Install Groups

Install groups let you tag builds with one or more group names to control update visibility between builds. See the product documentation for a full explanation of how install groups work.

Uploading With Install Groups

Sentry CLI

Pass --install-group one or more times:

sentry-cli build upload app.apk \
  --org your-org \
  --project your-project \
  --build-configuration Release \
  --install-group alpha \
  --install-group staging

Gradle Plugin

Set installGroups in the distribution block:

sentry {
  distribution {
    enabled = true
    installGroups.set(setOf("alpha", "staging"))
  }
}

Fastlane Plugin

Pass the install_groups parameter:

sentry_upload_build(
  org_slug: 'your-org',
  project_slug: 'your-project',
  apk_path: 'path/to/app.apk',
  build_configuration: 'Release',
  install_groups: ['alpha', 'staging']
)

How Install Groups Work With the Auto-Update SDK

When you use the Gradle plugin's installGroups config, it does two things:

1. Upload: Passes --install-group flags to sentry-cli so the build is tagged on the server.
2. Embed: Writes the groups to sentry-distribution.properties inside the APK (as io.sentry.distribution.install-groups-override). The Auto-Update SDK reads this value at runtime and sends the groups as query parameters when checking for updates.

The server then only returns builds whose install groups overlap with the ones sent by the SDK.

This means a single installGroups config line controls both which groups the build is tagged with and which updates the app will see — no extra runtime setup needed.

Programmatic Override

If you need to change the install groups at runtime (for example, based on a feature flag or user setting), you can override them via SentryOptions:

SentryAndroid.init(context) { options ->
    options.distribution.installGroups = setOf("beta", "internal")
}

This overrides the groups embedded by the Gradle plugin for update checks only — it does not change the groups the build was uploaded with.