Mobile Release

Mobile Release — Android & iOS via Fastlane

Pre-Flight Checklist (Both Platforms)

Before any release:

1. Pull latest — git pull origin main
2. Bump version — Play Store / App Store reject duplicate version codes
3. Check signing — wrong key = rejected upload, wasted build time
4. Run in tmux — builds take 1-5 min, don't block the agent

Android

Signing — The #1 Gotcha

Two key systems exist:

• Upload key — what you sign the AAB with locally. Play Store validates this.
• App signing key — Google re-signs with this. You never touch it.

Verify your keystore before uploading:

keytool -list -v -keystore path/to/keystore.jks -storepass PASSWORD 2>&1 | grep "SHA1:"

Compare SHA1 with what Play Console shows under Setup → App signing → Upload key certificate.

Common trap: Multiple keystores in the project. build.gradle.kts may reference one, Fastfile another. They must match what Play Store expects.

Injected signing (Fastfile overrides build.gradle):

gradle(
  task: "bundleRelease",
  project_dir: ".",
  properties: {
    "android.injected.signing.store.file" => File.expand_path("../path/to/upload.keystore"),
    "android.injected.signing.store.password" => "PASSWORD",
    "android.injected.signing.key.alias" => "aliasName",
    "android.injected.signing.key.password" => "PASSWORD",
  }
)

Version Bumping

Play Store rejects duplicate versionCode. Always bump before deploy.

Where versions live (check both):

• app/build.gradle.kts — often has versionCode / versionName directly
• buildSrc/ or version catalogs — some projects centralize in AppConfig.kt or libs.versions.toml

// app/build.gradle.kts
versionCode = 14       // integer, must increment
versionName = "1.0.5"  // human-readable, shown in Play Store

Target SDK Requirements

Google Play enforces minimum targetSdk. As of 2025+: targetSdk ≥ 35 required for new uploads.

Check: buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/AppConfig.kt or app/build.gradle.kts → targetSdk and compileSdk.

Fastfile Template — Android

default_platform(:android)

platform :android do

  desc "Build debug APK"
  lane :debug do
    gradle(task: "assembleDebug", project_dir: ".")
    UI.success "Debug APK: #{lane_context[SharedValues::GRADLE_APK_OUTPUT_PATH]}"
  end

  desc "Build release AAB (signed for Play Store)"
  lane :bundle do
    gradle(
      task: "bundleRelease",
      project_dir: ".",
      properties: {
        "android.injected.signing.store.file" => File.expand_path("../path/to/upload.keystore"),
        "android.injected.signing.store.password" => ENV["KEYSTORE_PASSWORD"] || `pass project/keystore-password`.strip,
        "android.injected.signing.key.alias" => "myAlias",
        "android.injected.signing.key.password" => ENV["KEYSTORE_PASSWORD"] || `pass project/keystore-password`.strip,
      }
    )
    UI.success "Release AAB: #{lane_context[SharedValues::GRADLE_AAB_OUTPUT_PATH]}"
  end

  desc "Build + install on connected device"
  lane :device do
    gradle(task: "assembleDebug", project_dir: ".")
    adb(command: "install -r #{lane_context[SharedValues::GRADLE_APK_OUTPUT_PATH]}")
    adb(command: "shell am start -n com.example.app/.MainActivity")
    UI.success "Installed and launched"
  end

  desc "Deploy to Play Store internal track"
  lane :deploy do
    bundle
    upload_to_play_store(
      track: "internal",
      aab: lane_context[SharedValues::GRADLE_AAB_OUTPUT_PATH],
      skip_upload_apk: true,        # IMPORTANT: stale APKs in build/ cause "both apk and aab" error
      skip_upload_metadata: true,
      skip_upload_images: true,
      skip_upload_screenshots: true
    )
    UI.success "Deployed to Play Store internal track"
  end

  desc "Promote internal → production"
  lane :promote do
    upload_to_play_store(
      track: "internal",
      track_promote_to: "production",
      skip_upload_apk: true,
      skip_upload_aab: true,
      skip_upload_metadata: true,
      skip_upload_images: true,
      skip_upload_screenshots: true,
      skip_upload_changelogs: true
    )
    UI.success "Promoted to production"
  end

end

Play Store Track Flow

internal → closed testing → open testing → production

Promote between tracks (no re-upload needed):

