# iOS & Android App Deployment Buzzy now supports automated mobile app publishing. Buzzy can build your app and publish it to your app store/ Google Play account. Mobile app publishing requires that you first have a valid deployment and active subscription. If you don't have an active deployment please see [create-and-manage-deployments](https://docs.buzzy.buzz/working-with-buzzy/buzzy-deployment-and-app-stores/create-and-manage-deployments "mention"). Users may choose to deploy apps to Android and/or iOS. ### Managing Mobile Deployment in the Buzzy Editor Mobile app deployment controls can be found under the **Publishing** tab in the editor, then scroll down to the **Deployment** section, under active deployments, click on **View** on your deployment for the app and scroll down to the **Mobile App Deployment** section. Each mobile deployment, Android or iOS has a readiness attribute. When all the required information is provided to Buzzy, then an app is ready to be built and deployed. See the [#ios-app-deployment](#ios-app-deployment "mention")and/or [#android-app-deployment](#android-app-deployment "mention")sections on exactly how to obtain this deployment information. #### What does Buzzy need in order to deploy your app? Buzzy requires API access to user's iOS and/or Google Play developer accounts using an API key/certificate. As such, users agree to give the Buzzy system access to create releases and publish app bundles to your accounts. Buzzy also requires the app bundle signing certificates, app bundle signing is strictly required for both iOS and Android in order to get a user's app into the app/play stores. ## Shared Properties A set of shared properties are required for either iOS and Android. * App Display Name * Buzzy Settings Override * This is a generated property, Buzzy will generate the correct settings in order to link the mobile app to your Buzzy app. Simply click the **Generate** button in the deployment window. * Client assets * Splash screen background color ### Client assets This is a zip file that contains the app logo and splash screen assets for iOS and Android. We've provided the standard Buzzy app assets as a guide to what is required. If only publishing to either Android or iOS users only need to provide assets for the platforms they are publishing to. {% file src="" %} Users must ensure the asset file structures adheres to the example above. Some useful web tools for creating/generating mobile app assets: * * ## iOS App Deployment ### Requirements Before beginning the deployment process, please ensure that you are enrolled as an Apple developer, this is where you will manage your app store listing and app marketing information. In order for Buzzy to deploy your app to your Apple account, we require the following information:
This documentation will guide you through the collection of this information. ### Register a Bundle ID Before being able to create a new app in App Store Connect, you must first register a bundle ID. The bundle ID is a unique identifier for your application. This is usually your domain name backwards plus the name of the app at the end. For example, the app MovieTest hosted under buzzy.buzz becomes **buzz.buzzy.movietest**. To register a new bundle ID, go to: {% embed url="" %}
Click on the **+** next to identifiers to create a new bundle ID. Then keep **App IDs** selected then click **Next**. Select **App** for the type then **next**.
Add a description, and your Bundle ID. Note the **App ID Prefix**, save this Team ID as it is one of the pieces of information Buzzy requires for deployment. Once done scroll down to the **Capabilities** section. You must click to enable the following capabilities: * Associated Domains * Game Center * iCloud (with the default setting) * Push notifications * Siri Once done, click on **Continue** then confirm the correct details have been entered before clicking **Register.** Done, you now have the **Bundle ID**, and the **Apple Team ID**. ### Create App Listing As the bundle ID is now created, you can now create an app listing. Simply go to: {% embed url="" %} Click on the **+** next to apps to create a new app. Fill in the form, under the **Bundle ID** dropdown you should see the bundle ID you created in the previous step.\ ![](https://1771273900-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3HPEoFCyP7Q88dV3CmqD%2Fuploads%2FfzAwmwNuKZC6VtsZkIBm%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=b10bed81-463b-42f4-b2aa-ccae1a2a8ab6) Once created, it will take you to your apps listing page. Here is where you will need to add any marketing information for the app. This will show on your app's app store page that users will interact with when downloading/finding your app. If you are not ready to publish your app, and are looking to only test for the time being, this information isn't critical. However, it is required in order to have your application reviewed by Apple prior to release to the app store.
Now go to **App Information** under the **General** section.
