Build Unsigned APK with Gradle

Question

Currently I'm trying to learn Gradle to build Android APKs. How to set an option in gradle to build an unsigned APK?

By unsigned you mean even with the debug key ? Why ? – tbruyelle Jul 04 '13 at 11:54 — tbruyelle, Jul 04 '13 at 11:54
nope. release version but unsigned – Zul Jul 05 '13 at 04:04 — Zul, Jul 05 '13 at 04:04
@tbruyelle Amazon Appstore requires unsigned apks. – withoutclass Dec 18 '13 at 20:40 — withoutclass, Dec 18 '13 at 20:40

score 85 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 04 '13 at 13:16

85

You don't have to set any option, just run the usual task:

$ gradle assemble

This will generate two files in project/build/apk/

app-debug-unaligned.apk 
app-release-unsigned.apk

answered Jul 04 '13 at 13:16

rafaello

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@rafaello: Iknow it's a while ago. But my solution (answer above) doesn't work anymore (Why?... I don't know). Now I tried you solution and it worked for me. Thanks a lot! The mistake I made in earlier time was to set a signConfig in the flavor that I wanted unsigned... Now I removed the signConfig and everything works fine! It's just annoying to this over the command line... – owe Sep 11 '13 at 09:55
Do you need to have signing config stuff for this to work? even if it's just the debug one? – Daniel Jonker Jun 27 '14 at 00:30
1

Go to `Run > Edit configurations` and add a new gradle job with tasks "assemble". Now run your new job. The `myapp-debug.apk` is under `/build/outputs/apk` – vault Dec 02 '14 at 16:32
@rafaello I get an error: >Could not find method jcenter() for arguments [] on repository container. – IgorGanapolsky Dec 10 '14 at 15:54
@IgorGanapolsky try the answer from http://stackoverflow.com/questions/21087330/gradle-eclipse-plugin-could-not-find-method-jcenter-for-arguments-on-repo see if it solves your problem – rafaello Dec 11 '14 at 06:10
Here are some detailed instructions to do what vault is describing in the comment above https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-feature-element.html#testing – Nick Sep 15 '17 at 16:28

owe · Answer 2 · 2013-12-19T07:09:02.303

20

To generate an unsigned apk do the following:

define a signingConfig with empty configuations like this:

signingConfigs{
    unsigned{
        storePassword = ""
        keyAlias = ""
        keyPassword = ""
    }
}

define in the buildTypes for your release Version with the unsigned Configuration:

buildTypes{
    release{
        signingConfig signingConfigs.unsigned
    }
}

I get this from the adt-dev group, where Xavier Ducrohet write:

The current behavior is to check that the signing config is fully configured(*) and if it is, it generates a signed APK, otherwise an unsigned APK.

(*) fully configured right now means the value for store, alias and passwords are present, but does not include that the keystore is present.

UPDATE 2013-12-19

As withoutclass mentioned this doesn't work with the gradle plugin version 0.6.3.

Anyway it's possible to generate an unsigned APK with gradle: just let the signingConfig entry of a flavor or buildType empty. It should look like this:

productFlavors{
    // with this config you should get a "MyProject-flavorUnsigned-release-unsigned.apk"
    flavorUnsigned{
        versionCode = 9
        packageName defaultPkgName
    }
}

buildTypes{
    // with this config you should get a "MyProject-release-unsigned.apk"
    release{
        packageNameSuffix '.release'
    }
}

edited Dec 19 '13 at 07:09

answered Aug 08 '13 at 08:33

owe

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Doesn't work for me anymore. But rafaellos answer is quite good. Added a post to ADT Dev Group on G+:https://plus.google.com/117954254390243608387/posts/N5dTMNS5UGv – owe Sep 11 '13 at 09:57
1

This doesn't work as the build will fail stating that there are no value specified for the required fields. plugin version 0.6.3 – withoutclass Dec 18 '13 at 21:48
@withoutclass: Your right. I updated my answer and explained how can generate an unsigned apk with the newest gradle version. – owe Dec 19 '13 at 07:10
this doesn't work if your release build has a signing config. It will sign the app using the release config. Plugin version 0.7.0. – withoutclass Dec 19 '13 at 16:42
Ok, I still use the plugin version 0.6.+, because there is no update for AS 0.4.0 in the "dev channel". Now is the question: how can i generate an unsigned apk with plugin version 0.7.0? Do I need an additionally buildType "unsigned" where I don't declare a `signingConfig`? This wouldn't be a nice solution because the count of buildVariants increase... – owe Dec 20 '13 at 07:01

score 11 · Answer 3 · answered May 28 '16 at 00:25

11

just assign null to signingConfig

android {
  buildTypes {
    debug {
      signingConfig null
    }
  }
}

answered May 28 '16 at 00:25

Prakash

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score -1 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 26 '18 at 13:40

-1

If you want to make a build type act that is unsigned (just like a debug build), do the following:

myBuildType {
    initWith debug
    ...
}

answered Oct 26 '18 at 13:40

phatmann

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Debug build is signed by autogenerated keystore – Igor Čordaš May 24 '23 at 21:19

Build Unsigned APK with Gradle

4 Answers4

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