gpc-user-management

name	gpc-user-management
description	Use when managing Google Play developer account users, permissions, grants, or testers. Make sure to use this skill whenever the user mentions gpc users, gpc testers, gpc grants, developer account permissions, user roles, invite user, remove user, permission grants, per-app permissions, per-app grants, standalone grants, tester groups, beta testers, internal testers, alpha testers, Google Group testers, tester CSV import, team management, access control, user audit — even if they don't explicitly say 'user management.' Also trigger when someone wants to invite team members to their Play Console, update permissions for existing users, manage per-app grants independently from users, manage who can test their app, import testers from a CSV file, or audit who has access to their developer account. For authentication setup, see gpc-setup. For release track management, see gpc-release-flow.
compatibility	GPC v0.9+. Requires authenticated GPC setup (see gpc-setup skill). User commands require developer account ID. Tester commands require an app with testing tracks configured. v0.9.87+ returns a consistent list --json envelope on grants/testers.
metadata	{"version":"0.12.0"}

gpc-user-management

Manage developer account users, permissions, and testers with GPC.

When to use

• Inviting or removing users from a Google Play developer account
• Updating user permissions (developer-level or per-app)
• Listing and auditing who has access to the developer account
• Adding or removing testers from testing tracks (internal, alpha, beta)
• Importing testers in bulk from a CSV file
• Setting up Google Group-based tester access

Inputs required

• Authenticated GPC — gpc auth status must show valid credentials
• Developer account ID — required for user commands (--developer-id or GPC_DEVELOPER_ID)
• App package name — required for tester commands and per-app grants (--app)
• Email addresses — for inviting users or adding testers
• CSV file — for bulk tester import (--file)

Procedure

0. Verify setup

gpc auth status
gpc config get app

User commands require --developer-id. Set it once:

export GPC_DEVELOPER_ID=1234567890

Or pass it per command: gpc users list --developer-id 1234567890.

1. Users — list and inspect

# List all users in the developer account
gpc users list --developer-id 1234567890

# Get details for a specific user
gpc users get [e-mail] --developer-id 1234567890

# JSON output for scripting
gpc users list --developer-id 1234567890 --json

2. Users — invite

Invite a new user with developer-level permissions and optional per-app grants:

# Invite with developer-level permissions
gpc users invite [e-mail] \
  --role VIEW_APP_INFORMATION VIEW_FINANCIAL_DATA \
  --developer-id 1234567890

# Invite with per-app grants
gpc users invite [e-mail] \
  --grant "com.example.app:VIEW_APP_INFORMATION,MANAGE_TESTING" \
  --developer-id 1234567890

# Combine developer-level and per-app permissions
gpc users invite [e-mail] \
  --role VIEW_APP_INFORMATION \
  --grant "com.example.app:MANAGE_PRODUCTION_RELEASES" \
  --developer-id 1234567890

# Preview first
gpc users invite [e-mail] \
  --role VIEW_APP_INFORMATION \
  --developer-id 1234567890 \
  --dry-run

Read: references/permissions.md for the full list of developer-level and per-app permission constants.

Note: Permission changes may take up to 48 hours to propagate across Google's systems.

3. Users — update permissions

# Update developer-level permissions
gpc users update [e-mail] \
  --role VIEW_APP_INFORMATION VIEW_FINANCIAL_DATA MANAGE_ORDERS \
  --developer-id 1234567890

# Update per-app grants
gpc users update [e-mail] \
  --grant "com.example.app:MANAGE_PRODUCTION_RELEASES,MANAGE_TESTING" \
  --developer-id 1234567890

# Preview changes
gpc users update [e-mail] \
  --role VIEW_APP_INFORMATION \
  --developer-id 1234567890 \
  --dry-run

4. Users — remove

# Preview removal
gpc users remove [e-mail] --developer-id 1234567890 --dry-run

# Remove
gpc users remove [e-mail] --developer-id 1234567890

5. Testers — list

# List testers for a track
gpc testers list --track internal
gpc testers list --track alpha
gpc testers list --track beta

