Cannot generate valid Android apk

Description

I’ve tried to change the package bundle from aab to apk, for generating the apk through Archive..., but I couldn’t find the related option on the project properties, as I can on the Android project on a Xamarin Forms app (Android Options > Android Package Format). I’ve tried to force the Archive Manager to generate a apk by manually editing the .csproj file, with the following lines:

<PropertyGroup>
    <EmbedAssembliesIntoApk>true</EmbedAssembliesIntoApk>
    <AndroidPackageFormat>pkg</AndroidPackageFormat>
    <AndroidUseAapt2>true</AndroidUseAapt2>
    <AndroidCreatePackagePerAbi>false</AndroidCreatePackagePerAbi>
    <AndroidLinkTool>r8</AndroidLinkTool>
    <AndroidDexTool>dx</AndroidDexTool>
</PropertyGroup>

but it fails stating that Failed to create App archive 'AppName'. Invalid Android Archive (no .apk files).

Is there something I’m doing wrong here?

P.D: I don’t know if generating an apk is a expected current feature, or if it isn’t and this should be a feature request. Just tell 😄

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a blank MAUI app project.
2. Manually edit the .csproj to add the former lines.
3. Ensure the build is configured for Release.
4. Try to archive the app.

Version with bug

Preview 12 (current)

Last version that worked well

Unknown/Other

Affected platforms

Android

Affected platform versions

Android 11

Did you find any workaround?

No.

[jonathanpeppers]

Ok, what is the crash?

You should check adb logcat output, some instructions here:

https://docs.microsoft.com/xamarin/android/deploy-test/debugging/android-debug-log#accessing-from-the-command-line

[jonathanpeppers]

I believe there was discussion of three separate problems here.

For the FastDeploy issue, closing this and moving to: https://github.com/xamarin/xamarin-android/issues/6945

If you have other Android-related issues, file them for us there, thanks!