Harmony OS: How to release an app?
Hello everyone, once again it is a pleasure to be writing for you all. In this article, I will be shortly explaining how to release a Harmony OS app using App Gallery Connect Console. Without further ado, let’s get started!
Introduction
As mentioned above, in this article we aim to clearly explain the release process of a Harmony OS app, using App Gallery Connect Console, in an attempt to make this process as easy as possible for new beginners or interested developers. This article comes as a successor of my first article Harmony OS: Prepare your Lite Wearable project for integration and my second article containing the development of a small sample application in Harmony using certain sensors, Harmony OS: Using geolocation results to send messages from watch to phone.
Release Process
The release process of a Harmony app is very easy and can be followed by some steps explained in the following lines.
Step 1: Finish developing and testing your application in DevEco Studio IDE.
The very first step, would be making sure you have a properly functioning application, with unproblematic use cases. Worth remembering is the fact that after the application is submitted for release, it goes through a testing phase by Huawei’s testing team, therefore any dysfunctional use case or feature might lead to rejection of the app.
Step 2: Build .app file of the project.
What we use to test our project in the watch is a debug .hap file, however when we want to submit the application, rather than the .hap file we need to submit the .app file. Hence, we need to open the DevEco Studio IDE, go to Build in the upper bar, select Build Hap(s) / App(s) and click Build App(s).
When this process is finished, and the build is successful, you will see the creation of a release folder inside both entry>build folder as well as project>build folder as shown in image 2.
With the creation of these files, we will have also achieved the finalization of step 2. Now, let’s move on to step 3.
Step 3: Open App Gallery Connect Console and find your Harmony OS app.
Our next step would be to open our App Galley Connect Console, and go to My Apps section. If we have created a Harmony OS app in the console, we will be able to see a section dedicated for Harmony OS apps specifically, as shown in image 3. In case this section doesn’t appear, you should make sure that you have created a Harmony OS app, which can learn how to do by following this link.
When you select the aforementioned section, you will be able to see the Harmony apps you have created and a release / update button on the side of each one under Operation column, displayed better in image 4. You find the app you want to release and press release.
With this being done, we will have concluded Step 3 and will be moving on to Step 4.
Step 4: Configure app information
In this step, we will begin the actual release process. This process consists of 3 steps, including App Information, Version Information, Submission Status. In this step we will be performing the most important of these steps as well as the longest one, configuring app information. In the App Information section we will face some points we need to fill, which will be shortly explained below:
- Country / Region for release: In this section you select all the countries, regions where you want your app to be available in. Keep in mind that you should make sure your app complies with the rules, laws and restrictions related to each region you are making your app available to. For example, if you choose to submit the app for the Chinese mainland, it should comply with the laws of that mainland / region, same goes for US, Europe etc.
- App Version: In this section you will need to upload the .app file of the project, created in Step 2. The file is located in project > build> output>app>release>appname-release-signed.app. You cannot upload a .hap file as the console will not accept any file with that extension. Additionally, you should make sure you are uploading the signed app, instead of the unsigned one. Also, please turn off any VPN’s / Proxies when trying to upload. This step is shown better in image 5 and 6.
Please bear in mind that the version and version code are changed in the config.json file of your project, in case you need to update your app you can simply change them to generate a newer version.
3. Payment Information: Determines whether the app will be offered to the users for free, or will be a paid one.
4. In-app Purchases: In this section we determine which items we have used in the app, will be using in-app purchases services e.g. membership, activation fee, game level unlocking etc.
5. Content Rating: In this section, we select a content rating, or else an age that we will be using as a lower limit. Content will be available for all ages above that limit.
6. Privacy Statement: In this section, we have to insert a privacy policy URL. These URLs should be relevant to the privacy statement we have, as well as comply with the privacy requirements defined for the users.
7. Privacy Tags: These are tags that can be included in order to display to the user how their personal data will be used in detail, and they serve the transparency purpose of the app.