# CLI one-liner (when no promote lane exists)
fastlane run upload_to_play_store \
  track:internal track_promote_to:production \
  skip_upload_apk:true skip_upload_aab:true \
  skip_upload_metadata:true skip_upload_images:true \
  skip_upload_screenshots:true skip_upload_changelogs:true \
  json_key:path/to/service-account.json

Service Account Setup

upload_to_play_store needs a Google Play service account JSON:

1. Google Cloud Console → create service account
2. Play Console → Setup → API access → link the service account, grant Release manager role
3. Download JSON key → keystores/play-store-service-account.json
4. Reference in Fastfile: json_key: "keystores/play-store-service-account.json"

If stored at default Fastfile location (fastlane/), fastlane auto-detects. Otherwise pass explicitly.

Android Gotchas

iOS

Signing — Certificates & Profiles

Three things must align:

1. Signing certificate (.p12) — developer or distribution
2. Provisioning profile (.mobileprovision) — links cert + app ID + devices
3. Xcode project signing settings — automatic or manual

fastlane match (recommended) — stores certs/profiles in git or cloud:

fastlane match init           # one-time setup
fastlane match appstore       # fetch/create App Store profiles
fastlane match development    # fetch/create dev profiles

Fastfile Template — iOS

default_platform(:ios)

platform :ios do

  desc "Build for testing"
  lane :build do
    build_app(
      workspace: "App.xcworkspace",
      scheme: "App",
      configuration: "Debug",
      export_method: "development"
    )
  end

  desc "Deploy to TestFlight"
  lane :beta do
    increment_build_number
    match(type: "appstore")
    build_app(
      workspace: "App.xcworkspace",
      scheme: "App",
      export_method: "app-store"
    )
    upload_to_testflight(
      skip_waiting_for_build_processing: true
    )
    UI.success "Uploaded to TestFlight"
  end

  desc "Deploy to App Store"
  lane :release do
    increment_build_number
    match(type: "appstore")
    build_app(
      workspace: "App.xcworkspace",
      scheme: "App",
      export_method: "app-store"
    )
    upload_to_app_store(
      force: true,
      skip_metadata: true,
      skip_screenshots: true
    )
    UI.success "Submitted to App Store review"
  end

end

App Store Connect API Key (no 2FA prompts)

# Appfile or lane
app_store_connect_api_key(
  key_id: "ABC123",
  issuer_id: "def-456-ghi",
  key_filepath: "fastlane/AuthKey_ABC123.p8"
)

Generate at: App Store Connect → Users and Access → Integrations → Keys

iOS Gotchas

Agent Workflow

When asked to "deploy android" / "release iOS" / "push to store":

# 1. Pull latest
git pull origin main

# 2. Check current version
grep -E "versionCode|versionName" android/app/build.gradle.kts

# 3. Bump version (ask user or auto-increment)

# 4. Build + upload in tmux
tmux has-session -t pi 2>/dev/null || tmux new-session -d -s pi
tmux new-window -d -t pi -n mobile-deploy 'cd project/android && fastlane deploy 2>&1 | tee /tmp/mobile-deploy.log'

# 5. Monitor
sleep 60 && tmux capture-pane -t pi:mobile-deploy -p -S -40

# 6. Promote if requested
fastlane promote   # or fastlane run upload_to_play_store track:internal track_promote_to:production ...

# 7. Cleanup
tmux kill-window -t pi:mobile-deploy

Debugging Failed Uploads

# Android: check what Play Store has
fastlane run upload_to_play_store validate_only:true track:production \
  skip_upload_apk:true skip_upload_aab:true json_key:path/to/key.json

# iOS: check TestFlight processing
fastlane run check_app_store_connect_status

# Both: verbose mode
fastlane deploy --verbose