Build and Sign an APK

The Solana dApp Store accepts signed APK files. This guide covers how to build and sign an APK for your project, regardless of framework.

Create a signing key

Every app needs its own signing key. For a full understanding of how Android app signing works, see the official Android documentation. Generate a keystore for your app:

keytool -genkey -v -keystore my-app-name.keystore \
  -alias my-app-name \
  -keyalg RSA \
  -keysize 2048 \
  -validity 10000

Replace my-app-name with your app’s name. Store the keystore file and passwords securely — losing them means you cannot update your app. All future updates must be signed with the same key.

If your app is also published on Google Play, you must use a separate signing key for the dApp Store. You cannot reuse the same key for both stores.

Publishing multiple apps?

Each app should have its own signing key. You can keep things organized by storing multiple key aliases in a single keystore file:

# First app
keytool -genkey -v -keystore publisher.keystore -alias my-first-app -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

# Second app
keytool -genkey -v -keystore publisher.keystore -alias my-second-app -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

Then reference the appropriate -alias when signing each app.

Expo
Native Android
Web App

By default, EAS builds an Android App Bundle (.aab). The dApp Store requires an APK instead.For signing, EAS can automatically generate and manage a keystore for you on your first build. Alternatively, you can provide your own keystore created with the instructions above.

1. Configure EAS for APK builds

Add a dapp-store build profile to your eas.json:

eas.json

{
  "build": {
    "dapp-store": {
      "android": {
        "buildType": "apk"
      }
    }
  }
}

2. Build the APK

EAS Cloud
Local Build

eas build --platform android --profile dapp-store

The build runs on EAS servers. Once finished, download the APK from the link provided.

eas build --platform android --profile dapp-store --local

The build runs on your machine. Requires the Android SDK and NDK installed locally. The APK is output to the project directory.

On your first build, EAS will prompt you to either generate a new keystore automatically or provide an existing one.

Verify the APK

Confirm your APK is properly signed:

apksigner verify --print-certs app-release.apk

1. Configure signing in build.gradle

Add a signing config in your app/build.gradle:

app/build.gradle

android {
    signingConfigs {
        dappStore {
            storeFile file("keystores/my-app-name.keystore")
            storePassword "your_keystore_password"
            keyAlias "my-app-name"
            keyPassword "your_key_password"
        }
    }

    buildTypes {
        release {
            signingConfig signingConfigs.dappStore
        }
    }
}

2. Build the APK

./gradlew assembleRelease

Or in Android Studio: Build > Build APK(s).Your signed APK will be at app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk.

3. Verify the APK

Confirm your APK is properly signed:

apksigner verify --print-certs app-release.apk

Any web app or website can be published on the dApp Store by wrapping it in an Android WebView shell. The solana-mobile webshell command generates that Android project for you and builds a signed release APK from it.

The generated app is a WebView shell, not a Trusted Web Activity (TWA), so it needs no Digital Asset Links setup. Browsers are rolling out Local Network Access restrictions that break Mobile Wallet Adapter connections for web apps, including TWA-based wrappers such as Bubblewrap APKs. The shell handles wallet intents natively, so those flows keep working.

Prerequisites

Your web app is reachable at a public URL.
A JDK 17 or newer and the Android SDK are installed. Run solana-mobile doctor to check.
If your web app uses Mobile Wallet Adapter, it is on @solana-mobile/wallet-standard-mobile v0.5.1 or later, which detects the shell and skips the browser permission flow. See Local Network Access.

Template: Web Manifest

A web manifest is optional, but when one is available the CLI seeds the app name, icons, and start URL from it. At minimum, a manifest file includes the app’s name, icons, and start URL:

manifest.json

{
  "name": "APP_NAME",
  "short_name": "APP_NAME",
  "scope": "/",
  "start_url": "/",
  "icons": [
    {
      "src": "/android-chrome-192x192.png",
      "sizes": "192x192",
      "type": "image/png"
    },
    {
      "src": "/android-chrome-512x512.png",
      "sizes": "512x512",
      "type": "image/png"
    }
  ],
  "theme_color": "#ffffff",
  "background_color": "#ffffff",
  "display": "standalone"
}

For more information, view the web manifest documentation.

1. Generate the Android project

Point init at your site URL:

npx solana-mobile@latest webshell init my-app --url https://your-app.com

If your site has a web manifest, point at that instead and the CLI fills in the app name, icons, and start URL for you:

npx solana-mobile@latest webshell init my-app --manifest https://your-app.com/manifest.json

Either form prompts for whatever is still missing: application id, app name, version code and name, and the signing keystore. See webshell init for the full list of flags.

Already using Bubblewrap? Pass its twa-manifest.json to --manifest and the CLI carries over the application id, versions, and signing key, so your existing app updates keep working.

Pass --keystore-path to sign with the key you created above. When that path does not exist yet, init creates a keystore there instead. Keep the keystore file and its passwords secure — losing them means you cannot update your app.

2. Build the APK

npx solana-mobile@latest webshell build my-app

The build prompts for the keystore password. Set SOLANA_MOBILE_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD (and SOLANA_MOBILE_KEY_PASSWORD, if the key uses a different password) to skip the prompts in CI:

export SOLANA_MOBILE_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD='<keystore-password>'
export SOLANA_MOBILE_KEY_PASSWORD='<key-password>'
npx solana-mobile@latest webshell build my-app

The signed APK lands at my-app/app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk.

3. Verify the APK

Confirm your APK is properly signed:

apksigner verify --print-certs my-app/app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk

4. Test the APK

Install it on a connected device or emulator and check that your wallet flows work inside the shell:

npx solana-mobile@latest device install my-app/app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk

Updating your app

Every dApp Store update needs a higher versionCode. Bump SOLANA_MOBILE_VERSION_CODE and SOLANA_MOBILE_VERSION_NAME in the generated project’s gradle.properties, then build again:

npx solana-mobile@latest webshell build my-app

Because the shell loads your live site, changes you ship to the web app itself reach users without a new APK.

Next steps

With your signed APK ready, follow the dApp Store publishing process:

Submit your app

Follow the step-by-step guide to submit your APK to the Solana dApp Store.

Overview

Publishing

Terms and Agreements

Support

Create a signing key

1. Configure EAS for APK builds

2. Build the APK

Verify the APK

1. Configure signing in build.gradle

2. Build the APK

3. Verify the APK

Prerequisites

1. Generate the Android project

2. Build the APK

3. Verify the APK

4. Test the APK

Updating your app

Next steps

Submit your app

​Create a signing key

​1. Configure EAS for APK builds

​2. Build the APK

​Verify the APK

​1. Configure signing in build.gradle

​2. Build the APK

​3. Verify the APK

​Prerequisites

​1. Generate the Android project

​2. Build the APK

​3. Verify the APK

​4. Test the APK

​Updating your app

​Next steps

Submit your app

Create a signing key

1. Configure EAS for APK builds

2. Build the APK

Verify the APK

1. Configure signing in build.gradle

2. Build the APK

3. Verify the APK

Prerequisites

1. Generate the Android project

2. Build the APK

3. Verify the APK

4. Test the APK

Updating your app

Next steps