In-App Purchase Setup for Google Play

Use this skill when you need to set up monetization for your Android app.

Two APIs: Legacy vs New Monetization

Google Play has two APIs for one-time products:

Prefer the new monetization API (gplay onetimeproducts) for new products. It supports purchase options, better regional pricing control, and is the actively developed API.

Use the legacy API (gplay iap) only for managing existing legacy products.

Never mix the two APIs for the same product. A product created via gplay iap create cannot be managed via gplay onetimeproducts and vice versa.

Critical: Product IDs Are Permanent

Google Play permanently reserves product IDs after deletion. If you create premium_unlock and later delete it, the ID premium_unlock can never be reused — not even with a different API. Choose product IDs carefully.

This means:

• Do NOT create a "test" product with a good ID and then delete it
• Do NOT create via the legacy API and then try to recreate via the new API
• If you burn an ID, you must choose a new one (e.g., premium_unlock_v2)

One-Time Products (New Monetization API)

List products

gplay onetimeproducts list --package com.example.app

Create product

--regions-version is required — the create command uses PATCH with allowMissing=true internally:

gplay onetimeproducts create \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_unlock \
  --json @product.json \
  --regions-version "2025/03"

product.json (new monetization format)

{
  "productId": "premium_unlock",
  "listings": [
    { "languageCode": "en-US", "title": "Premium Unlock", "description": "Unlock all premium features" },
    { "languageCode": "es-ES", "title": "Desbloqueo Premium", "description": "Desbloquea todas las funciones premium" }
  ],
  "purchaseOptions": [
    {
      "buyOption": { "legacyCompatible": true },
      "newRegionsConfig": {
        "availability": "AVAILABLE",
        "usdPrice": { "currencyCode": "USD", "units": "9", "nanos": 990000000 },
        "eurPrice": { "currencyCode": "EUR", "units": "9", "nanos": 990000000 }
      },
      "regionalPricingAndAvailabilityConfigs": [
        { "regionCode": "US", "availability": "AVAILABLE", "price": { "currencyCode": "USD", "units": "9", "nanos": 990000000 } },
        { "regionCode": "GB", "availability": "AVAILABLE", "price": { "currencyCode": "GBP", "units": "7", "nanos": 990000000 } },
        { "regionCode": "IN", "availability": "AVAILABLE", "price": { "currencyCode": "INR", "units": "249", "nanos": 990000000 } }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Activate the purchase option

New products start in DRAFT state. You must activate before users can purchase:

gplay purchase-options batch-update-states \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_unlock \
  --json '{"requests":[{"activatePurchaseOptionRequest":{"packageName":"com.example.app","productId":"premium_unlock","purchaseOptionId":"default"}}]}'

Update product

gplay onetimeproducts patch \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_unlock \
  --json @product-updated.json \
  --regions-version "2025/03" \
  --update-mask "purchaseOptions"

Get product

gplay onetimeproducts get --package com.example.app --product-id premium_unlock

Delete product

gplay onetimeproducts delete \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_unlock \
  --confirm

Batch operations

# Get multiple products
gplay onetimeproducts batch-get \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-ids "premium_unlock,coins_100"

# Update multiple products (regionsVersion goes inside JSON)
gplay onetimeproducts batch-update \
  --package com.example.app \
  --json @products-batch.json

Legacy In-App Products (IAP)

Use only for managing existing legacy products.

List products

gplay iap list --package com.example.app

Create product

iap create has no --sku flag — the SKU/productId lives in the JSON body:

gplay iap create \
  --package com.example.app \
  --json @product.json

product.json (legacy format)

{
  "sku": "premium_upgrade",
  "status": "active",
  "purchaseType": "managedUser",
  "defaultPrice": {
    "priceMicros": "990000",
    "currency": "USD"
  },
  "prices": {
    "US": { "priceMicros": "990000", "currency": "USD" },
    "GB": { "priceMicros": "799000", "currency": "GBP" }
  },
  "listings": {
    "en-US": { "title": "Premium Upgrade", "description": "Unlock all premium features" },
    "es-ES": { "title": "Actualización Premium", "description": "Desbloquea todas las funciones premium" }
  }
}

Update / Batch / Delete

# Update
gplay iap update --package com.example.app --sku premium_upgrade --json @product-updated.json

# Batch update
gplay iap batch-update --package com.example.app --json @products.json

# Batch get
gplay iap batch-get --package com.example.app --skus "premium,coins_100,coins_500"

# Delete (permanent — ID cannot be reused)
gplay iap delete --package com.example.app --sku premium_upgrade --confirm

Subscriptions

List subscriptions

gplay subscriptions list --package com.example.app

Create subscription

gplay subscriptions create \
  --package com.example.app \
  --json @subscription.json

subscription.json

Subscriptions use the units/nanos/currencyCode price format:

