gplay-metadata-sync

name	gplay-metadata-sync
description	Metadata and localization sync (including Fastlane format) for Google Play Store listings. Use when updating app descriptions, screenshots, or managing multi-locale metadata. Use when the user says "update my Play Store listing", "sync my Play metadata", "push my Fastlane metadata to Play", "change the app description on Google Play", or "add a new locale to Play Store".

Metadata Sync for Google Play

Use this skill when you need to update or sync Play Store metadata and localizations.

Fastlane Directory Structure

fastlane/metadata/android/
├── en-US/
│   ├── title.txt
│   ├── short_description.txt
│   ├── full_description.txt
│   ├── video.txt
│   └── images/
│       ├── phoneScreenshots/
│       │   ├── 1.png
│       │   └── 2.png
│       ├── sevenInchScreenshots/
│       ├── tenInchScreenshots/
│       ├── tvScreenshots/
│       ├── wearScreenshots/
│       ├── icon.png
│       └── featureGraphic.png
├── es-ES/
│   ├── title.txt
│   └── ...
└── fr-FR/
    └── ...

Export Metadata from Play Store

# Export all listings to Fastlane format
gplay sync export-listings \
  --package com.example.app \
  --dir ./fastlane/metadata/android

# Export images
gplay sync export-images \
  --package com.example.app \
  --dir ./fastlane/metadata/android

Import Metadata to Play Store

# Validate before importing (offline check)
gplay validate listing \
  --dir ./fastlane/metadata/android \
  --locale en-US

# Import all listings
gplay sync import-listings \
  --package com.example.app \
  --dir ./fastlane/metadata/android

# Import images
gplay sync import-images \
  --package com.example.app \
  --dir ./fastlane/metadata/android

Compare Local vs Remote

# See what would change
gplay sync diff-listings \
  --package com.example.app \
  --dir ./fastlane/metadata/android

Manual Metadata Management

List all listings

gplay listings list \
  --package com.example.app \
  --edit $EDIT_ID

Get specific locale

gplay listings get \
  --package com.example.app \
  --edit $EDIT_ID \
  --locale en-US

Update listing

gplay listings update \
  --package com.example.app \
  --edit $EDIT_ID \
  --locale en-US \
  --json @listing.json

listing.json format

{
  "title": "My Awesome App",
  "shortDescription": "A short description under 80 characters",
  "fullDescription": "A full description under 4000 characters...",
  "video": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"
}

Image Management

Upload screenshots

gplay images upload \
  --package com.example.app \
  --edit $EDIT_ID \
  --locale en-US \
  --type phoneScreenshots \
  --file screenshot1.png

gplay images upload \
  --package com.example.app \
  --edit $EDIT_ID \
  --locale en-US \
  --type phoneScreenshots \
  --file screenshot2.png

Image types

• phoneScreenshots - Phone screenshots (required)
• sevenInchScreenshots - 7" tablet screenshots
• tenInchScreenshots - 10" tablet screenshots
• tvScreenshots - TV screenshots
• wearScreenshots - Wear OS screenshots
• icon - App icon
• featureGraphic - Feature graphic (1024x500)

List images

gplay images list \
  --package com.example.app \
  --edit $EDIT_ID \
  --locale en-US \
  --type phoneScreenshots

Delete image

gplay images delete \
  --package com.example.app \
  --edit $EDIT_ID \
  --locale en-US \
  --type phoneScreenshots \
  --image-id IMAGE_ID \
  --confirm

App Details

Get app details

gplay details get \
  --package com.example.app \
  --edit $EDIT_ID

Update contact info

gplay details update \
  --package com.example.app \
  --edit $EDIT_ID \
  --contact-email [e-mail] \
  --contact-phone "[phone]" \
  --contact-website "https://example.com"

Character Limits

Validate against Google Play limits:

Field	Limit
Title	50 characters
Short Description	80 characters
Full Description	4000 characters

# Validate before upload
gplay validate listing \
  --dir ./fastlane/metadata/android \
  --locale en-US

Workflow Example

Complete metadata update workflow:

# 1. Export current metadata
gplay sync export-listings \
  --package com.example.app \
  --dir ./metadata

# 2. Edit files locally
vi ./metadata/en-US/full_description.txt

# 3. Validate changes
gplay validate listing \
  --dir ./metadata \
  --locale en-US

# 4. See what will change
gplay sync diff-listings \
  --package com.example.app \
  --dir ./metadata

# 5. Import changes
gplay sync import-listings \
  --package com.example.app \
  --dir ./metadata

Multi-Locale Management

Create new locale

1. Copy existing locale directory:

   cp -r fastlane/metadata/android/en-US fastlane/metadata/android/es-ES
   

2. Translate all text files

3. Import:

   gplay sync import-listings \
     --package com.example.app \
     --dir ./fastlane/metadata/android
   

Supported Locales

Use Play Console locale codes:

• en-US - English (United States)
• es-ES - Spanish (Spain)
• fr-FR - French (France)
• de-DE - German (Germany)
• ja-JP - Japanese (Japan)
• etc.

Best Practices

1. Keep metadata in version control - Track changes over time
2. Validate before importing - Catch character limit errors
3. Use consistent formatting - Follow style guide
4. Test on different devices - Screenshots should represent actual app
5. Update regularly - Keep descriptions current with features
6. Localize properly - Don't use machine translation without review