Android Setup

Prerequisites

• Google Play Developer account ($25 one-time fee)
• Android Studio or VS Code with React Native setup
• minSdkVersion 24 or higher
• React Native 0.70+

Step 1: Create Your App in Google Play Console

1. Go to Google Play Console

   Visit play.google.com/console and sign in

2. Create a new app

   Click "Create app" and fill in the required details

3. Set up your app

   Complete the app content questionnaire and store listing

Step 2: Create In-App Products

For Subscriptions:

1. Navigate to Subscriptions

   Go to "Monetize" → "Products" → "Subscriptions"

2. Create a subscription

   Click "Create subscription" and enter a Product ID

3. Add base plans

   Configure pricing, billing period, and grace period for each plan

4. Add offers (optional)

   Create free trials, introductory pricing, or upgrade/downgrade offers

For One-Time Products:

1. Navigate to In-app products

   Go to "Monetize" → "Products" → "In-app products"

2. Create the product

   Enter Product ID, name, description, and price

Step 3: Set Up Real-time Developer Notifications (RTDN)

Google Play sends real-time notifications about subscription events via Cloud Pub/Sub.

Create a Pub/Sub Topic

1. Go to Google Cloud Console

   Visit console.cloud.google.com

2. Enable Pub/Sub API

   Search for "Pub/Sub" and enable the API

3. Create a topic

   Name it something like "play-billing-notifications"

4. Create a push subscription

   Endpoint URL:

   https://api.croissantlabs.com/api/webhooks/google

Configure in Play Console

1. Go to Monetization setup

   In Play Console, navigate to "Monetization setup"

2. Enter your topic name

   Format: projects/YOUR_PROJECT_ID/topics/YOUR_TOPIC_NAME

3. Grant publisher permission

   Add google-play-developer-notifications@system.gserviceaccount.com as a publisher to your topic

Step 4: Create a Service Account

A service account allows CroissantPay to verify purchases with Google Play.

1. Go to Google Cloud Console

   Navigate to IAM & Admin → Service Accounts

2. Create a service account

   Name it something like "croissantpay-billing"

3. Create and download a key

   Select JSON format and save the file securely

4. Link to Play Console

   In Play Console, go to "Users & permissions" → "Invite new users"

5. Grant permissions

   Add the service account email with "View financial data" and "Manage orders" permissions

Step 5: Configure Your Android Project

Add Billing Permission

In your AndroidManifest.xml, add the billing permission:

<manifest ...>
    <uses-permission android:name="com.android.vending.BILLING" />
    ...
</manifest>

Verify Gradle Configuration

Ensure your build.gradle has the correct minSdkVersion:

android {
    defaultConfig {
        minSdkVersion 24  // Required for Billing Library v6
        ...
    }
}

Testing In-App Purchases

License Testing

1. Add license testers

   In Play Console, go to "Setup" → "License testing"

2. Add test account emails

   These accounts can make test purchases without being charged

3. Set license response

   Choose "RESPOND_NORMALLY" for realistic testing

Internal Testing Track

1. Upload an AAB to internal testing

   Go to "Testing" → "Internal testing" → "Create new release"

2. Add testers

   Create an email list and add your test accounts

3. Share the opt-in link

   Testers must opt-in before they can download the test version

Common Issues

Next Steps