{
  "productId": "premium_monthly",
  "basePlans": [
    {
      "basePlanId": "monthly",
      "state": "ACTIVE",
      "regionalConfigs": [
        {
          "regionCode": "US",
          "newSubscriberAvailability": true,
          "price": { "currencyCode": "USD", "units": "4", "nanos": 990000000 }
        }
      ],
      "autoRenewingBasePlanType": {
        "billingPeriodDuration": "P1M"
      }
    },
    {
      "basePlanId": "yearly",
      "state": "ACTIVE",
      "regionalConfigs": [
        {
          "regionCode": "US",
          "newSubscriberAvailability": true,
          "price": { "currencyCode": "USD", "units": "49", "nanos": 990000000 }
        }
      ],
      "autoRenewingBasePlanType": {
        "billingPeriodDuration": "P1Y"
      }
    }
  ],
  "listings": [
    { "languageCode": "en-US", "title": "Premium Subscription", "description": "Get all premium features" }
  ]
}

Bulk-localize subscriptions across locales

Subscription listings are an array of per-locale objects (not an object keyed by locale). Each entry uses languageCode, title, benefits (array, max 4), and description. One subscriptions update call sets every locale atomically — use --update-mask listings so base plans and pricing are left untouched.

1. Discover the locales your app already ships (cover at least these):

EDIT_ID=$(gplay edits create --package com.example.app | jq -r '.id')
gplay listings list --package com.example.app --edit "$EDIT_ID" --output table

2. Build a listings-only JSON file (subscription-listings.json):

{
  "listings": [
    { "languageCode": "en-US", "title": "Premium Monthly", "benefits": ["Unlimited access", "No ads"], "description": "Premium access to all features." },
    { "languageCode": "de-DE", "title": "Premium Monatlich", "benefits": ["Unbegrenzter Zugang", "Keine Werbung"], "description": "Premium-Zugang zu allen Funktionen." },
    { "languageCode": "es-ES", "title": "Premium Mensual", "benefits": ["Acceso ilimitado", "Sin anuncios"], "description": "Acceso premium a todas las funciones." },
    { "languageCode": "ja-JP", "title": "プレミアム月額", "benefits": ["無制限アクセス", "広告なし"], "description": "すべての機能にプレミアムアクセス。" }
  ]
}

3. Apply to one subscription:

gplay subscriptions update \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_monthly \
  --json @subscription-listings.json \
  --update-mask listings

4. Loop over every subscription in the app:

PACKAGE="com.example.app"
gplay subscriptions list --package "$PACKAGE" --paginate \
  | jq -r '.[].productId' \
  | while read -r PRODUCT_ID; do
      gplay subscriptions update \
        --package "$PACKAGE" \
        --product-id "$PRODUCT_ID" \
        --json @subscription-listings.json \
        --update-mask listings
    done

Verify with gplay subscriptions get --package com.example.app --product-id premium_monthly --pretty and confirm every languageCode appears in the listings array. Constraints: title max 55 chars, description max 80 chars, benefits max 4 items. When the user gives a single display name, reuse it for all locales; when they give per-locale translations, use each locale's own text.

Base Plans

Base plans define the billing period and price for subscriptions.

Activate base plan

gplay baseplans activate \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_monthly \
  --base-plan-id monthly

Deactivate base plan

gplay baseplans deactivate \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_monthly \
  --base-plan-id monthly

Migrate prices

gplay baseplans migrate-prices \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_monthly \
  --base-plan-id monthly \
  --json @migration.json

Subscription Offers

Offers provide discounts, free trials, or introductory pricing.

