Build android release apk on Phonegap 3.x CLI

Question

How can I build an android app locally using the Phonegap 3.x CLI, ready to release? I check the bin folder generated inside the platforms/android directory of the project, and only has .debug APKs.

By the way, I use this command: phonegap local build android

Answer 1

This is for Phonegap 3.0.x to 3.3.x. For PhoneGap 3.4.0 and higher see below.

Found part of the answer here, at Phonegap documentation. The full process is the following:

1. Open a command line window, and go to /path/to/your/project/platforms/android/cordova.

2. Run build --release. This creates an unsigned release APK at /path/to/your/project/platforms/android/bin folder, called YourAppName-release-unsigned.apk.

3. Sign and align the APK using the instructions at android developer official docs.

Thanks to @LaurieClark for the link (http://iphonedevlog.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/using-phonegap-3-0-cli-on-mac-osx-10-to-build-ios-and-android-projects/), and the blogger who post it, because it put me on the track.