At this point I am ready to release my Android application written via ReactNative. Not because it really hits any major product objectives points than it did. More along the lines of easier release cycles to the two other people who use it. First step is updating the artifact IDs to match what will be deployed in the Google Play Store.

According to StackOverflow

According to StackOverflow this looks like it might just be a slog through some files. Let us see how well it goes.

Renaming Packages

A number of Android artifacts are generated and overlayed into the class path. You will get multiple symbol errors if you do not rename the packages. I chose to rename them via Android Studio since it has a better understanding of Java and Android than WebStorm. Although it took a significant period of time to load the project the first time.

android/app/build.gradle

The android/defaultconfig block has allows you to set the default applicationId as one would in with any Android application. By default, ReactNative uses applicationId to locate bundle resources. However, the technique I am using for duel deployment requires telling ReactNative the default build type applicationId under android/buildTypes/debug/resValue with the key build_config_package.

android/app/_BUCK

The StackOverflow Post refers to a BUCK however that file did not exist. _BUCK seems to have similar keys for android_build_config/package and android_resource/package to the new package name.

android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml

Node /manifest[@package] should be updated to your applicationId.

Results

Run ./gradlew clean. Afterwards, running yarn android dev --variant=Debug --appIdSuffix=debug resulted in a working application…the second time :-D.

Problems and potential solutions
  • Old applciationId is being launched via yarn android dev: Check your manifest file. ReactNative extracts the applicationId from this file.
  • Java compiler produces a number of cannot find symbol errors related to BuildConfig: Ensure you renamed your java packages to match your applicationId.
  • react-native-screens was throwing a bunch of warning messages seemingly related to changes in Kotlin. Cheating after pursing yarn outdated by running yarn upgrade…which fixed that issue but not others :-).

Branding Clean Up

App now works under the new branding from the technical side. Last set of steps is to make it feel like the new name.

Application Name: android/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml

The node /resources/string[@name='app_name'] should be updated to the new human visible name. For other build types and variants you should update those as well.