List offers

gplay offers list \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_monthly \
  --base-plan-id monthly

Create offer

gplay offers create \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_monthly \
  --base-plan-id monthly \
  --json @offer.json

offer.json (Free trial)

{
  "offerId": "trial_7day",
  "state": "ACTIVE",
  "phases": [
    {
      "duration": "P7D",
      "pricingType": "FREE_TRIAL"
    }
  ],
  "regionalConfigs": [
    {
      "regionCode": "US"
    }
  ]
}

offer.json (Introductory price)

{
  "offerId": "intro_50_off",
  "state": "ACTIVE",
  "phases": [
    {
      "duration": "P1M",
      "pricingType": "SINGLE_PAYMENT",
      "price": {
        "priceMicros": "2490000",
        "currency": "USD"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Activate/Deactivate offer

# Activate
gplay offers activate \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_monthly \
  --base-plan-id monthly \
  --offer-id trial_7day

# Deactivate
gplay offers deactivate \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_monthly \
  --base-plan-id monthly \
  --offer-id trial_7day

OTP Purchase Option Offers

Manage offers on one-time product purchase options:

# List offers
gplay otp-offers list --package com.example.app --product-id premium_unlock --purchase-option-id default

# Activate offer
gplay otp-offers activate --package com.example.app --product-id premium_unlock --purchase-option-id default --offer-id promo_50off

# Deactivate offer
gplay otp-offers deactivate --package com.example.app --product-id premium_unlock --purchase-option-id default --offer-id promo_50off

Regional Pricing

Convert prices

gplay pricing convert \
  --package com.example.app \
  --json @price-request.json

price-request.json (ConvertRegionPricesRequest)

The body is a single base price as Money — units is the whole-currency amount as a string, nanos is the fractional part (990000000 = .99):

{
  "price": {
    "currencyCode": "USD",
    "units": "9",
    "nanos": 990000000
  }
}

The response returns converted prices for all supported regions plus a regionVersion you can pass as --regions-version to subscriptions, base plans, offers, and one-time product commands.

Common Monetization Patterns

Pattern 1: New One-Time Product (recommended)

# 1. Create product
gplay onetimeproducts create \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_unlock \
  --json @premium.json \
  --regions-version "2025/03"

# 2. Activate purchase option
gplay purchase-options batch-update-states \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium_unlock \
  --json '{"requests":[{"activatePurchaseOptionRequest":{"packageName":"com.example.app","productId":"premium_unlock","purchaseOptionId":"default"}}]}'

# 3. Verify
gplay onetimeproducts get --package com.example.app --product-id premium_unlock

Pattern 2: Subscription with Free Trial

# 1. Create subscription
gplay subscriptions create \
  --package com.example.app \
  --json @sub.json

# 2. Create free trial offer
gplay offers create \
  --package com.example.app \
  --product-id premium \
  --base-plan-id monthly \
  --json @trial.json

Pattern 3: Multi-Tier Subscription

{
  "productId": "premium",
  "basePlans": [
    {
      "basePlanId": "basic_monthly",
      "regionalConfigs": [{ "regionCode": "US", "newSubscriberAvailability": true, "price": { "currencyCode": "USD", "units": "2", "nanos": 990000000 } }],
      "autoRenewingBasePlanType": { "billingPeriodDuration": "P1M" }
    },
    {
      "basePlanId": "premium_monthly",
      "regionalConfigs": [{ "regionCode": "US", "newSubscriberAvailability": true, "price": { "currencyCode": "USD", "units": "4", "nanos": 990000000 } }],
      "autoRenewingBasePlanType": { "billingPeriodDuration": "P1M" }
    },
    {
      "basePlanId": "premium_yearly",
      "regionalConfigs": [{ "regionCode": "US", "newSubscriberAvailability": true, "price": { "currencyCode": "USD", "units": "49", "nanos": 990000000 } }],
      "autoRenewingBasePlanType": { "billingPeriodDuration": "P1Y" }
    }
  ]
}

Testing

Use test purchases

In your app code, use test product IDs:

• android.test.purchased
• android.test.canceled
• android.test.refunded
• android.test.item_unavailable

License testing

Add test accounts in Play Console: Settings → License Testing → Add license testers

Best Practices

1. Use clear product IDs - e.g., premium_monthly, not prod_001. IDs are permanent and cannot be reused after deletion.
2. Prefer the new monetization API - Use gplay onetimeproducts for new products, not gplay iap.
3. Localize descriptions - Provide listings for all supported languages.
4. Set up regional pricing - Use PPP pricing (see gplay-ppp-pricing skill) instead of same price everywhere.
5. Activate after creation - New OTP products start in DRAFT. Use gplay purchase-options batch-update-states to activate.
6. Discover commands - Run gplay --help to see all command groups. Purchase option management is under gplay purchase-options, not under gplay onetimeproducts.
7. Test thoroughly - Use test accounts and test product IDs.
8. Monitor conversions - Track which products/offers perform best.
9. Update prices carefully - Price changes affect existing subscribers.

Billing Periods

• P1W - 1 week
• P1M - 1 month
• P3M - 3 months
• P6M - 6 months
• P1Y - 1 year