title: Must you have a release certificate before generating a Google Maps key?
body: <p>I am reading the following documentation to get a Google Maps API key for Google Maps V2:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/android-api/signup" rel="nofollow">https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/android-api/signup</a></p>
  
  <p>It says you must locate your release certificate keystore file and run the following:</p>
  
  <pre><code>keytool -list -v -keystore your_keystore_name -alias your_alias_name
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>And then copy the SHA1 line of the certificate's SHA-1 fingerprint to the Google API Console.</p>
  
  <p>But wait a second. When you generate the keystore, it means you are ready to publish the app. But if you have to generate the Google Maps Key AFTER you generate the keystore, doesn't that mean you have to generate the keystore again to reflect the changes made to the AndroidManifest.xml where you added the Google Maps key?</p>