Scroll down to the **General Information** section, and copy the **Apple ID** number. This is your app's unique identifier generated by Apple. Enter this as the **App Store ID** in the Buzzy app deployment manager. At this point you should have the following information entered in the (iOS Section) Buzzy deployment manager: * Bundle ID * App Store ID * Apple Team ID ### Creating a Certificate for App Store Connect API Access In order for Buzzy to automatically build and deploy your application to your App Store account, we require a way to authenticate with Apple. This is done using a certificate for API access. The following section will walk through generating that certificate on the App Store Connect website and how to provide that to Buzzy. To get started simply head to: {% embed url="" %} If this is your first time using the App Store Connect API, you might need to request API access, simply follow the prompts and forms for that process. Note that only the account holder can request access.
When finished you should see this (minus any registered/active keys):
First thing to take note of before creating a team key is to copy the **Issuer ID** and provide it to the Buzzy deployment manager under **Connect Issuer ID**. This is another piece of information we need. Now click on the **+** next to the **Active** section. Simply fill the form, give it a name (e.g. "Buzzy API Access"), and you must select **App Manager** as the role. This ensures that Buzzy has the ability to upload build to your App Store Connect account.
Your new key will now show up on the list. See the example below:
First copy the **Key ID** in this example it is "Q955LK62PJ" and enter this in the Buzzy deployment manager under **Connect Key Identifier**. Next, you will see the download link on the far right of the entry, please note that once downloaded, Apple will not let you download a key again. So ensure you save this key to a save location. Click on **Download**. The downloaded file has a .p8 file extension, you will need to upload this file to the Buzzy deployment manager under the **App Store Connect API Private Key (pem)** section of the form. At this point you have provided almost all the information required to deploy your app to apple, in this section we collected the following items for deployment: * Connect Issuer ID * Connect key identifier * App store connect API private key (pem) ### Generating the Signing Certificate For the **Certificate Private Key** section of the Buzzy deployment manager, all you need to do is simply click on the **Generate** button and the Buzzy server will generate a signing certificate for you. Ensure the output looks similar to this:
### Setting Up Firebase (iOS) Please refer to the [#setting-up-firebase](#setting-up-firebase "mention") section. Please ensure you complete this before continuing and it is a pre-requisite of the app build process. ### Save Deployment Configuration Please do not forget to click **Save** in the Buzzy deployment manager then ensure that you publish your configuration to our build server, see [#publishing-your-deployment-variables](#publishing-your-deployment-variables "mention"). ### Publishing Your First iOS App At this point, the iOS deployment configuration is ready for deployment to the App store. After saving and publishing your deployment configuration you will simply be able to click on the **Deploy to App Store** button. iOS build can take up for 30 minutes so you may periodically refresh the build status to see what's happening.
Once the build process is done, it may take up to an hour for Apple to process the initial build, please ensure that you check your email for any correspondence from Apple. After the build is uploaded to Apple it should show up in the **Builds** section of your app listing. You should see a button to **Add Build** to your app store submission:
### Apple's Testflight If you are not ready to submit your app for review and would like to test, utilise Apple's **Testflight**. In the **Testflight** section you can add a build to be tested by individuals or groups of testers.
You can then download the Testflight app on your iPhone device and utilise it to test your published app before submitting the app for review by Apple. ## Android App Deployment ### Requirements Similar to iOS, user's are required to set up a developer account in the Google Play developer console. ### Initial Android Deployment Settings The first set of settings can be set without leaving Buzzy. Namely, the package ID and keystore.
Please pick a unique package ID/Name. This is usually your domain name backwards plus the name of the app at the end. For example, the app MovieTest hosted under buzzy.buzz becomes **buzz.buzzy.movietest**. #### **Generating an Android Signing Keystore** This keystore is a file that is generated on the Buzzy server. However, the user must provide the **key alias**, **password** and **keystore password**. Save these parameters in a secure location (password manager) as you may want to use the same keystore to sign other apps. Once filled-in, simply click **Generate Keystore**. ### Setting up Google Play API Access User's must first enable the Google Play Android Developer API. This can be done in the Google Cloud Admin Console. {% embed url="" %} > Note: You want click "Enable API" On the same page, in the left sidebar navigation, go to "Credentials" then in the "Service Accounts" section, click on "Manage service accounts".
When on the manage service accounts page, then click on "Create service account". Give it a name, label, and description. Then you must select "Service account user" for the role.
For the final step leave it blank. Then continue. Once the service account is successfully created the user must download the certificate/key and provide it to Buzzy. Do this by clicking on the actions menu, then "Manage keys".
On the "Manage keys" page then click **Add key -> Create new key**. Make sure the key type is JSON.
On creation, the file will be downloaded to your computer. This file is what you will provide as the file under the **Google Play Services Account (JSON)** section in the Buzzy deployment setup.
