Android Studio: how to create a second debug build type

Question

I want to create a second build type that should work exactly as the already existing debug type. Currently I have two build types: debug and release. The debug one can be run with a single click, and is automatically signed with the debug keystore. I manually compile the release build through the Build -> Generate signed APK wizard.

So to clone the debug build type, I first added a second build type named "local" to the app build.graddle file:

buildTypes {     ...     debug {         debuggable true         minifyEnabled false     }     local {         debuggable true         minifyEnabled false     } } 

Then I created app/src/local/res and added some files.

Then I do a gradle resync and select the new build type in the left tab:

Finally I click the run button and I expected it to just work. This IntelliJ help article says the debug signing config is the default:

This means that if you do not configure an artifact manually and select the Deploy default APK option in the Run/Debug Configuration: Android Application dialog box, IntelliJ IDEA will use the predefined values in the certificate for the generated

Instead, this dialog is shown:

When I click the fix button, it opens the signing config dialog for the whole app module. However, I don't want to sign this apk for release, I need it signed with the debug cert. Also I noticed that a new assembleLocal gradle task has been created, but it generates an unaligned apk. In this folder I can see the regular debug apks are generated correctly in their unaligned and final versions.

How on Earth can I just clone the debug build type?

Answer 1

Also, you can make your Build type similar to debug using:

initWith(buildTypes.debug) 

Here is an example:

... buildTypes {      release {         minifyEnabled true         proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'         buildConfigField 'String', 'URL_API_BASE_SERVICE', '"http://theidasworld.com"'     }     debug {         versionName 'APP BETA'         buildConfigField "Integer", "PIN", "0000"           buildConfigField 'String', 'URL_API_BASE_SERVICE', '"http://debug.theidasworld.com"'     }     inspection {         initWith(buildTypes.debug) // keep versionName and PIN from 'debug'         buildConfigField 'String', 'URL_API_BASE_SERVICE', '"http://inspection.theidasworld.com"'     } } ... 

Answer 2

You can specify in the build.gradle file which signingConfig should be used with the buildType.

To sign using the same signingConfig as the default debug buildType, use the following:

buildTypes {     local {         signingConfig signingConfigs.debug     }      /* NOTE: the debug block is not required because it is a default      * buildType configuration; all of its settings are defined implicitly      * by Android Studio behind the scenes.      */ } 

If you would prefer to use a custom keystore located on your local system, use the following instead:

signingConfigs {     local {         storeFile file("/path/to/custom.keystore")         storePassword "password"         keyAlias "MyLocalKey"         keyPassword "password"     } }  buildTypes {     local {         signingConfig signingConfigs.local     } }