Exporting for Android

Exporting for Android has fewer requirements than compiling Godot for it. The following steps detail what is needed to setup the SDK and the engine.

Download the Android SDK

Download and install the Android SDK from https://developer.android.com/studio/

Install OpenJDK or Oracle JDK

Download and install OpenJDK or Oracle JDK. Versions below JDK 8 may not work; some users have reported issues with the jarsigner (used to sign the APKs) in JDK 7.

Create a debug.keystore

Android needs a debug keystore file to install to devices and distribute non-release APKs. If you have used the SDK before and have built projects, ant or eclipse probably generated one for you (on Linux and macOS, you can find it in the ~/.android directory).

If you can’t find it or need to generate one, the keytool command from the JDK can be used for this purpose:

  1. keytool -keyalg RSA -genkeypair -alias androiddebugkey -keypass android -keystore debug.keystore -storepass android -dname "CN=Android Debug,O=Android,C=US" -validity 9999

Make sure you have adb

Android Debug Bridge (adb) is the command line tool used to communicate with Android devices. It’s installed with the SDK, but you may need to install one (any) of the Android API levels for it to be installed in the SDK directory.

Setting it up in Godot

Enter the Editor Settings screen. This screen contains the editor settings for the user account in the computer (it’s independent from the project).

../../../_images/editorsettings.png

Scroll down to the section where the Android settings are located:

../../../_images/androidsdk.png

In that screen, the path to 3 files needs to be set:

  • The adb executable (adb.exe on Windows)
  • The jarsigner executable (from JDK 6 or 8)
  • The debug keystore

Once that is configured, everything is ready to export to Android!

Exporting for Google Play Store

Uploading an APK to Google’s Play Store requires you to sign using a non-debug keystore file; such file can be generated like this:

  1. keytool -v -genkey -v -keystore mygame.keystore -alias mygame -keyalg RSA -validity 10000

This keystore and key are used to verify your developer identity, remember the password and keep it in a safe place! Use Google’s Android Developer guides to learn more about APK signing.

Now fill in the following forms in your Android Export Presets:

../../../_images/editor-export-presets-android.png

  • Release: Enter the path to the keystore file you just generated.
  • Release User: Replace with the key alias.
  • Release Password: Key password. Note that the keystore password and the key password currently have to be the same.

Now your export_presets.cfg file contains sensitive info; if using a Version Control System, it is a good idea to remove it from public repositories.

Don’t forget to disable the Export With Debug button while choosing the APK’s name.

../../../_images/export-with-debug-button.png