Before you start
- You need the Owner or an Admin of the Play Console developer account, to open Download reports and to invite a service account.
- It takes about ten minutes. Google can take up to two days to apply a permission given to a new service account, so the connection may be refused until then.
- You must be the owner of the AsoBeast workspace, and the Store connections section of Integrations must show a Connect Google Play button. If it says that store connections are off, the instance needs
STORE_CONNECT_ENCRYPTION_KEYfirst, see the overview. - Google writes a day into the files three to seven days after it ends, so the newest days of the card fill in over the following week.
Choose how to connect
The dialog opens on Sign in with Google when the instance offers it. Both ways need the bucket id.
Copy the bucket id
1
Open Download reports
In Play Console, open Download reports in the menu on the left, then Statistics.
2
Copy the Cloud Storage URI
The page shows the Cloud Storage URI of your reports near the top; copy it. It reads
gs://pubsite_prod_rev_ followed by digits, or gs://pubsite_prod_ followed by digits on older accounts.3
Keep the bucket id
The bucket id is the part after
gs://, for example pubsite_prod_rev_01234567890987654321. AsoBeast also accepts the whole URI and removes the gs:// itself.Sign in with Google
1
Open the dialog
In AsoBeast, open Integrations, find the Google Play Console card under Store connections and press Connect Google Play. Keep Sign in with Google selected.
2
Paste the bucket id
Paste it into Bucket id and press Sign in with Google. AsoBeast sends you to Google.
3
Choose the account
Choose the Google account that owns the Play Console developer account, or one that has View app information and download bulk reports on the Account permissions tab of Users and permissions.
4
Allow the access AsoBeast asks for
Keep View your data in Google Cloud Storage ticked: it is read only and lets AsoBeast read the report files. AsoBeast also asks to manage your Play Console, which it uses only to post the review replies you send from the reviews page. Leave that unticked and the connection still reads reports, but cannot post replies. Press Continue.
5
Return to AsoBeast
Google sends you back to AsoBeast, which reads the bucket with your account before it stores anything, then shows the card on Store connections.
Use a service account key
1
Open the Google Cloud console
Sign in at console.cloud.google.com and pick a project, or create one with New project. Any project works: the bucket belongs to Google Play, not to the project.
2
Create the service account
Open IAM and Admin, then Service accounts, and press Create service account. Name it, for example asobeast-reports, press Create and continue, skip the optional role and access steps and press Done. Copy the account’s email address, which ends in
iam.gserviceaccount.com.3
Create a JSON key
Open the service account, then the Keys tab, press Add key, Create new key, choose JSON and press Create. Google downloads the key file once. Keep it until it is connected.
4
Enable the API for replies
To post review replies, open APIs and services, then Library, search for Google Play Android Developer API and press Enable. Reading reports does not need it.
5
Invite the service account in Play Console
In Play Console, open Users and permissions and press Invite new users. Paste the service account’s email address.
6
Grant the report permission on the account
Open the Account permissions tab of the invitation and tick View app information and download bulk reports (read only). Tick Reply to reviews as well to post replies. Press Invite user and confirm. Google grants the bucket only from the Account permissions tab, never from the permissions of single apps.
7
Connect it in AsoBeast
In Integrations, press Connect Google Play, choose Service account key, paste the bucket id and choose the JSON key file, or paste its contents. Press Connect Google Play. AsoBeast reads the bucket with the key before it stores anything, so a refused account or a wrong bucket id is answered in the dialog. If Google refuses an account you invited in the last two days, wait and try again.
After connecting
The card lists the service account or the Google account, the bucket, the key ID and fingerprint for a key, and the day it was connected, then Review replies, the status line and Apps this connection reports. The status line reads Waiting for the first store performance file, which Google writes to the bucket once a day. until the first file is read.
Verify, Sync now, Reconnect and Disconnect work as for App Store Connect. What the numbers mean, and how the two report files are read, is in Read impressions and conversion from your console.
Troubleshooting
Set up Google sign in for the instance
An operator turns sign in with Google on once for a self hosted instance. The hosted service already has it.1
Create the OAuth client
In the Google Cloud console, open APIs and services, then Credentials, press Create credentials, OAuth client ID, and choose Web application. Add the authorized redirect URI
WEB_PUBLIC_URL followed by /integrations/google-play, for example https://aso.example.com/integrations/google-play.2
Publish the consent screen
Add the scopes
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only and https://www.googleapis.com/auth/androidpublisher to the consent screen, enable the Google Play Android Developer API in the same project, and publish the app to production. Google expires every sign in of an app left in testing after seven days. Until Google verifies the app, the consent screen warns that it is unverified, which is enough for a team that knows the instance.3
Set the variables
Set
GOOGLE_PLAY_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID, GOOGLE_PLAY_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET and WEB_PUBLIC_URL, described in the configuration reference, and restart the API. The dialog then offers Sign in with Google.