versionCode vs versionName in Android Manifest

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android:versionCode

An internal version number. This number is used only to determine whether one version is more recent than another, with higher numbers indicating more recent versions. This is not the version number shown to users; that number is set by the versionName attribute. The value must be set as an integer, such as "100". You can define it however you want, as long as each successive version has a higher number. [...]

android:versionName

The version name shown to users. This attribute can be set as a raw string or as a reference to a string resource. The string has no other purpose than to be displayed to users. The versionCode attribute holds the significant version number used internally.

Reading that it's pretty clear that versionName is just something that's shown to the user, versionCode is what matters. Just keep increasing it and everything should be good.

Dont need to reverse your steps. As you increased your VersionCode, it means your application has upgraded already. The VersionName is just a string which is presented to user for user readability. Google play does not take any action depending on VersionName.

Version Code - It's a positive integer that's used for comparison with other version codes. It's not shown to the user, it's just for record-keeping in a way. You can set it to any integer you like but it's suggested that you linearly increment it for successive versions.

Version Name - This is the version string seen by the user. It isn't used for internal comparisons or anything, it's just for users to see.

For example: Say you release an app, its initial versionCode could be 1 and versionName could also be 1. Once you make some small changes to the app and want to publish an update, you would set versionName to "1.1" (since the changes aren't major) while logically your versionCode should be 2 (regardless of size of changes).

Say in another condition you release a completely revamped version of your app, you could set versionCode and versionName to "2".

Hope that helps.

You can read more about it here

Version code is used by google play store for new update. And version name is displayed to the user. If you have increased version code then update will be visible to all user.

For more detailed inform you give 2 minute reading to this article https://developer.android.com/studio/publish/versioning.html

I'm going to give you my interpretation of the only documentation I can find on the subject.

"for example to check an upgrade or downgrade relationship." <- You can downgrade an app.

"you should make sure that each successive release of your application uses a greater value. The system does not enforce this behavior" <- The number really should increase, but you can still downgrade an app.

android:versionCode — An integer value that represents the version of the application code, relative to other versions. The value is an integer so that other applications can programmatically evaluate it, for example to check an upgrade or downgrade relationship. You can set the value to any integer you want, however you should make sure that each successive release of your application uses a greater value. The system does not enforce this behavior, but increasing the value with successive releases is normative. Typically, you would release the first version of your application with versionCode set to 1, then monotonically increase the value with each release, regardless whether the release constitutes a major or minor release. This means that the android:versionCode value does not necessarily have a strong resemblance to the application release version that is visible to the user (see android:versionName, below). Applications and publishing services should not display this version value to users.