Android Unplugged

  Using Jenkins to automate your Android app’s build and release process can save a lot of time and effort. By integrating Fastlane into your Jenkins pipeline, you can automate tasks like versioning, building, testing, and uploading your app to the Google Play Store. In this section, we’ll walk through the steps to integrate Fastlane into Jenkins. Step 1: Install Fastlane on Your Jenkins Server First, you need to ensure that Fastlane is installed on your Jenkins server. You can install Fastlane using the following steps: Install Ruby : Since Fastlane is built with Ruby, you’ll need to install Ruby on your Jenkins server. On a Linux-based server, you can install Ruby by running: sudo apt update sudo apt install ruby-full Install Fastlane : Once Ruby is installed, you can install Fastlane using the following command: sudo gem install fastlane -NV Alternatively, you can add Fastlane to your project’s Gemfile and install it using Bundler (recommended for managing dependenc...

 When you release a new version of your Android app, there are a few important details that need to be updated: the version number, version code, and changelog. These are all critical for tracking releases and communicating new features or fixes to your users. Managing these elements manually can be time-consuming and error-prone, especially as your app evolves. But with Fastlane , you can automate versioning and changelog management, saving you time and avoiding mistakes. In this section, we’ll explore how to automate app versioning and changelog management using Fastlane . Step 1: Automating Versioning with increment_version_code Every time you upload a new version of your app to the Play Store, you need to increase the version code . This is required by Google Play to differentiate between different versions of your app. If you don’t increment the version code correctly, your app upload will fail. Fastlane makes this simple by automating the version code increment with the incre...

  If you’ve ever uploaded an app to the Google Play Store, you know that taking screenshots for all device types and screen sizes can be a tedious and repetitive task. Thankfully, Screengrab  — a Fastlane tool — automates this process, making it easy to capture screenshots directly from your app, without the need for manual intervention. In this section, we’ll show you how to set up Screengrab to automatically generate your app’s screenshots for the Play Store and save a lot of time in the process. Step 1: Install Screengrab Before we start, you need to install Screengrab as part of your Fastlane setup. If you’ve already installed Fastlane, then you’re good to go. If not, here’s how you can install it: fastlane add_plugin screengrab This will add Screengrab to your project and install the required dependencies. Once it’s installed, you’ll be able to use Screengrab to capture screenshots directly from your app. Step 2: Set Up Screengrab in Your Fastfile The next step is to ...

If you’ve ever manually uploaded an APK or AAB to the Google Play Store, you know it can be a tedious process. From filling out all the necessary metadata to selecting the correct APK version, it can feel like a lot of repetitive work. But with Fastlane Supply , you can automate this entire process — making your app releases smoother, faster, and error-free. In this section, we’ll explore how Fastlane Supply works and how to set it up to upload your Android app directly to the Play Store with ease. Step 1: Set Up Google Play API Access Before you can upload your app with Fastlane Supply , you need to set up Google Play API access . This ensures that Fastlane can communicate with the Play Store and upload your APK or AAB. Here’s how you can set up API access: Create a Google Cloud project : Go to the Google Cloud Console. Create a new project. Enable the Google Play Developer API : In the Cloud Console, search for and enable the Google Play Developer API . Create a service account ...

Now that you’ve set up Fastlane in your Android project, it’s time to automate your build and release process. The beauty of Fastlane lies in its ability to take over the repetitive tasks you’ve been doing manually, allowing you to focus on what really matters — coding new features and improving your app. In this section, we’ll walk through how to automate everything from building your app to releasing it to the Google Play Store — all with a single command. Step 1: Create a Build Lane in Your Fastfile The first thing you’ll need to do is define a lane for building your app. A lane in Fastlane is simply a collection of tasks you want to automate. Let’s start by adding a simple build lane to your Fastfile . This lane will run the Gradle task that builds your app in release mode. Here’s how to set it up: platform :android do desc "Build the release APK" lane :build do gradle( task: "assembleRelease" ) end end gradle(task: “assembleRelease”) : This comma...

                                        Setting Up Fastlane in an Android Project So, you’ve heard how Fastlane can make your life easier, but how do you actually set it up in your Android project? Don’t worry! The process is simple and straightforward, and in this section, we’ll walk you through it step by step. By the end, you’ll have Fastlane up and running, automating your app’s build and release process like a pro. Step 1: Install Fastlane First, you’ll need to install Fastlane on your machine. The good news? Fastlane is compatible with both macOS and Linux, and it’s easy to install with Homebrew (if you’re on macOS) or RubyGems (for other systems). For macOS (using Homebrew): If you’re on macOS, you can install Fastlane with the following commands in your terminal: brew install fastlane For Linux and other systems (using RubyGems): If you’re on Linux (or just prefer usin...

Introduction to Fastlane in Android Imagine this: You’ve just finished coding an amazing feature for your Android app. You’re excited to see it live, but before you can share it with the world, there’s a mountain of tasks to deal with. You need to build your app, sign the APK, run tests, and then upload it to the Play Store. Sounds like a lot of work, right? Now, picture this — what if you didn’t have to do all that manually anymore? What if there was a way to automate all those repetitive tasks with just a few commands? This is where  Fastlane  comes in to save the day. A Developer’s Struggle As an Android developer, you’ve probably been in this situation before: After every update, you spend hours preparing your app for release. First, you build the APK, check that it’s signed correctly, maybe run some tests, and finally upload it to the Play Store. But wait — did you forget something? Did you accidentally push the wrong version? Or maybe you missed an important test that co...