$gpc preflight

--json--fail-onoffline

Pre-submission compliance scanner — check your AAB against Google Play policies before uploading. Entirely offline, no API calls.

usagegpc preflight <file> [options]

Overview

gpc preflight scans your Android App Bundle (AAB) against Google Play Developer Program Policies before you upload. It catches issues that would cause rejection — wrong target SDK, missing declarations, restricted permissions, hardcoded secrets — all without calling any API.

Want the architecture and per-scanner detail?

See the Preflight Deep-Dive guide — how the 9 scanners work, real rejection examples, CI patterns, and tuning recipes. This page is the flag reference.

9 scanners run in parallel:

Scanner	What it checks
manifest	targetSdk, debuggable, testOnly, cleartext traffic, missing exported, foreground service types, exported-without-permission, geofencing foreground service (April 2026 policy)
permissions	18 restricted permissions, contacts broad-access check, Health Connect granular permissions (April 2026 policy)
native-libs	64-bit compliance, 16KB page size alignment (ELF LOAD segment check, enforced since Nov 2025)
metadata	Store listing character limits, missing title, screenshots, privacy policy URL
secrets	Hardcoded API keys (AWS, Google, Stripe, private keys)
billing	Non-Play billing SDKs (Stripe, Braintree, PayPal)
privacy	Tracking SDKs (Facebook, Adjust, AppsFlyer), Advertising ID, data collection
policy	Families/COPPA, financial apps, health apps, UGC, overlay permissions
size	Download size warnings, large native libs, large assets

Commands

Command	Description
preflight	Run all scanners on an AAB file
preflight manifest	Manifest scanner only
preflight permissions	Permissions scanner only
preflight metadata	Metadata/listing scanner only
preflight codescan	Source code scanners (secrets, billing, privacy)
preflight signing	Signing key consistency check (requires auth)

gpc preflight

Run all applicable scanners on an AAB file.

Synopsis

gpc preflight <file.aab> [options]

Options

Option	Description	Default
--fail-on <severity>	Fail if any finding meets severity: critical, error, warning, info	error
--scanners <names>	Comma-separated scanner names to run	all
--metadata <dir>	Path to metadata directory (Fastlane format)	—
--source <dir>	Path to source directory for code scanning	—
--config <path>	Path to .preflightrc.json	.preflightrc.json
--json	Output as JSON	—

Examples

# Full scan
gpc preflight app.aab

# Full scan with metadata and source
gpc preflight app.aab --metadata fastlane/metadata/android --source app/src

# CI mode — fail on any error or critical finding
gpc preflight app.aab --fail-on error --json

# Only run manifest and permissions checks
gpc preflight app.aab --scanners manifest,permissions

# Use custom config
gpc preflight app.aab --config .preflight-strict.json

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	All checks passed
1	Runtime error (file not found, invalid AAB)
2	Usage error (invalid flags, unknown scanner name)
6	Threshold breached (findings at or above --fail-on severity)

preflight manifest

Run only the manifest scanner.

gpc preflight manifest app.aab

Checks: targetSdkVersion, debuggable, testOnly, versionCode, cleartext traffic, missing android:exported, missing foregroundServiceType.

preflight permissions

Run only the permissions scanner.

gpc preflight permissions app.aab

Checks 18 restricted permissions against Google Play policies and generates Data Safety reminders.

preflight metadata

Scan a Fastlane-format metadata directory.

gpc preflight metadata fastlane/metadata/android

Checks: title/description character limits, missing title, screenshot count, privacy policy URL.

Expected directory structure:

metadata/android/
├── en-US/
│   ├── title.txt
│   ├── short_description.txt
│   ├── full_description.txt
│   ├── privacy_policy_url.txt
│   └── images/
│       └── phoneScreenshots/
│           ├── 1.png
│           └── 2.png
├── fr-FR/
│   └── ...

preflight codescan

Run source code scanners (secrets, billing, privacy).

gpc preflight codescan app/src

Scans .kt, .java, .ts, .js, .xml, .json, .gradle, .properties files. Skips node_modules/, build/, .git/.

preflight signing

Check signing key consistency across your two most recent bundle uploads. Unlike the offline scanners, this subcommand requires authentication.

gpc preflight signing

Compares the certificateSha256Fingerprint from generatedApks for the two latest version codes. Flags key changes that could indicate an unregistered key variant after developer verification enforcement.

Exit code 6 on mismatch, 0 on match or first release. JSON output with --json.

See the Preflight Deep-Dive for detailed output examples and architecture rationale.

Severity Levels

Findings are ranked by severity:

Severity	Meaning	Example
critical	Will cause rejection	debuggable=true, missing 64-bit libs, hardcoded secrets
error	Likely causes rejection or extended review	QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES, missing exported, restricted permissions
warning	May cause issues	cleartext traffic, large download size, tracking SDKs
info	Best practice	minSdk advisory, data safety reminders, size breakdown

Configuration

Create a .preflightrc.json in your project root:

{
  "failOn": "error",
  "targetSdkMinimum": 35,
  "maxDownloadSizeMb": 150,
  "allowedPermissions": ["android.permission.READ_SMS"],
  "disabledRules": ["cleartext-traffic"],
  "severityOverrides": {
    "billing-stripe-sdk": "info"
  }
}

Field	Type	Description
failOn	string	Severity threshold: critical, error, warning, info
targetSdkMinimum	number	Minimum required targetSdkVersion (default: 35)
maxDownloadSizeMb	number	Download size warning threshold in MB (default: 150)
allowedPermissions	string[]	Permissions to skip (e.g., approved via declaration form)
disabledRules	string[]	Rule IDs to suppress entirely
severityOverrides	object	Override severity for specific rule IDs

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

- name: Preflight check
  run: gpc preflight app.aab --fail-on error --json > preflight.json

- name: Upload report
  if: always()
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: preflight-report
    path: preflight.json

GitLab CI

preflight:
  stage: test
  script:
    - gpc preflight app.aab --fail-on error --json
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - preflight.json
    when: always

Notes

Manifest parsing limitations

Some large or complex AABs have manifests that cannot be fully decoded. When this happens, GPC does not crash — instead it:

1. Emits a warning finding: "Manifest could not be fully parsed"
2. Skips manifest-dependent scanners (manifest, permissions, policy, privacy)
3. Runs all other scanners normally (native-libs, size, secrets, billing)

You still get partial results. To run manifest checks, try the metadata scanner instead:

gpc preflight --metadata fastlane/metadata/android