Biz Up Starts Tools

Power shell tips

Set-Content in PowerShell is not for changing directories. It’s for writing text into a file.

What you want is Set-Location (alias: cd):

# Correct way to change directory (handles spaces in paths)
Set-Location "C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer"

# Or simply
cd "C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer"

Quick distinction:

  • Set-Location / cd → move into a folder.
  • Get-Content → read file contents.
  • Set-Content → overwrite file with new content.
  • Add-Content → append to a file.

✅ In your case, just replace Set-Content with Set-Location (or cd) and wrap the path in quotes since your username has spaces.

Do you want me to update your CLI cheatsheet doc so that “change directory” examples always use the quoted path style (cd "C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\...")? That would prevent this error in the future.

keystore ;ath troubleshooting

got everything working. I am at the generate signed APP bundle or apk, but I forgot my keystore path, i created it somewhere in this thread , do you remember it gives option to create new or use exiting , not sure

ChatGPT said:

Stopped searching knowledge

Good timing—you don’t have to start over 👍

From earlier in your project setup, you already generated a keystore named:

release.keystore

and we placed it here:

C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer\android\app\release.keystore

That’s the path Android Studio is asking for.

What to do in Android Studio (Generate Signed Bundle/APK dialog):

  1. Choose “Use existing” (not “Create new”), because you’ve already generated one.
  2. Key store path:
    Browse to → C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer\android\app\release.keystore
  3. Enter the credentials you set when you ran keytool:
    • Key store password → the store password you entered
    • Key alias → ashley_upload
    • Key password → the key password you entered (can be the same as store pw if you reused it)
  4. Tick remember passwords (optional, but helpful).
  5. Continue to pick .aab (for Play Store) or .apk (for testing).

✅ If Android Studio can’t find the file there, search your project folder for release.keystore:

Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter release.keystore "C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer"

That’ll show its exact location.

Do you remember if you put the passwords into gradle.properties (so Gradle builds automatically), or will you be typing them manually in Studio’s wizard?

You said:

when hit existing it had this : C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Android Studio\Android Studio.lnk does that look right ?

ChatGPT said:

Nope 🚫 — that’s not your keystore.
That path is just a Windows shortcut to Android Studio itself:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Android Studio\Android Studio.lnk

A keystore is always a .jks or .keystore file (like release.keystore).
When we made yours earlier, the file name was:

release.keystore

and you were supposed to move it into your Android app folder:

C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer\android\app\release.keystore

What to do:

  1. In Android Studio → Key store path, don’t let it autofill with .lnk.
    Instead, click … (Browse) and navigate manually to: C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer\android\app\ Then select release.keystore.
  2. If you’re not sure it’s there, run this in PowerShell to locate it: Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter release.keystore "C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer" That will tell you the exact folder where it ended up.

👉 If you can’t find release.keystore at all, let me know—we’ll just regenerate it with the same alias (ashley_upload) so you can continue.

Do you want me to give you the exact PowerShell command to recreate it quickly in the right folder in case it’s missing?

You said:

yes exact powershell

ChatGPT said:

Got it ✅ — here’s the exact PowerShell command to regenerate your release.keystore with the same alias (ashley_upload) and save it directly in your Android app folder:

& "C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio\jbr\bin\keytool.exe" -genkeypair -v `
  -keystore "C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer\android\app\release.keystore" `
  -storetype PKCS12 `
  -alias ashley_upload `
  -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

What happens when you run this

  • It will prompt you for:
    • Keystore password (you choose — save this!)
    • Key password (can be the same as keystore)
    • Your name, org, city, etc. (you can put placeholders if you want)
  • The file release.keystore will be created in:
C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer\android\app\

After generating

  1. Open Android Studio → Build → Generate Signed Bundle / APK.
  2. Browse to that path and select release.keystore.
  3. Enter the alias = ashley_upload.
  4. Enter the passwords you just set.

⚠️ Important: Write down your keystore path, alias, and passwords somewhere safe — if you lose them, you can’t update your Play Store app later.

Do you want me to also show you how to store those passwords in your gradle.properties file so you don’t have to type them every build?

You said:

it created , but where is this file or bundle at

ChatGPT said:

Perfect 👌 — if you successfully ran that keytool command, you only created the keystore file (the key used to sign your app). That file should now be sitting at:

C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer\android\app\release.keystore

Next step: actually generate the app bundle (.aab) or APK

The keystore itself is not the bundle. You now need to sign and build your app using Gradle or Android Studio.

Option 1 – Android Studio GUI

  1. In Android Studio, go to: Build → Generate Signed Bundle / APK
  2. Choose Android App Bundle (.aab) (Play Store requires this).
  3. Select Existing Keystore and point it to: C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer\android\app\release.keystore
  4. Enter:
    • Alias: ashley_upload
    • Passwords: the ones you set earlier
  5. Choose release build.
  6. Finish → Android Studio will compile.

The output will land here:

C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer\android\app\build\outputs\bundle\release\app-release.aab

Option 2 – PowerShell (from android/ folder)

cd "C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer\android"
.\gradlew bundleRelease

That will produce the .aab in the same folder:

android\app\build\outputs\bundle\release\app-release.aab

If you want an APK (for quick sideload testing):

.\gradlew assembleRelease

→ Output:

android\app\build\outputs\apk\release\app-release.apk

🔑 So:

  • release.keystore = the signing key file you just made.
  • app-release.aab = the signed bundle you upload to Google Play.