# JSON output
gpc testers list --track beta --json

6. Testers — add and remove

# Add individual testers (Google Group emails or individual emails)
gpc testers add [e-mail] [e-mail] --track internal

# Add a Google Group
gpc testers add [e-mail] --track beta

# Add testers without auto-submitting changes for review
gpc testers add [e-mail] --track beta --changes-not-sent-for-review

# Fail if the app is currently in review or rejected before modifying testers
gpc testers add [e-mail] --track beta --error-if-in-review

# Remove testers
gpc testers remove [e-mail] --track internal

# Remove testers without auto-submitting changes for review
gpc testers remove [e-mail] --track internal --changes-not-sent-for-review

# Preview changes
gpc testers add [e-mail] --track beta --dry-run

7. Grants — standalone per-app permission management

gpc grants manages per-app permissions independently from user invitations. Use this when you need fine-grained control over what individual users can do on specific apps.

# List all grants for a user
gpc grants list [e-mail] --developer-id 1234567890

# List grants for a specific app
gpc grants list [e-mail] \
  --developer-id 1234567890 \
  --app com.example.app

# Create a new per-app grant
gpc grants create [e-mail] \
  --app com.example.app \
  --permissions MANAGE_PRODUCTION_RELEASES VIEW_APP_INFORMATION \
  --developer-id 1234567890

# Update existing grant permissions
gpc grants patch [e-mail] \
  --app com.example.app \
  --permissions VIEW_APP_INFORMATION \
  --developer-id 1234567890

# Remove a per-app grant (revokes app-specific access)
gpc grants delete [e-mail] \
  --app com.example.app \
  --developer-id 1234567890

When to use gpc grants vs gpc users update --grant:

• Use gpc grants for managing grants on existing users without modifying their developer-level role
• Use gpc users invite --grant or gpc users update --grant when also changing the user's account-level permissions

New in v0.9.87: grants list and testers list now return the unified --json envelope { <key>, nextPageToken, meta.count, message? }, matching other list commands. Scripts reading a bare array will break — update to destructure the keyed field. testers list also emits googleGroups: [] when a track has no Google Groups configured (the items key is always present). users list shares the same envelope as of GPC v0.9.83.

Read: references/permissions.md for the full list of per-app permission constants.

8. Testers — bulk import from CSV

Import testers from a CSV file containing email addresses:

# Preview import
gpc testers import --track beta --file testers.csv --dry-run

# Import
gpc testers import --track beta --file testers.csv

CSV format — one email per line:

email
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

Read: references/tester-workflows.md for common tester management patterns and Google Group best practices.

Verification

• gpc users list --developer-id <id> returns current users with their permissions
• gpc users get <email> --developer-id <id> shows the user's current role and grants
• gpc testers list --track <track> returns testers for the specified track
• All --dry-run commands show what would change without modifying data
• JSON output works on all commands (--json flag)
• Permission changes may take up to 48 hours to propagate

Failure modes / debugging

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
DEVELOPER_ID_REQUIRED	Missing --developer-id flag	Set GPC_DEVELOPER_ID env var or pass --developer-id
PERMISSION_DENIED on user commands	Service account lacks admin permissions	Service account needs "Admin" access in Play Console
USER_NOT_FOUND	Email not in the developer account	Check spelling; use gpc users list to verify
INVALID_GRANT format	Wrong --grant syntax	Format: com.example.app:PERM1,PERM2 (colon between app and perms, commas between perms)
INVALID_PERMISSION	Unknown permission constant	Check references/permissions.md for valid constants
Permissions not taking effect	48-hour propagation delay	Wait; changes are eventual — verify after 48 hours
TRACK_NOT_FOUND for testers	Track doesn't exist or wrong name	Valid tracks: internal, alpha, beta, or custom track names
CSV import fails	Wrong CSV format or encoding	Ensure UTF-8, one email per line, header row with email
TESTER_LIMIT_EXCEEDED	Track has maximum tester count	Internal: 100, Alpha/Beta: no hard limit but Google Groups recommended for scale

Related skills

• gpc-setup — authentication and developer account configuration
• gpc-release-flow — releasing to testing tracks that testers access
• gpc-ci-integration — automating tester management in CI/CD pipelines