Android release management

Release management lets you control how Android app upgrades are delivered to users. Configure deployment packages and release tasks to target specific users by city, device model, OS version, network, or app version.

Capabilities

Android release management supports the following:

• Upload upgrade resources and generate a download QR code.

• Create and modify deployment packages.

• Create multiple release tasks for a single deployment package version, including whitelist phased releases, time-window phased releases, and full releases.

• Filter upgrades by city, device model, OS version, network, and deployment package version.

Add a deployment package

1. In the mPaaS console, go to Real-time Release > Release Management in the left navigation pane.

2. Click Add Deployment Package and configure the following settings:

   • Platform: Select Android.

   • Deployment Package: Upload a .apk file from your local machine. Only the .apk format is supported.

   • Version Number: Enter the version number of the deployment package. The version number consists of numbers and symbols.

   • Release Description: Enter a description for the deployment package.

   • Download Verification: Enable this option to require users to complete a Captcha verification after scanning the QR code before the download begins.

3. Click OK. The new deployment package appears at the top of the list, and a QR code is generated in the QR Code column. Scan the QR code to download and install the .apk file on a device.

4. In the release management list, click the plus icon () next to a deployment package to view its release tasks:

   • If the deployment package has not been released, its status is To be released and it has no associated release tasks.

   • If the deployment package has been released, its status reflects the latest task, and its associated release tasks are listed.

Create a release task

A deployment package can have multiple concurrent release tasks — up to 10 at a time. When client requests match more than one active task, the following delivery rules apply:

• If a client request matches multiple release tasks, the task for the higher package version is delivered first.

• If a client request matches multiple release tasks for the same deployment package version, the delivery priority is determined by the task type. The priority from highest to lowest is: Full > Whitelist (Phased) > Time-window (Phased).

• If the deployment package version and task type are the same, the most recently released task is delivered. For example, you release a whitelist task A for version 5.0 that targets version 4.0 for a one-time upgrade. You then release another whitelist task B that targets version 4.0 for a mandatory upgrade. If both tasks are active, a client on version 4.0 that requests an upgrade receives task B first. After task B is stopped or paused, the client receives task A.

• If a phased task and a full task are released for the same version, the release status is Full Release. After the full task is paused or ended, the status changes to Phased Release. If all tasks are ended, the status changes to Release Ended.

To create a release task:

1. Find the deployment package for which you want to create a release task.

2. In the Operations column, click Create Release Task.

3. On the Create Release Task page, configure the following settings:

   • Release Type: Select Phased or Full.

   • Upgrade Mode: Select one of the following options:

     • One-time: An upgrade prompt appears once after the app starts, subject to the silence policy.

       Note

       The silence policy controls how long the app waits before showing the upgrade prompt again after a user dismisses it. The default silence period is 3 days. To customize the silence period, see setIntervalTime.

     • Multiple: An upgrade prompt appears every time the app starts. The user can dismiss the prompt.

     • Forced Upgrade: An upgrade prompt appears every time the app starts. The user cannot dismiss the prompt.

   • Release Model (phased releases only): Select Whitelist Phased Release or Time-window Phased Release.

     • If you select Whitelist Phased Release, select a whitelist to target.

       Note: Configure whitelists in Whitelist Management before creating the task. For details, see Whitelist Management.

     • If you select Time-window Phased Release, set the End Time and Number of Users for the release window.

   • Upgrade Prompt Message (optional): The message shown to users during the upgrade.

   • Release Description (optional): A description of this release.

   • Advanced Rules (phased releases only): Click Add, then select Include or Exclude for conditions such as City, Model, and Network. Choose a Resource Value that corresponds to the selected Type.

4. Click OK to start the release. Click the plus icon () next to the deployment package to verify the task was created.

5. To create more release tasks, repeat the steps above.

Manage release tasks

After creating release tasks, you can pause, resume, or end them.

1. In the release management list, click the plus icon () next to a deployment package to view its release tasks.

2. Perform any of the following operations:

   • Click Pause to pause the release task. To resume a paused task, click Resume.

   • Click End to stop the release task permanently. Ended tasks cannot be modified or restarted.