👉 Do you want me to give you a one-liner PowerShell command that builds the signed .aab right now, so you don’t have to click around in Android Studio?

You said:

so i see the .aab file, now I want to do a apk for deployment on device with out google play . I want to be able to download from my web onto my phone and open and install that way , I want to do that before i go to google play console

ChatGPT said:

Thought for 15s

Totally doable — you can sideload an APK to your phone from your website before touching Play Console.

1) Build a signed release APK (CLI)

From your android folder:

cd "C:\Users\Heru Da Guru\projects\ashleytimer\android"
.\gradlew assembleRelease

Output (if your signingConfig is wired as we set earlier):

android\app\build\outputs\apk\release\app-release.apk

Not sure if it’s signed?

Verify it:

# adjust build-tools version if needed
& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Android\Sdk\build-tools\34.0.0\apksigner.bat" verify --print-certs `
  ".\app\build\outputs\apk\release\app-release.apk"
  • If you see your cert/alias, it’s signed ✅
  • If it says “DOES NOT VERIFY”, your signingConfigs.release isn’t applied. Add:
android {
  signingConfigs {
    release {
      storeFile file(MYAPP_UPLOAD_STORE_FILE)
      storePassword MYAPP_UPLOAD_STORE_PASSWORD
      keyAlias MYAPP_UPLOAD_KEY_ALIAS
      keyPassword MYAPP_UPLOAD_KEY_PASSWORD
      v1SigningEnabled true
      v2SigningEnabled true
    }
  }
  buildTypes {
    release {
      signingConfig signingConfigs.release
      // (you can leave minify off for now)
    }
  }
}

Then re-run assembleRelease.

Old-school manual path (only if you needed it): zipalign then apksigner sign …. Gradle already handles this when the signingConfig is set, so you shouldn’t need it.

2) Host the APK on your website

  1. Upload the file to your site, e.g.: https://studio1live.com/ashleytimer2/app-release-v100.apk
  2. Ensure your server sends the MIME type: application/vnd.android.package-archive (Most hosts let you add this via .htaccess or host control panel.)
  3. On your Android phone:
    • Visit the URL.
    • Tap Download → then tap the file in the Downloads prompt.
    • If prompted: allow your browser (Chrome/Edge/etc.) to install Unknown apps (Settings → Security → Install unknown apps → enable for that browser).

Optional niceties

  • Add a QR code on your page that points to the APK URL for quick install.
  • Add a small note: “If you get ‘blocked by Play Protect’, tap More details → Install anyway (developer test build).”
  • Version your file name with versionCode (e.g., app-release-v101.apk) so caching doesn’t bite you.

3) Quick sanity checklist

  • ✅ Plays audio and shows 3D on device in release build.
  • ✅ versionCode bumped for each new APK.
  • ✅ APK signed (apksigner verify passes).
  • ✅ Hosted over HTTPS with correct MIME type.

If you want, paste the output of apksigner verify and I’ll confirm the signature looks good.

You said:

where is the output for the apk release

ChatGPT said:

Stopped searching knowledge

Perfect timing — you’ve already got the signed AAB.
For a sideloadable APK (so you can just download and install from your own site, without Play Console):

Where the APK lands

When you build the release variant, Gradle drops it here:

android/app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk

For debug builds:

android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

How to generate it

From your android/ folder in PowerShell:

# Clean old builds
.\gradlew clean

# Build a signed release APK
.\gradlew assembleRelease
  • If you already wired your signingConfigs in app/build.gradle (like you did for AAB), this app-release.apk will be signed and ready.
  • If not, you’ll get an unsigned APK, which you’d need to sign manually with your keystore + apksigner.

Quick sideloading

  1. Find app-release.apk in that folder.
  2. Copy it into your web server (e.g., studio1live.com/ashleytimer2/app-release.apk).
  3. On your Android device, open the URL in Chrome.
  4. It will download → tap → install.
    (You may need to enable Install from unknown sources in system settings).

👉 Next step:
Do you want me to give you the exact apksigner command to self-sign an unsigned APK, just in case your Gradle release didn’t pick up the keystore?

You said:

i see it . why does it show as a wave pade sound file its name : app-release-unsigned , is this normal

ChatGPT said:

Good eye 👍 — what you’re seeing is normal, here’s why:

  • app-release-unsigned.apk is the raw APK Gradle spits out before signing.
  • Windows often doesn’t recognize .apk properly and may show it with a weird icon (sometimes a “sound” or “archive” icon, depending on your default apps). That’s just Windows file association, nothing to worry about.

But the key detail:
⚠️ Unsigned APKs cannot be installed on real devices (Android rejects them).
You need a signed APK.

Two options for you:

  1. Gradle auto-signs if you configured signingConfigs in app/build.gradle.
    • That would produce app-release.apk (signed).
    • If you only see app-release-unsigned.apk, it means Gradle didn’t pick up your keystore config.
  2. Sign manually with apksigner:

From PowerShell in your android/ folder:

# Path to your keystore and unsigned apk
& "C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio\jbr\bin\apksigner.bat" sign `
  --ks app/release.keystore `
  --ks-key-alias ashley_upload `
  --ks-pass pass:YOUR_STORE_PASSWORD `
  --key-pass pass:YOUR_KEY_PASSWORD `
  --out app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release-signed.apk `
  app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release-unsigned.apk

Then install the app-release-signed.apk on your phone. ✅