8. Copyright Information: In this section we have to upload proof of copyright, in .jpg, .png or .bmp format.
9. For Reviewer: In case your app includes sign in, you can provide a sign in account for the reviewer, as well as the remarks you might want to add.
10. Release Time: In this final section, you can choose whether you want your app to be released as soon as it is approved, or at a specific time of your choice.
Step 5: Version Information Selection
After we have completed the App Information configuration, we click Save in the upper right corner of the page and redirect to the second page, the version information page. In this step, you will select the version of the app to be released. As mentioned previously, the version is generated automatically, based on the version number and version code you include in the config.json file of your project. You can view this step in image 7.
Additionally, in this section you can see the general app information including:
- Basic Information: a section containing the basic information of the app such as time of creation, package name and type, APP ID and devices supported.
- Localization: In this section, we add our app’s name, language, brief and full introduction as well as app icon and some pictures displaying app’s UI.
- Categorization: We select a category our app falls into.
- Contact Information: This section includes our contact information in order to allow users to reach us or third party analysts provide user feedback.
Step 6: Submit your app
After we have made sure all the information explained above is correct and conforms the rules, we can now click Submit in the upper right corner of the page. After submitting the app for review, it will be reviewed within a short period of time by Huawei’s reviewing team. If your app is taking a long time to get reviewed, you can press the Send Review Reminder button in order to set a reminder to the reviewing team about your submission. Additionally, in case you notice you have done a small mistake in your submission, e.g. uploaded the wrong .app file, wrong language, pictures etc., you can cancel your review by pressing the Cancel Review button. If your app gets rejected for any reason during the review process, you will surely be notified through your email for the rejection as well as any possible reasons behind it. If the app, however, successfully passes the review process, you will have released a Harmony OS app in the App Gallery Connect platform. Congratulations!!!
Step 7: Check your app in the App Gallery Connect Platform
After having released a Harmony OS app in App Gallery Connect, you naturally might ask how your users can download this app in their watch devices. In order to explain this we have also compiled some small steps explained in the following lines.
- Install / Open the Huawei Health app in your phone: Every user with a wearable device, will of course have to download the Huawei Health app in their phones (Huawei or not), and then connect their Health app to their wearable device.
- Enter the device section of your Health app, then press App Gallery card: In the bottom navigation bar, you can see the device section, where you can see all the wearable devices connected to your app as well as some other sections, including App Gallery card, as shown in image 8.
When entering the App Gallery platform, we can see all the apps that are released for that specific watch type, as shown in image 9.
Notice: If your app does not appear in this part, but it is released, you might have released it for another type of watch.
In case you want to uninstall an app you have previously installed, in the Manager section, select Installation Manager and uninstall the app you no longer want to keep (image 10).
Tips & Tricks
- Be careful to create a signed .app file, and upload that one instead of an unsigned one. To generate signed file, you should create all certificates as shown in the first article of this series (link above).
- If Harmony OS apps does not show in the My Apps section of your console, make sure you have created a Harmony OS app. Again, you can learn how to do following the first article of this series.
- When uploading the .app file, make sure it is the correct one, it is inside the required parameters, and no VPNs or proxies are on.
- In case you want to update your app, make sure you change the version name and code in the config.json file of your project and witness it being updated automatically in the console as soon as you reupload the .app file.
- If after release, your app is not showing in the AppGallery platform in the Health app, make sure you are connecting the correct wearable device, it is possible the app your released, is not released for the watch you have connected to your Health app.
Conclusion
In this article, we went together through the process of releasing a Harmony OS app in AppGallery platform by using the AppGallery Connect Console. In a matter of 7 steps and with the aid of many auxiliary images, we have displayed in simple manner how you can release the app, and in which points you should show special care so as to achieve the best results. I hope you enjoyed the article my dear friends. Until next time, stay healthy and safe.
