Integrating with CI\/CD pipelines<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nInstead of manually performing release steps every time, Fastlane allows you to automate everything using one command.<\/p>\n
\nPrerequisites<\/h2>\n
Before starting, make sure you have:<\/p>\n
Fastlane Installed<\/strong><\/p>\nInstall Fastlane globally:<\/p>\n
brew install fastlane<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nVerify installation:<\/p>\n
fastlane –version<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
\nFirebase App Distribution Setup<\/h2>\n
Your React Native app should already be connected to Firebase.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll also need:<\/p>\n
\n- Firebase Project<\/li>\n
- Firebase App Distribution enabled<\/li>\n
- Firebase App ID<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You can find the App ID inside the Firebase Console.<\/p>\n
\nStep 1 \u2014 Initialize Fastlane<\/h2>\n
Inside the android directory, initialize Fastlane:<\/p>\n
fastlane init<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nFastlane will create a new structure like this:<\/p>\n
android\/
\n\u2514\u2500\u2500 fastlane\/
\n\u251c\u2500\u2500 Fastfile
\n\u251c\u2500\u2500 Appfile
\n\u2514\u2500\u2500 Pluginfile<\/p>\n
\nStep 2 \u2014 Install Required Plugins<\/h2>\n
We\u2019ll use:<\/p>\n
\n- Firebase App Distribution plugin<\/li>\n
- Version code increment plugin<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Install both plugins:<\/p>\n
fastlane add_plugin firebase_app_distribution<\/span><\/em>
\nfastlane add_plugin increment_version_code<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
\nStep 3 \u2014 Configure the Appfile<\/h2>\n
Open: android\/fastlane\/Appfile<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nAdd your package name and Firebase credentials:<\/p>\n
json_key_file(“firebase-service-account.json”)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\npackage_name(“com.example.app”)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
\nStep 4 \u2014 Configure Your Fastfile<\/h2>\nApproach One (Basic)<\/h2>\n
Open: android\/fastlane\/Fastfile<\/span><\/em>
\nAdd the following configuration:<\/p>\ndefault_platform(:android)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nplatform :android do<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Lane to increment versionCode<\/span><\/em>
\nlane :increment_version do<\/span><\/em>
\n# Fetch the latest release from Firebase App Distribution<\/span><\/em>
\nlatest_release = firebase_app_distribution_get_latest_release(<\/span><\/em>
\napp: “”1:0000000000:xxxx:xxxxxxx”” # Replace with your Firebase App ID<\/span><\/em>
\n)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Increment the versionCode by 1 from the latest release<\/span><\/em>
\nincrement_version_code({ version_code: latest_release[:buildVersion].to_i + 1 })<\/span><\/em>
\nend<\/span><\/em><\/p>\ndesc “Build and upload the APK (Release) to Firebase App Distribution”<\/span><\/em>
\nlane :upload_to_firebase do<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Increment versionCode before building<\/span><\/em>
\nincrement_version<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Clean Gradle build<\/span><\/em>
\ngradle(task: “clean”)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Build the APK<\/span><\/em>
\ngradle(<\/span><\/em>
\ntask: “assemble”,<\/span><\/em>
\nbuild_type: “Release”<\/span><\/em>
\n)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Upload the APK to Firebase App Distribution<\/span><\/em>
\nfirebase_app_distribution(<\/span><\/em>
\napp: “1:0000000000:xxxx:xxxxxxx”, # Replace with your Firebase App ID<\/span><\/em>
\ntesters: “amitkumar@domain.com”,<\/span><\/em>
\nrelease_notes: File.read(“..\/..\/release_notes.txt”) # Ensure correct path to your changelog file<\/span><\/em>
\n)<\/span><\/em>
\nend<\/span><\/em><\/p>\ndesc “Build and upload the APK (Debug) to Firebase App Distribution”<\/span><\/em>
