Create a Release

In order to start pushing updates, you will need to create a release.

Creating a release builds and submits your app to Patchwing. Patchwing saves the compiled Dart code from your application in order to make updates smaller in size.

Android

Create an Android release by running the following command:

patchwing release android

Example output:

$ patchwing release android
✓ Building release (9.6s)
✓ Fetching apps (0.2s)
✓ Detecting release version (0.2s)
✓ Fetching releases (68ms)

🚀 Ready to create a new release!

📱 App: new_flutter_app (7a29188a-9363-426a-9a36-74a5e166373d)
📦 Release Version: 1.0.0+1
🕹️  Platform: android (arm64, arm32, x86_64)

Would you like to continue? (y/N) Yes
✓ Fetching Flutter revision (30ms)
✓ Updating release status (67ms)
✓ Creating artifacts (2.8s)
✓ Updating release status (62ms)

✅ Published Release!

Your next step is to upload the app bundle to the Play Store.
build/app/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab

See the following link for more information:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9859152?hl=en

If your application supports flavors or multiple release targets, you can specify the flavor and target using the --flavor and --target options:

patchwing release android --target ./lib/main_development.dart --flavor development

Note

patchwing release wraps flutter build and can take any argument flutter build can. To pass arguments to the underlying flutter build you need to put flutter build arguments after a -- separator. For example: patchwing release android -- --dart-define="foo=bar" will define the "foo" environment variable inside Dart as you might have done with flutter build directly. In Powershell the -- separator must be quoted: '--'.

By default, patchwing release android builds an AppBundle (.aab). If you would like to also generate an Android Package Kit (.apk), use the following command:

patchwing release android --artifact apk

Note

By default patchwing release uses the Flutter version bundled within the patchwing installation.

That version can be checked by running patchwing doctor

To release with a different Flutter version, you can specify the version using the --flutter-version flag.

patchwing release android --flutter-version 3.44.0

iOS

Create an iOS release by running the following command:

patchwing release ios

Example output:

$ patchwing release ios
✓ Fetching apps (0.2s)
✓ Building release (59.0s)
✓ Getting release version (40ms)
✓ Fetching releases (0.1s)
🚀 Ready to create a new release!
📱 App: My App (7a29188a-9363-426a-9a36-74a5e166373d)
📦 Release Version: 1.0.0+1
🕹️  Platform: ios

Would you like to continue? (y/N) Yes
✓ Fetching Flutter revision (40ms)
✓ Creating release (0.1s)
✓ Creating artifacts (5.1s)
✓ Updating release status (57ms)

✅ Published Release!

Your next step is to upload the ipa to App Store Connect.
build/ios/ipa/new_flutter_app.ipa

To upload to the App Store either:
    1. Drag and drop the "build/ios/ipa/new_flutter_app.ipa" bundle into the Apple Transporter macOS app (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/transporter/id1450874784)
    2. Run xcrun altool --upload-app --type ios -f build/ios/ipa/new_flutter_app.ipa --apiKey your_api_key --apiIssuer your_issuer_id.
       See "man altool" for details about how to authenticate with the App Store Connect API key.

If your application supports flavors or multiple release targets, you can specify the flavor and target using the --flavor and --target options:

patchwing release ios --target ./lib/main_development.dart --flavor development

Note

patchwing release wraps flutter build and can take any argument flutter build can. To pass arguments to the underlying flutter build you need to put flutter build arguments after a -- separator. For example: patchwing release android -- --dart-define="foo=bar" will define the "foo" environment variable inside Dart as you might have done with flutter build directly.

Note

By default patchwing release uses the Flutter version bundled within the patchwing installation.

That version can be checked by running patchwing doctor

To release with a different Flutter version, you can specify the version using the --flutter-version flag.

patchwing release ios --flutter-version 3.44.0

Signing issues

Depending on how you normally sign your iOS app, you may see an error at the end of the build saying something like: Runner.app requires a provisioning profile with ___ feature or that no signing certificate was found. This can be addressed in a few ways:

Setting up automatic signing in Xcode

If you are releasing on your local machine (i.e., not in a CI environment), this option is easier than the following options, but does not always work well in CI environments.

In Xcode, open your project and navigate to the “Signing & Capabilities” tab. Ensure that “Automatically manage signing” is checked.

Create an ExportOptions.plist file.

You may need to provide an ExportOptions.plist file to the patchwing release ios command. This file is used by Xcode to determine which certificate and provisioning profile should be used to sign the .ipa. An example of this file is:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>method</key>
	<string>app-store</string>
	<key>provisioningProfiles</key>
	<dict>
		<key>com.example.your_bundle_id</key>
		<string>Your App's App Store Provisioning Profile Name</string>
	</dict>
	<key>signingCertificate</key>
	<string>Apple Distribution</string>
	<key>signingStyle</key>
	<string>manual</string>
	<key>teamID</key>
	<string>*****</string> # From https://developer.apple.com/account
</dict>
</plist>

To use this file, pass it to the patchwing release ios command:

patchwing release ios --export-options-plist=path/to/ExportOptions.plist

Linux

Create a Linux release by running the following command:

patchwing release linux

Example output:

$ patchwing release linux
✓ Fetching apps (0.3s)
✓ Building app bundle with Flutter 3.41.4 (1e0e5760ee) (18.3s)
✓ Fetching releases (0.1s)

🚀 Ready to create a new release!

