AndroidDev / gradle: How to rename your output apk during build time to include details like the version.

build.gradle

android {
  
    // .. set up build flavors etc here
    
    //instead of "app-release.apk" this method will rewrite the name to
    // "MyCoolCompany-MyGreatProduct-v<defaultConfig.versionName>-RELEASE.apk which is much better suited for archiving and overall handling
    // To restore the default behavior just delete the whole block below
    applicationVariants.all { variant ->

        def apk = variant.outputFile;
        def newName;

        newName = apk.name.replace(".apk", "-v" + defaultConfig.versionName + "-" + variant.buildType.name.toUpperCase() + ".apk");

        newName = newName
                .replace("-" + variant.buildType.name, "")
                .replace(project.name, "MyCoolCompany-MyGreatProduct");

        variant.outputFile = new File(apk.parentFile, newName);
        if (variant.zipAlign) {
            variant.outputFile = new File(apk.parentFile, newName.replace("-unaligned", ""));
        }

        logger.info('INFO: Set outputFile to ' + variant.outputFile + " for [" + variant.name + "]");
    }
}

Please be aware that your CI probably doesn't know about the name change. It might be necessary to copy the output files after creation rather than renaming them in order to keep your build chain intact.