\nlane :upload_to_firebase_debug do<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Increment versionCode before building<\/span><\/em>
\nincrement_version<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Clean Gradle build<\/span><\/em>
\ngradle(task: “clean”)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Build the Debug APK<\/span><\/em>
\ngradle(<\/span><\/em>
\ntask: “assemble”,<\/span><\/em>
\nbuild_type: “Debug”<\/span><\/em>
\n)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Optional: Upload the APK to Firebase App Distribution<\/span><\/em>
\nfirebase_app_distribution(<\/span><\/em>
\napp: “1:0000000000:xxxx:xxxxxxx”, # Replace with your Firebase App ID<\/span><\/em>
\ntesters: “amitkumar@domain.com”,<\/span><\/em>
\ngroups: “your-group-team-id”,<\/span><\/em>
\nrelease_notes: File.read(“..\/..\/release_notes.txt”) # Ensure correct path to the changelog file<\/span><\/em>
\n)<\/span><\/em>
\nend<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nend<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
\nRecommended: Approach Two (Interactive & Scalable)<\/h2>\n
This version gives a cleaner and interactive deployment experience:
\nThe most efficient and maintainable way is to use a single interactive Fastlane script. This approach streamlines versioning, building, and distributing your app while allowing users to choose options like build type and tester group\u2014making the process both flexible and scalable.<\/p>\n
default_platform(:android)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nplatform :android do<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# ———————————————— Helper Methods ————————————————<\/span><\/em>
\ndef select_build_type<\/span><\/em>
\nUI.select(“Which build type do you want to generate?”, [“Debug”, “Release”])<\/span><\/em>
\nend<\/span><\/em><\/p>\ndef select_distribution_group<\/span><\/em>
\nUI.input(“Enter Firebase tester group (or emails separated by commas):”)<\/span><\/em>
\nend<\/span><\/em><\/p>\ndef confirm_build(build_type, group)<\/span><\/em>
\nUI.important(“You are about to build a #{build_type} APK and distribute it to: #{group}”)<\/span><\/em>
\nunless UI.confirm(“Proceed?”)<\/span><\/em>
\nUI.user_error!(“Cancelled by user.”)<\/span><\/em>
\nend<\/span><\/em>
\nend<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# ———————————————— Main Lane ————————————————<\/span><\/em>
\ndesc “Build and distribution workflow for YOUR PROJECT NAME”<\/span><\/em>
\nlane : upload_to_firebase do<\/span><\/em>
\n# Display beautiful header<\/span><\/em>
\nUI.header(“\ud83d\ude80 YOUR PROJECT NAME DEPLOYMENT WORKFLOW \ud83d\ude80”)<\/span><\/em>
\nputs “”<\/span><\/em>
\nUI.message(“Welcome to the YOUR PROJECT NAME deployment tool!”)<\/span><\/em>
\nUI.message(“This will guide you through building and distributing the app.”)<\/span><\/em>
\nputs “”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Get user inputs<\/span><\/em>
\nbuild_type = select_build_type<\/span><\/em>
\ngroup = select_distribution_group<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Confirm before proceeding<\/span><\/em>
\nconfirm_build(build_type, group)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Build process<\/span><\/em>
\nUI.header(“\u2699\ufe0f BUILD PROCESS”)<\/span><\/em>
\nincrement_version<\/span><\/em>
\ngradle(task: “clean”)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\ngradle(<\/span><\/em>
\ntask: “assemble”,<\/span><\/em>
\nbuild_type: build_type<\/span><\/em>
\n)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n# Distribution<\/span><\/em>
\nUI.header(“\ud83d\udce6 DISTRIBUTION”)<\/span><\/em>
\nfirebase_app_distribution(<\/span><\/em>
\napp: “1:0000000000:xxxx:xxxxxxx”, # Replace with your actual Firebase App ID<\/span><\/em>
\ngroups: group,<\/span><\/em>
\nrelease_notes: File.read(“..\/..\/release_notes.txt”)<\/span><\/em>
\n)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n