Distribute CLI

The Distribute CLI is a command-line tool designed to streamline the process of building and distributing Flutter applications for Android and iOS platforms. It supports integration with Firebase and Fastlane for seamless app distribution.

Features

• Build Android and iOS apps with custom configurations.
• Distribute apps using Firebase App Distribution or Fastlane.
• Automatically generate changelogs based on Git commits.
• Validate and download metadata for Android Play Store.
• Cross-platform support (macOS required for iOS builds).

Prerequisites

Before using the Distribute CLI, ensure the following tools are installed:

• Git
• Firebase CLI
• Fastlane
• Flutter

For iOS builds, you must use macOS and have Xcode installed.

Installation

Execute the following command to globally activate distribute_cli:

dart pub global activate distribute_cli

Run the following command to initialize the environment:

distribute init

This will create the necessary directories and validate the required tools.

Usage

Build Apps

To build Android and iOS apps, use the build command:

distribute build --android --ios

Options

• -p, --[no-]publish: Automatically distribute Android builds.
• --[no]-android: Build Android (enabled by default).
• --[no]-ios: Build iOS (enabled by default).
• --android_binary: Specify the Android binary type (aab or apk).
• --android_args: Specify additional arguments for Android builds.
• --ios_args: Specify additional arguments for iOS builds.
• --custom_args=<macos:macos,windows:windows,ios:ipa,android_apk:apk>: Provide custom arguments in the format key:args,key:args. These will be executed as flutter build <args>.

Distribute Apps

To distribute apps, use the publish command:

distribute publish --android --firebase

Options

• --[no]-android: Build and distribute Android (enabled by default).
• --[no]-ios: Build and distribute iOS (enabled by default).
• --[no]-firebase: Use Firebase for distribution.
• --[no]-fastlane: Use Fastlane for distribution (enabled by default).
• --fastlane_track: Specify the Play Store track (e.g., internal, production).
• --fastlane_promote_track_to: Specify the track to promote to after distribution.

Example Commands

Build and Distribute Android App

distribute build --no-ios --android --publish --android_binary=aab

Distribute iOS App

distribute publish --ios --no-android

Build with Custom Arguments

distribute build --custom_args="macos:macos,windows:windows"

Configuration

The tool uses a .distribution.env file for configuration. This file is created during initialization and contains the following settings:

ANDROID_BUILD=true
ANDROID_DISTRIBUTE=true
ANDROID_PLAYSTORE_TRACK=internal
ANDROID_PLAYSTORE_TRACK_PROMOTE_TO=production
ANDROID_PACKAGE_NAME=com.example.app
ANDROID_FIREBASE_APP_ID=your-firebase-app-id
ANDROID_FIREBASE_GROUPS=testers
ANDROID_BINARY=appbundle

IOS_BUILD=true
IOS_DISTRIBUTE=true
IOS_DISTRIBUTION_USER=your-apple-id
IOS_DISTRIBUTION_PASSWORD=your-app-specific-password

USE_FASTLANE=true
USE_FIREBASE=false

Populating the .distribution.env File

1. ANDROID_BUILD:
   Set to true to enable Android builds.

2. ANDROID_DISTRIBUTE:
   Set to true to enable Android distribution after building.

3. ANDROID_PACKAGE_NAME:
   Specify your app's package name (e.g., com.example.app).

4. ANDROID_PLAYSTORE_TRACK:
   Specify the Play Store track for Android distribution (e.g., internal, alpha, beta, production). Defaults to internal.

5. ANDROID_PLAYSTORE_TRACK_PROMOTE_TO:
   Specify the Play Store track to promote the build to after distribution (e.g., production). Defaults to production.

6. ANDROID_BINARY:
   Specify the Android binary type for builds (apk or appbundle). Defaults to appbundle.

7. ANDROID_FIREBASE_APP_ID:
   Provide your Firebase App ID if using Firebase App Distribution. Leave blank otherwise.

8. ANDROID_FIREBASE_GROUPS:
   List Firebase tester groups (comma-separated) for distribution. Leave blank if not applicable.

9. IOS_BUILD:
   Set to true to enable iOS builds.

10. IOS_DISTRIBUTE:
    Set to true to enable iOS distribution after building.

11. IOS_DISTRIBUTION_USER:
    Provide your Apple ID for App Store distribution.

12. IOS_DISTRIBUTION_PASSWORD:
    Provide your app-specific password for App Store distribution. You can generate it from Apple ID settings.

13. USE_FASTLANE:
    Set to true to enable Fastlane for Android distribution.

14. USE_FIREBASE:
    Set to true to enable Firebase App Distribution.

Adding the distribution/fastlane.json File

1. Visit the Google Cloud Console.
2. Navigate to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
3. Select or create a service account with Editor or Release Manager permissions for your Play Store project.
4. Generate a JSON key for the service account and download it.
5. Place the JSON key file in the distribution directory and name it fastlane.json.

Ensure your project directory is structured as follows:

your_project_directory
  ├── lib
  ├── distribution
      ├── fastlane.json

Logs

All logs are saved to distribution.log in the root directory. Use this file to debug issues or review the build and distribution process.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit issues or pull requests to improve the tool.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.