Release Mobile

Release Mobile

Ship a working app to App Store and Play Store. Code quality is out of scope — this is purely release mechanics.

Versioning

• iOS: CFBundleShortVersionString (semver) + CFBundleVersion (monotonic integer). Both must bump per submission.
• Android: versionName (semver) + versionCode (integer, must increase per track upload).
• Automate bumps in CI — never hand-edit Info.plist or build.gradle in PRs.

iOS — Signing and Build

• Certificates: Development (local), Distribution (App Store/Ad Hoc). Store in Keychain or CI secret; never in the repo.
• Provisioning profiles: match bundle ID, capabilities, and certificate. Regenerate when a device or capability changes.
• Archive: xcodebuild archive -scheme <Scheme> -archivePath out.xcarchive
• Export: xcodebuild -exportArchive -archivePath out.xcarchive -exportPath out/ -exportOptionsPlist export.plist
• export.plist must set method: app-store and signingCertificate.
• Automate: Fastlane match (cert/profile sync) + gym (build) + pilot (TestFlight) + deliver (App Store).

iOS — Submission

• Upload via xcrun altool, Transporter, or fastlane deliver.
• Required: release notes, screenshots per device family, privacy manifest (required since iOS 17).
• Phased rollout: 1% → 2% → 5% → 10% → 20% → 50% → 100% over 7 days. Pause if crash rate spikes.
• Review: typically 24–48 h; expedited review available for critical fixes.

Android — Signing and Build

• Keystore: generate once, store securely — never commit. Fields: alias, key password, store password.
• Build AAB (preferred): ./gradlew bundleRelease. Configure signingConfigs from env vars.
• Automate: Fastlane supply or the Play Developer API.

Play Store Tracks

Internal → Closed testing → Open testing → Production. Promote via Console or API — no rebuild needed. Same 1%→100% rollout pattern; monitor ANR and crash rates before expanding.

OTA Updates (React Native / Expo)

• Expo EAS Update / CodePush: push JS + assets without App Store review.
• JS/assets only — native changes, permission changes, and payment flows always need a store release.

CI Pipeline

branch push   →  build + unit tests
tag vX.Y.Z    →  sign → upload TestFlight / Play internal → notify QA
manual gate   →  promote to production track

Guardrails

• Rotate certificates and keystore passwords annually; record expiry dates.
• Test the release build (not debug) on a real device before submitting.
• Never store signing credentials in the repository.