APPSINITYAPK versus AAB
Appsinity accepts both, but it does not treat them the same way: an AAB is converted into a universal APK before anyone can install it.
Open Appsinity StudioThe difference on Appsinity
| APK | AAB | |
|---|---|---|
| Accepted | Yes | Yes |
| Installed directly by a player | Yes | No |
| What Appsinity does to it | zipalign, then apksigner | bundletool build-apks --mode universal, then zipalign + apksigner |
| Result recorded as | signedApkUrl | signedApkUrl pointing at universal.apk |
| Delivers per-device optimisations | No | No — universal mode flattens them |
| Size | Whole app | Universal APK, larger than a split APK |
Which to upload
- If the app also goes to Google Play, upload the AAB there and the same AAB here. One artefact to keep version codes for.
- If Appsinity is the only Android distribution, the APK is honest: it is what the player receives after signing either way, and skipping the conversion removes a step that can fail.
- A very large app should prefer APK — the universal APK is the biggest version of your app that will ever exist.
- Never upload an XAPK or a split set:
.xapkis blocklisted and there is no split-install path.
Version codes
There is no version-code input in Studio, so the number baked into the manifest is the only one that exists. Keep it monotonically increasing across releases, and do not reuse a code after a rejected upload.
The version segment in the storage path comes from the upload, not the manifest — typically Date.now() — so two builds with the same manifest code can sit side by side in storage. Make the listing point at the right one.
What happens after upload
- Extract. The Studio API can inspect the package through
POST /api/apps/:appId/builds/extract. - Sign.
POST /api/apps/:appId/builds/signruns the pipeline described in App signing. - Scan. The malware scanner runs on the signed output before distribution.
- Publish. The signed object is copied to storage and the record gains
signedApkUrl.
Frequently asked questions
Does AAB reduce my download size here?
No. Universal mode produces a single APK holding every language, density and ABI, which is normally larger than a targeted APK.
Can players get an AAB?
They cannot install one. The store hands out the signed APK it produced.
Which format do you recommend for a first release?
AAB if Play is also a target, APK if it is not. Both end up as a signed APK on Appsinity.
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