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Exporting for Android

See also

This page describes how to export a Redot project to Android. If you're looking to compile export template binaries from source instead, read Compiling for Android.

Exporting for Android has fewer requirements than compiling Redot for Android. The following steps detail what is needed to set up the Android SDK and the engine.

Attention

Projects written in C# can be exported to Android as of Redot 4.2, but support is experimental and some limitations apply.

Install OpenJDK 17

Download and install OpenJDK 17.

Download the Android SDK

Download and install the Android SDK.

  • You can install the Android SDK using Android Studio Iguana (version 2023.2.1) or later.

    • Run it once to complete the SDK setup using these instructions.

    • Ensure that the required packages are installed as well.

      • Android SDK Platform-Tools version 34.0.0 or later

      • Android SDK Build-Tools version 34.0.0

      • Android SDK Platform 34

      • Android SDK Command-line Tools (latest)

    • Ensure that the NDK and CMake are installed and configured.

      • CMake version 3.10.2.4988404

      • NDK version r23c (23.2.8568313)

  • Alternatively, you can install the Android SDK with the sdkmanager command line tool.

    • Install the command line tools package using these instructions.

    • Once the command line tools are installed, run the following sdkmanager command to complete the setup process:

sdkmanager --sdk_root=<android_sdk_path> "platform-tools" "build-tools;34.0.0" "platforms;android-34" "cmdline-tools;latest" "cmake;3.10.2.4988404" "ndk;23.2.8568313"

Note

If you are using Linux, do not use an Android SDK provided by your distribution's repositories as it will often be outdated.

Setting it up in Redot

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

../../_images/editorsettings.png

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

../../_images/android_editor_settings.webp

In that screen, 2 paths need to be set:

  • Java SDK Path should be the location where OpenJDK 17 was installed.

  • Android Sdk Path should be the location where the Android SDK was installed. - For example %LOCALAPPDATA%\Android\Sdk\ on Windows or /Users/$USER/Library/Android/sdk/ on macOS.

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

Note

If you get an error saying "Could not install to device.", make sure you do not have an application with the same Android package name already installed on the device (but signed with a different key).

If you have an application with the same Android package name but a different signing key already installed on the device, you must remove the application in question from the Android device before exporting to Android again.

Providing launcher icons

Launcher icons are used by Android launcher apps to represent your application to users. Redot only requires high-resolution icons (for xxxhdpi density screens) and will automatically generate lower-resolution variants.

There are two types of icons required by Redot:

  • Main Icon: The "classic" icon. This will be used on all Android versions up to Android 8 (Oreo), exclusive. Must be at least 192×192 px.

  • Adaptive Icons: Starting from Android 8 (inclusive), Adaptive Icons were introduced. Applications will need to include separate background and foreground icons to have a native look. The user's launcher application will control the icon's animation and masking. Must be at least 432×432 px.

  • Themed Icons: Starting from Android 13 (inclusive), Themed Icons were introduced. Applications will need to include a monochrome icon to enable this feature. The user's launcher application will control the icon's theme. Must be at least 432×432 px.

Caution

It is mandatory to provide a monochrome icon. Failure to do so will result in the default Redot monochrome icon being used.

See also

It's important to adhere to some rules when designing adaptive icons. Google Design has provided a nice article that helps to understand those rules and some of the capabilities of adaptive icons.

Caution

The most important adaptive icon design rule is to have your icon critical elements inside the safe zone: a centered circle with a diameter of 66dp (264 pixels on xxxhdpi) to avoid being clipped by the launcher.

If you don't provide some of the requested icons, Redot will replace them using a fallback chain, trying the next in line when the current one fails:

  • Main Icon: Provided main icon -> Project icon -> Default Redot main icon.

  • Adaptive Icon Foreground: Provided foreground icon -> Provided main icon -> Project icon -> Default Redot foreground icon.

  • Adaptive Icon Background: Provided background icon -> Default Redot background icon.

  • Adaptive Icon Monochrome: Provided monochrome icon -> Default Redot monochrome icon.

It's highly recommended to provide all the requested icons with their specified resolutions. This way, your application will look great on all Android devices and versions.

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:

keytool -v -genkey -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! It is suggested to use only upper and lowercase letters and numbers. Special characters may cause errors. 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.

Don't forget to uncheck the Export With Debug checkbox while exporting.

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

Optimizing the APK size

By default, the APK will contain native libraries for both ARMv7 and ARMv8 architectures. This increases its size significantly. To create a smaller APK, uncheck either Armeabi-v 7a or Arm 64 -v 8a in your project's Android export preset. This will create an APK that only contains a library for a single architecture. Note that applications targeting ARMv7 can also run on ARMv8 devices, but the opposite is not true.

Since August 2019, Google Play requires all applications to be available in 64-bit form. This means you cannot upload an APK that contains just an ARMv7 library. To solve this, you can upload several APKs to Google Play using its Multiple APK support. Each APK should target a single architecture; creating an APK for ARMv7 and ARMv8 is usually sufficient to cover most devices in use today.

You can optimize the size further by compiling an Android export template with only the features you need. See Optimizing a build for size for more information.

Environment variables

You can use the following environment variables to set export options outside of the editor. During the export process, these override the values that you set in the export menu.

Android export environment variables

Export option

Environment variable

Encryption / Encryption Key

GODOT_SCRIPT_ENCRYPTION_KEY

Options / Keystore / Debug

GODOT_ANDROID_KEYSTORE_DEBUG_PATH

Options / Keystore / Debug User

GODOT_ANDROID_KEYSTORE_DEBUG_USER

Options / Keystore / Debug Password

GODOT_ANDROID_KEYSTORE_DEBUG_PASSWORD

Options / Keystore / Release

GODOT_ANDROID_KEYSTORE_RELEASE_PATH

Options / Keystore / Release User

GODOT_ANDROID_KEYSTORE_RELEASE_USER

Options / Keystore / Release Password

GODOT_ANDROID_KEYSTORE_RELEASE_PASSWORD