Credentials & Setup

Google Play Connect uses a service account JSON key from Google Cloud. The same service account must be invited as a user in Play Console before it can access owned-app data.

Do not create or share a normal Google API key for this integration. The credential is the service account JSON file.

Required Google APIs

Enable these APIs in the Google Cloud project that will own the service account:

API	Required for
Google Play Android Developer API	Reviews, review replies, releases, listings, subscriptions, one-time products
Google Play Developer Reporting API	Android vitals, crash rate, ANR rate, app quality metrics
Cloud Storage API	Play Console bulk CSV reports in the `gs://pubsite_prod_...` bucket

Official references:

Android Publisher API

Service account setup for Google Play Developer API.

Developer Reporting API

Android vitals and quality reporting setup.

Create the Service Account JSON

Open Google Cloud Console > IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
Choose the Google Cloud project connected to Play Console, or create a new project.
Create a service account.
Open the service account.
Go to Keys.
Create a new key.
Select JSON.
Download the JSON file.

You do not need to grant broad IAM roles inside Google Cloud for Play Console access. The important access control happens in Play Console after the service account is invited there.

If Google Cloud asks for a project IAM role during service account creation, a minimal viewer-style role is enough for creation flow. Play Console permissions decide which app data the API can access.

Invite the Service Account in Play Console

Open Play Console > Users and permissions, then invite the service account email from the JSON file. The email looks like:

appeeky@your-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com

Grant permissions based on the features the customer wants:

Feature	Play Console permission guidance
App list	App information read access
Bulk reports	Global `View app information and download bulk reports`
Store performance, installs, ratings, crashes reports	Same global bulk report permission
Financial reports	Global `View financial data`
Review listing	Review read access
Review replies	Review reply/manage access
Android vitals	App quality / Android vitals access
Release tracks	Release read or release management access
Release updates	Release management access
Store listing metadata	Store listing management access
Subscriptions and one-time products	Monetization product access

For analytics dashboards, start with:

Global: View app information and download bulk reports
App: Android vitals / app quality access

Add write permissions only when the customer wants Appeeky to reply to reviews or update releases/listings.

Connect Credentials

curl

curl -X POST "https://api.appeeky.com/v1/connect/google-play/credentials" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_APPEEKY_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "serviceAccountJson": {
      "type": "service_account",
      "project_id": "your-google-project",
      "private_key_id": "...",
      "private_key": "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\n...\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----\n",
      "client_email": "appeeky@your-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com",
      "client_id": "..."
    },
    "defaultPackageName": "com.example.app",
    "reportsBucket": "pubsite_prod_8701287375724464057"
  }'

Field	Required	Description
`serviceAccountJson`	Yes	Full JSON key downloaded from Google Cloud
`defaultPackageName`	No	Default app package for dashboards and tools
`reportsBucket`	No	Required for report imports and analytics dashboards

The API verifies credentials before saving. A successful response means Google accepted the service account and the account can access at least basic Play Console app data.

Per-Request Credentials

Saved credentials are recommended. For testing, you can also pass credentials per request:

Header	Description
`X-GP-Service-Account-Json`	Full service account JSON
`X-GP-Client-Email`	Service account `client_email`
`X-GP-Private-Key`	Service account private key PEM
`X-GP-Private-Key-B64`	Base64 private key alternative
`X-GP-Project-Id`	Optional project ID
`X-GP-Client-Id`	Optional client ID

Use saved credentials for production customers so background sync jobs can run without asking for headers on every request.

Check Status

curl

curl "https://api.appeeky.com/v1/connect/google-play/credentials/status" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_APPEEKY_KEY"

Example response:

{
  "data": {
    "connected": true,
    "serviceAccountEmail": "appee...@your-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com",
    "projectId": "your-google-project",
    "defaultPackageName": "com.example.app",
    "reportsBucket": "pubsite_prod_8701287375724464057",
    "analyticsSyncStatus": "pending",
    "lastSyncedAnalyticsDate": null
  }
}

Delete Credentials

curl

curl -X DELETE "https://api.appeeky.com/v1/connect/google-play/credentials" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_APPEEKY_KEY"

This removes the saved connection and deletes the encrypted credential from Appeeky.

Troubleshooting

Error	Meaning	Fix
`GOOGLE_PLAY_CREDENTIALS_REQUIRED`	Missing service account JSON or private key fields	Send `serviceAccountJson`, or `clientEmail` + private key
Google OAuth error	The JSON key is malformed, revoked, or from the wrong project	Create a new JSON key and retry
App list is empty	Service account is authenticated but has no Play Console app access	Invite the service account in Play Console and grant app permissions
Report listing fails	Basic Play API access works, but GCS bulk report access is missing	See Report Exports

Permission changes in Play Console can take time to propagate. If setup looks correct, wait a few minutes and retry.

Getting Started

Apps

My Data - Appeeky Web

Keywords

ASO Tools

AI Visibility

Search & Discovery

Market Intelligence

RevenueCat

App Store Connect

Google Play Console

Apple Search Ads

Reference

Required Google APIs

Android Publisher API

Developer Reporting API

Create the Service Account JSON

Invite the Service Account in Play Console

Connect Credentials

Per-Request Credentials

Check Status

Delete Credentials

Troubleshooting

​Required Google APIs

Android Publisher API

Developer Reporting API

​Create the Service Account JSON

​Invite the Service Account in Play Console

​Connect Credentials

​Per-Request Credentials

​Check Status

​Delete Credentials

​Troubleshooting

Required Google APIs

Create the Service Account JSON

Invite the Service Account in Play Console

Connect Credentials

Per-Request Credentials

Check Status

Delete Credentials

Troubleshooting