📱 App: sample (d0cf1d8f-e741-4f5d-b280-b794000df1cd)
📦 Release Version: 1.0.13+2
🕹️  Platform: linux
🐦 Flutter Version: 3.41.4 (1e0e5760ee)

Would you like to continue? (y/N) Yes
✓ Fetching releases (0.1s)
✓ Creating release (0.3s)
✓ Updating release status (0.1s)
✓ Uploading artifacts (3.5s)
✓ Updating release status (1.7s)

✅ Published Release 1.0.0+1!

macOS

Create a macOS release by running the following command:

patchwing release macos

Example output:

$ patchwing release macos
✓ Fetching apps (0.3s)
✓ Building app bundle with Flutter 3.41.4 (1e0e5760ee) (18.3s)
✓ Fetching releases (0.1s)

🚀 Ready to create a new release!

📱 App: sample (d0cf1d8f-e741-4f5d-b280-b794000df1cd)
📦 Release Version: 1.0.13+2
🕹️  Platform: macos
🐦 Flutter Version: 3.41.4 (1e0e5760ee)

Would you like to continue? (y/N) Yes
✓ Fetching releases (0.1s)
✓ Creating release (0.3s)
✓ Updating release status (0.1s)
✓ Uploading artifacts (3.5s)
✓ Updating release status (1.7s)

✅ Published Release 1.0.13+2!

macOS app created at build/macos/Build/Products/Release/new_flutter_app.app.

To create a patch for this release, run patchwing patch --platforms=macos --release-version=1.0.0+1

Note: patchwing patch --platforms=macos without the --release-version option will patch the current version of the app.

If your application supports flavors or multiple release targets, you can specify the flavor and target using the --flavor and --target options:

patchwing release macos --target ./lib/main_development.dart --flavor development

Note

patchwing release wraps flutter build and can take any argument flutter build can. To pass arguments to the underlying flutter build you need to put flutter build arguments after a -- separator. For example: patchwing release android -- --dart-define="foo=bar" will define the "foo" environment variable inside Dart as you might have done with flutter build directly. In Powershell the -- separator must be quoted: '--'.

Note

By default patchwing release uses the Flutter version bundled within the patchwing installation.

That version can be checked by running patchwing doctor

To release with a different Flutter version, you can specify the version using the --flutter-version flag.

patchwing release macos --flutter-version 3.44.0

Windows

Create a Windows release by running the following command:

patchwing release windows

Example output:

$ patchwing release windows
✓ Fetching apps (0.3s)
✓ Building Windows app with Flutter 3.41.4 (1e0e5760ee) (18.3s)
✓ Fetching releases (0.1s)

🚀 Ready to create a new release!

📱 App: sample (d0cf1d8f-e741-4f5d-b280-b794000df1cd)
📦 Release Version: 1.0.0+1
🕹️  Platform: windows
🐦 Flutter Version: 3.41.4 (1e0e5760ee)

Would you like to continue? (y/N) Yes
✓ Fetching releases (0.1s)
✓ Creating release (0.3s)
✓ Updating release status (0.1s)
✓ Uploading artifacts (3.5s)
✓ Updating release status (1.7s)

✅ Published Release 1.0.13+2!

Windows executable created at build/windows/x64/runner/Release

To create a patch for this release, run patchwing patch --platforms=windows --release-version=1.0.0+1

Note: patchwing patch --platforms=windows without the --release-version option will patch the current version of the app.

If your application supports flavors or multiple release targets, you can specify the flavor and target using the --flavor and --target options:

patchwing release windows --target ./lib/main_development.dart --flavor development

Note

patchwing release wraps flutter build and can take any argument flutter build can. To pass arguments to the underlying flutter build you need to put flutter build arguments after a -- separator. For example: patchwing release android -- --dart-define="foo=bar" will define the "foo" environment variable inside Dart as you might have done with flutter build directly. In Powershell the -- separator must be quoted: '--'.

Note

By default patchwing release uses the Flutter version bundled within the patchwing installation.

That version can be checked by running patchwing doctor

To release with a different Flutter version, you can specify the version using the --flutter-version flag.

patchwing release windows --flutter-version 3.44.0

Manage Releases

List Releases

You can view all of your releases for your current app (as defined by your patchwing.yaml) on the Patchwing console.

Delete Releases

Danger

Deleting a release will remove all associated patches and artifacts and is not reversible.

You can delete a release for your app (as defined by your patchwing.yaml) on the Patchwing console.

1. Navigate to the application
2. Click on the release you wish to delete
3. Go to the “Settings” tab at the top of the page
4. In the “Danger Zone” there will be a “Delete” button

In order to complete the delete request you do need to confirm which binaries you would like to be deleted. You can easily delete all releases or pick by platform. The list of platforms shown is based on the binaries that are uploaded for that release.

Side-loading and MDM

A common question we get asked is: Does Patchwing require publishing to the App Store or Play Store?

No. Patchwing works fine with side-loading and mobile device management (MDM) on Android. We’ve not had anyone try Patchwing with iOS Developer Enterprise program, but we expect it to work just as well.

To build Patchwing for distribution via APK (e.g. side-loading), use the --artifact flag with the patchwing release command. For example:

patchwing release android --artifact=apk

That will produce both .apk and .aab files. You can distribute either or both as needed.

What’s Next

Create a Patch Push over-the-air updates to your published release.

Play Store Guide Learn how to submit your release to the Google Play Store.

App Store Guide Learn how to submit your release to the Apple App Store.