### Setting up Firebase (Android) Please refer to the [#setting-up-firebase](#setting-up-firebase "mention") section. Please ensure you complete this before continuing and it is a pre-requisite of the app build process. ### Save Deployment Configuration Please do not forget to click **Save** in the Buzzy deployment manager then ensure that you publish your configuration to our build server, see [#publishing-your-deployment-variables](#publishing-your-deployment-variables "mention"). ### Publishing Your First Android App It is important to reiterate that the initial build of an Android app must be uploaded **manually**. Buzzy gives you this option by allowing you to download the app bundle after the build has completed. You can initiate this initial build by clicking **Create Initial Android Build** in the mobile app deployment controls.
After the initial build has started, you need to refresh in order for Buzzy to fetch the download link for you. Initial builds take around 10-25 minutes so get a coffee and come back. Once the build is ready after clicking refresh you will be able to click on the **Download App Bundle** button and it will download the initial app bundle to your computer. {% embed url="" %} Head back to the Google play console to now create your app listing and upload your initial app. Create your app entry if it doesn't exist yet.
After creating the app listing, then go to the **Test and release** section and under **Internal release** then create a new release.
Follow the process guided by the UI then you may upload your android app bundle file (.aab). **Note:** Google will require a plethora of app and account setup prior to final release of your application, these processes are guided and done through the Google play console interface. As these processes change frequently, we don't have step-by-step documentation for such processes. ## Publishing Your Deployment Variables It is **imperative** that users remember to **Publish** their deployment variables. When editing your deployment variables, don't forget to click **Save.** Then, ensure that you click on **Publish Deployment Variables** or **Update Deployment Variables** (if changing) before you initiate an app deployment.
## Setting Up Firebase Buzzy uses Firebase for some application features. As such, every user must setup their own Firebase project in order to build their application. {% embed url="" %} Start by going to the firebase console and clicking **Create a new Firebase project**. Go through the process to create your project. **Note**, Google Analytics is not necessary, you can disable this feature in the creation process to make the process easier. Once the project is created it will take you to the project home page, where you can **Add an app**.
Select the appropriate platform, **Android or iOS**.
Fill in the details that you have already done in Buzzy. Then download the config file. **Note:** When downloading the config for **Android** it will be a **JSON** file. For iOS, it is a **Plist** file. Upload the respective file to the deployment manager in Buzzy, under **Firebase google\_services.json** or **Firebase GoogleService-Info.plist**.
### iOS Authentication Keys for Firebase (Notifications) For iOS deployments, Firebase requires 2 key files to ensure push notifications can propagate to user devices. One key file is for development app builds, the other is for production builds. This setup is **required** to ensure authentication with Apple for the push notification service. 1. Go to your Firebase project in the Firebase console: 2. Under **Project Settings** -> **Cloud Messaging** -> **Apple app configuration** 3. Under **APNs Authentication Key** section, you require 2 keys from Apple, these can be generated from the Apple app store connect interface. Instructions on how to generate these keys is given below. 4. Note, these docs assume the process of using the **APNs Authentication Key** method **NOT** the "**APNs Certificates**" method 5. [#getting-your-apns-key-files](#getting-your-apns-key-files "mention") #### Getting your APNs key files 1. We can generate the associated APNs keys at 2. Click on the **+** icon to create a key. 3. Give the key a name and append "Dev" to its name, this will be your development APNs key. 4. Ensure you check **Apple Push Notifications service (APNs)** option 5. Then click on "**Configure**" for the Apple Push Notifications service (APNs) option 6. Ensure you select "Sandbox"
7. Ensure Team Scoped (All Topics) is selected. 8. Save and ensure the correct settings for this key:
9. Click **Continue** then click **Register** 10. Note the key ID and ensure you download the key before continuing
11. Go back to the Firebase console and upload this key for the **Development APNs auth key** entry. Ensure the correct key ID is entered. 12. Repeat these steps to create another APNs key but select **Production** in the configuration for the Apple Push Notifications service (APNs) option. Also ensure you give this key a different, unique name, append "Production" to the key name for simplicity.
13. Upload your production APNs key to the Firebase console under the **Production APNs auth key** entry. 14. Save all changes. 15. Your Firebase console should now be correctly set up to ensure functional push notifications from Buzzy apps are present on user devices. 16. Note users will be prompted to give notification permissions when launching your Buzzy powered app, if permission is refused, your app will not be able to push notifications to that user.