Publish HumaraDrama on Android
This guide walks you through wrapping the HumaraDrama PWA into a native Android app using Capacitor and submitting it to the Google Play Store — no rewrite required.
Capacitor wraps your existing PWA into a native Android APK without rewriting any code. You need Node.js 18+, Android Studio, and Java 17+ installed on your development machine.
# Install Android Studio from developer.android.com/studio
# Then install Capacitor CLI and Android platform
npm install @capacitor/core @capacitor/cli @capacitor/android
npx cap init "HumaraDrama" "com.humaradrama.app" --web-dir=dist
npx cap add android
The --web-dir=dist flag points Capacitor at your Vite build output. The bundle ID com.humaradrama.app must match exactly what you register in Google Play Console — it cannot be changed after publishing.
Create or update capacitor.config.ts in your project root with the settings below. The server.url field is optional — remove it for production builds so the app loads from the bundled assets.
import { CapacitorConfig } from '@capacitor/cli';
const config: CapacitorConfig = {
appId: 'com.humaradrama.app',
appName: 'HumaraDrama',
webDir: 'dist',
plugins: {
SplashScreen: {
launchShowDuration: 2000,
backgroundColor: '#0a1f14', // dark forest green
androidSplashResourceName: 'splash',
showSpinner: false,
},
StatusBar: {
style: 'dark',
backgroundColor: '#0a1f14',
},
},
android: {
allowMixedContent: false,
captureInput: true,
webContentsDebuggingEnabled: false, // set true during dev
},
};
export default config;Every time you change the web code you must rebuild and sync before opening Android Studio. The cap sync command copies the built assets into the native Android project and updates Capacitor plugins.
# Build the Vite frontend
pnpm build
# Sync web assets into the Android project
npx cap sync android
# Open Android Studio (optional — for signing/debugging)
npx cap open android
In Android Studio, open the Build Variants panel and select release before generating the final AAB.
Google Play requires every AAB to be signed with a release keystore. Generate one with the Java keytool command and store it securely — losing this file means you can never update your app.
# Generate keystore (run once, keep the .jks file safe!)
keytool -genkey -v -keystore humaradrama.jks \
-alias humaradrama -keyalg RSA \
-keysize 2048 -validity 10000
In Android Studio go to Build → Generate Signed Bundle / APK, choose Android App Bundle (.aab), select your keystore, and build the release AAB. The output file will be in android/app/build/outputs/bundle/release/.
Back up your humaradrama.jks file and its passwords in a secure password manager. There is no way to recover a lost keystore.
Go to play.google.com/console and sign in with a Google account. Pay the one-time $25 USD developer registration fee. This account will own all apps you publish.
Once registered, click Create app and fill in:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| App name | HumaraDrama |
| Default language | English (United Kingdom) or Urdu |
| App or game | App |
| Free or paid | Free |
| Category | Entertainment |
Google Play requires specific graphic assets before you can publish. Prepare these before uploading your AAB:
| Asset | Size / Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| App icon | 512 × 512 PNG | Use the HumaraDrama emerald icon |
| Feature graphic | 1024 × 500 PNG/JPG | Banner shown on Play Store listing |
| Phone screenshots | Min 2, up to 8 (16:9 or 9:16) | Show drama grid, episode picker, search |
| Tablet screenshots | Optional but recommended | 7-inch and 10-inch layouts |
| Short description | Max 80 characters | Pakistan's #1 drama database |
| Full description | Max 4000 characters | Include keywords: Pakistani drama, Hum TV, ARY… |
In Play Console, navigate to Production → Releases → Create new release. Upload your signed .aab file. Google will automatically generate optimised APKs for different device configurations.
Complete the App content section (Privacy Policy URL, target audience, ads declaration, data safety form). Your Privacy Policy is already live at https://humaradrama.com/privacy — use that URL.
First-time submissions typically take 3–7 business days for Google to review. Subsequent updates are usually approved within a few hours.
Once approved, your app will be live at play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.humaradrama.app.
After launch, a few optimisations will significantly improve visibility in Pakistan and among the diaspora:
- Localise the store listing in Urdu — Play Console supports Urdu (ur). A localised listing ranks higher for Urdu searches.
- Target Pakistan in distribution — Under 'Countries / regions', ensure Pakistan is included. Consider also UAE, UK, USA for diaspora.
- Enable in-app review prompts — Use @capacitor-community/in-app-review to prompt satisfied users for a Play Store rating.
- Set up Firebase Crashlytics — Add @capacitor-firebase/crashlytics to catch native crashes before users report them.
- Deep link drama pages — Configure Android App Links so sharing a drama URL opens the app directly.
Already have the iOS App Store version?
The same Capacitor project can target both iOS and Android. After completing this guide, run npx cap add ios and follow the iOS submission process using Xcode. Both platforms share the same web source code.