Publishing Flutter Apps to Firebase App Distribution: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Introduction

Flutter, Google’s UI toolkit for building natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase, has gained immense popularity among developers. Once you’ve developed your Flutter app, the next crucial step is to distribute it effectively. Firebase App Distribution simplifies this process by providing a reliable platform for distributing pre-release versions of your app to testers. In this article, we’ll explore how to publish Flutter apps to Firebase App Distribution, step by step, with code examples.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the tutorial, make sure you have the following prerequisites in place:

  1. Flutter Installed: Ensure that you have Flutter installed on your machine. You can download it from the official Flutter website.
  2. Firebase Project: Set up a Firebase project on the Firebase Console. Create a new project or use an existing one.
  3. Firebase CLI: Install the Firebase Command Line Interface (CLI) by running the following command in your terminal or command prompt:
    bash
    npm install -g firebase-tools
  4. Firebase Project Configuration: Connect your Flutter app to Firebase by adding the necessary configuration files. Follow the steps outlined in the official documentation for FlutterFire.

Step 1: Install Firebase Tools

In your Flutter project directory, run the following command to initialize Firebase in your project:

bash
firebase init

This command will prompt you to choose features. Select “Hosting” and follow the on-screen instructions to set up your Firebase project.

Step 2: Add Firebase App Distribution to Your Flutter Project

Open your pubspec.yaml file and add the firebase_app_distribution package to your dependencies:

yaml
dependencies:
firebase_app_distribution: ^2.1.3

Run flutter packages get to fetch the new dependency.

Step 3: Configure Firebase App Distribution

In your main.dart file, import the necessary packages and configure Firebase App Distribution with your API key:

dart

import 'package:firebase_app_distribution/firebase_app_distribution.dart';

void main() {
runApp(MyApp());
configureFirebaseAppDistribution();
}

void configureFirebaseAppDistribution() async {
await FirebaseAppDistribution.instance
.setupAppDistribution(“<YOUR_APP_ID>”, “<YOUR_API_KEY>”);
}

Replace <YOUR_APP_ID> and <YOUR_API_KEY> with your Firebase App ID and API Key, which you can find in the Firebase Console.

Step 4: Build and Release

Build your Flutter app by running the following command in your terminal:

bash
flutter build apk --release

This command generates the release APK for your Flutter app. Once the build is complete, navigate to the build/app/outputs/flutter-apk directory to find the APK file.

Step 5: Distribute Using Firebase App Distribution

Now, you are ready to distribute your app using Firebase App Distribution. Run the following command in your terminal:

bash
firebase appdistribution:distribute build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/app-release.apk

This command uploads your release APK to Firebase App Distribution and provides a link to share with testers.

Step 6: Manage Testers

Visit the Firebase Console, navigate to your project, and click on “App Distribution” in the left-hand menu. Here, you can manage testers, track app distributions, and view feedback.

Conclusion

Publishing Flutter apps to Firebase App Distribution streamlines the distribution process, making it easy to share pre-release versions with testers. By following these steps and integrating Firebase App Distribution into your Flutter workflow, you ensure a smooth and efficient testing and feedback loop for your app development process. Stay connected with your testers, iterate on your app based on feedback, and deliver a polished product to your users.