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How to Release a New Version

This guide explains how to release a new version of the Year Dots app (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 1.5) using the existing GitHub Actions workflow.

1. Update Version in Code

Open app/build.gradle.kts and update the versionCode and versionName inside the defaultConfig block.

defaultConfig {
    // ...
    versionCode = 2       // Increment this by 1 for every new release
    versionName = "1.1"   // The visible version name (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 2.0)
    // ...
}
  • versionCode: An integer that must always increase (e.g., 1 -> 2).
  • versionName: A string representing the version (e.g., "1.1").

2. Update Changelog

Open CHANGELOG.md and add a new entry for the version you are releasing at the top of the history.

## [1.1] - YYYY-MM-DD

### Added
- New feature description...

### Fixed
- Bug fix description...

3. Commit and Push

Commit these changes to the repository.

git add app/build.gradle.kts CHANGELOG.md
git commit -m "Prepare release 1.1"
git push

4. Trigger the Release

You have two ways to trigger the release workflow on GitHub:

Option A: Using Git Tags (Recommended)

Simply create a tag starting with v matching your version name and push it.

git tag v1.1
git push origin v1.1

This will automatically:

  1. Trigger the Release Build workflow.
  2. Build the APK.
  3. Sign it (requires secrets configured).
  4. Create a GitHub Release with the APK attached.

Option B: Manual Trigger via GitHub UI

  1. Go to the Actions tab in your GitHub repository.
  2. Select Release Build from the left sidebar.
  3. Click Run workflow.
  4. Enter the version number (e.g., 1.1).
  5. Click Run workflow.

5. Download the Release

Once the workflow finishes (takes about 2-3 minutes), go to the Releases section on the main page of your GitHub repository. You will find the new release v1.1 with YearDots-1.1.apk ready for download.

Important Note on Signing

By default, the APK generated will be unsigned unless you have configured the following Repository Secrets in GitHub Settings -> Secrets and variables -> Actions:

  • KEYSTORE_BASE64: Your keystore file encoded in base64.
  • KEYSTORE_PASSWORD: The password for your keystore.
  • KEY_ALIAS: The alias of your signing key.
  • KEY_PASSWORD: The password for your specific key.

If these are not set, you can still install the debug APK or the unsigned release APK (requires bundle tool or signer), but for a proper release, signing is recommended.
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