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CI/CD Best Practices

  1. On each commit/PR, run linting and static analysis (ESLint, TypeScript) and execute your test suite. Automatically building on merge to main ensures no breaking code reaches production. Typical pipelines include steps like npm install (or yarn), lint (npm run lint), unit tests (npm test), and code quality checks.

  2. Automate builds and signing. Have your CI produce release APKs/IPAs on demand. Many teams use Fastlane for build automation: e.g., lanes like build_android_release and build_ios_release, which can invoke Gradle or Xcode builds. Sample Fastlane lane loading env vars:

lane :build_android_release do |options|
  dotenv(env: "production")
  sh "npm install"
  gradle(task: "clean assembleRelease")   # Android
end

lane :build_ios_release do |options|
  dotenv(env: "production")
  sh "npm install"
  gym(scheme: "MyApp", configuration: "Release")  # iOS
end

Popular options include GitHub Actions, or Expo EAS. GitHub Actions lets you define workflows in .github/workflows/ci.yml, and can run on every push or pull request. Expo EAS Workflows (especially for Expo apps) provide managed build servers that handle signing certificates and keystore files automatically.

If you use GitHub Actions, include build artifacts (signed binaries) as pipeline outputs or uploads to a distribution service.

Automated Deployment

Configure your pipeline to optionally deploy to beta or production stores. For example, with Fastlane’s deliver (iOS) and supply (Android) actions, you can upload the app bundle to TestFlight/App Store or Google Play Console as part of the CI process. This closes the loop so that a successful merge can trigger a nightly or tagged release.