App signing if the XDK is re-installed

[Pablo_Farias_Navarro]

If I use the XDK to sign my Android app, what happens if I re-install the XDK, or install it in a new computer in the future and I need to publish an update to my app?

Is the app private key stored on the cloud forever for the user? or it lost in that case, which would make it impossible to update the app?

Thanks

[PaulF_IntelCorp · Accepted solution]

Hi Pablo, very good question. In our current system the Android signature is created automatically in the cloud and applied to your app, so changes to your development system do not impact that signature. It is tied to your account userid. If you want a copy of it please send an email to html5tools@intel.com

We are working on a certificate management system so you have direct control over this signature file, but it will be a while before that is available. The alternative is to self-sign before publishing, and not relying on our build system to do that for you.

[Amrita_C_Intel]

If your app is in the store already and was built with the XDK, it was signed with a keystore that was generated for your account. You can not just resign your app with any cert and upload it to the play store. It must be the same one that your app the first time it was uploaded.You will need to send this request to html5tools@intel.com

Each Intel XDK account has a unique Android developer certificate. That unique certificate must be used each time you update apps to the Android store that were originally built with that account. This means apps built and published with account “A” must be updated with the Android certificate stored in account “A” and those built and published using account “B” must be updated with the Android certificate stored in account “B.”

You have to login again with same credentials to update or publish with the same account.

[Pablo_Farias_Navarro]

Thanks Paul and Amrita for your answers, it's good to understand how this works.