensure `no-checkin.properties` exists in `app/` and `JAVA_HOME` points to
  Java 17.
- **Version code conflict**: the `internal` lane auto-increments; if a manual upload already used
  the next code, increment again.
- **`INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE` on device**: uninstall the Play Store version first with
  `adb uninstall com.google.android.stardroid`.

## Key Files

| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `fastlane/Fastfile` | Lane definitions |
| `fastlane/Appfile` | Package name + credentials path |
| `fastlane/play-store-credentials.json` | Service account key (do not modify) |
| `fastlane/metadata/android/en-US/changelogs/default.txt` | Play Store changelog (≤350 chars) |
| `fastlane/metadata/android/` | Store listing text and images per locale |
| `app/build.gradle` | `versionCode` and `versionName` |

---

Source: https://www.openparable.com/skill/devops-security/skymap-deploy-play-store (OpenParable). Cite the canonical URL above.