The Run 
button builds and deploys your app to a device. However,
to build your app to share or upload to Google Play, you'll need to use one of
the options in the Build menu to compile parts or all of your project.
Before you select any of the build options listed in table 1, make sure you
first select the build variant you
want to use.
Table 1. Build options in the Build menu.
| Menu Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Make Module | Compiles all source files in the selected module that have been modified since the last build, and all modules the selected module depends on recursively. The compilation includes dependent source files and any associated build tasks. You can select the module to build by selecting either the module name or one of its files in the Project window. |
| Make Project | Makes all modules. |
| Clean Project | Deletes all intermediate/cached build files. |
| Rebuild Project | Runs Clean Project for the selected build variant and produces an APK. |
| Build Bundle(s) / APK(s) > Build APK(s) |
Builds an APK of all modules in the current project for their selected variant. When the build completes, a confirmation notification appears, providing a link to the APK file and a link to analyze it in the APK Analyzer. If the build variant you've selected is a debug build type, then the APK is signed with a debug key and it's ready to install. If you've selected a release variant, then, by default, the APK is unsigned and you must manually sign the APK. Alternatively, you can select Build > Generate Signed Bundle / APK from the menu bar.
Android Studio saves the APKs you build in
|
| Build Bundle(s) / APK(s) > Build Bundle(s) |
Builds an Android App Bundle of all modules in the current project for their selected variant. When the build completes, a confirmation notification appears, providing a link to the app bundle and a link to analyze it in the APK Analyzer. If the build variant you've selected is a debug build type, then the app
bundle is signed with a debug key, and you can
use
Android Studio saves the APKs you build in
|
| Brings up a dialog with a wizard to set up a new signing configuration, and build either a signed app bundle or APK. You need to sign your app with a release key before you can upload it to the Play Console. For more information about app signing, see Sign your app. |
Note: The Run button builds an APK with testOnly="true",
which means the APK can only be installed via adb (which Android Studio uses). If you want
a debuggable APK that people can install without adb, select your debug variant and click
Build Bundle(s) / APK(s) > Build APK(s).
For details about the tasks that Gradle executes for each command, open the Build window as described in the next section. For more information about Gradle and the build process, see Configure Your Build.