androidversionName

androidversionName, commonly referred to as android:versionName, is a user-visible version string for an Android application. It is an attribute of the manifest’s root element and is paired with android:versionCode, which is used by the system for internal versioning and upgrade logic. The versionName is intended for display to users and appears in places such as the Play Store listing and the app’s information screen.

The platform does not enforce a specific format for the versionName, and it is primarily for presentation. Developers usually choose a semantic versioning format (for example, "1.0.0" or "2.1.3-beta"), though any non-empty string is technically valid. The versionCode, an integer, must increase with every release to satisfy upgrade requirements on devices and in the Play Console.

Configuring versionName is typically done in the Gradle build script in modern Android projects. Under the module’s build.gradle file, the values are set in defaultConfig as versionCode and versionName, for example: versionCode 42 and versionName "4.2.1". Gradle merges manifest data from various sources, so setting versionName in Gradle is the recommended approach, though it can also be specified directly in the AndroidManifest.xml if needed. Build variants and product flavors can override these values.

In code, the current versionName can be accessed at runtime via BuildConfig.VERSION_NAME. In distribution and user communication, versionName is the primary human-friendly identifier for a release, while versionCode is used by the system to enforce proper upgrade sequencing.