Automating Flutter Apps: An Introduction to CI/CD Pipelines
The process of deploying an application is one of the most critical phases. It requires the execution of a series of steps which may, grossly simplified, involve the developer finalizing a feature and pushing it to the remote repository, and with that, after the reviews and tests have been carried out, the build package is prepared and published. Sometimes, in small projects, highly regulated environments that require human approval, or simply poorly managed projects, all or more of these steps are required to deliver the final software. Perhaps, because it is repetitive, this can impact the quality of the software, and also, as the steps depend on people, it is more difficult to guarantee that the process will always be executed in the same way. Repetitiveness can be replaced by automation. With the aim of accelerating the software development life cycle, CI/CD emerged with this proposal: processes that involve repetitive tasks can be automated, allowing faster, more reliable integration and delivery. Using this process helps avoid bugs and code vulnerabilities. Today, I will present this approach and demonstrate some tools that support development in Flutter.
The purpose of the CI/CD approach, which stands for continuous integration and continuous delivery/deployment, is to optimize and accelerate the software development lifecycle. The commonly used infinity shape represents the continuity of this process. In terms of the source code, functionalities, corrections and improvements are planned (plan); code is developed (code); the executable is generated (build); and executing automated tests (test). Furthermore, the code is marked as ready for delivery (release); the code is deployed (deploy) manage (operate) and monitor (monitor) the system, as regards non-functional requirements. This is the cycle, now let’s delve a little deeper into continuous integration and continuous delivery.
Continuous Integration
This is the practice of automatically and frequently integrating changes into a shared source code repository. In the example at the beginning of the text, all of this can be automated. When the developer pushes content to the repository, a CI server detects the changes and executes all the previously configured steps. If it fails, the system alerts the developer with logs and error details. One of the most obvious benefits of this approach is the rapid detection of bugs.
Continuous Delivery
Continuous delivery (CD) is a two-step process involving integration, testing, and delivery of code changes. Continuous delivery/deployment involves automatically releasing updates to the production environment. CD enables teams to release new or updated software much more quickly and frequently, compared to slow, manual processes. Continuous delivery can work, for example, and after the CI Pipeline, from an artifact created and then deployed to staging environments for additional testing and only then, if everything goes well, the same tested artifact is deployed to production using an automated process.
Top tools for CI/CD with Flutter
Several CI/CD tools support Flutter development and can be integrated into your workflow. I would like to point out that you need to have developer accounts for the platforms where you are going to publish — you need to pay for this. Some of the popular ones include:
Fastlane
Fastlane is a tool that automates the deployment process for mobile apps (iOS and Android). It simplifies tasks like building, testing, and releasing apps to the App Store, Google Play, and beta testing services (like TestFlight). Fastlane helps make repetitive tasks (e.g., generating screenshots, code signing). It is the best of all because it is completely free and open source, maintained by the community and also supported by Google.
Codemagic
Codemagic is a CI/CD service built specifically for Flutter apps, though it also supports iOS (Swift/Objective-C), Android (Kotlin/Java), and other frameworks. It automates building, testing, and deploying mobile apps with minimal setup. Offers a free plan that is ideal for individual developers and personal projects. There are also paid plans that allow you to pay a fixed annual fee, Enterprise or Pay-as-you-go.
GitHub Actions
GitHub Actions is a powerful, flexible CI/CD platform integrated directly into GitHub. It’s ideal for automating Flutter workflows (testing, building, and deploying) with full control over the pipeline. For public repositories, GitHub Actions is free and unlimited to use, however, there is a monthly quota for private repositories, and it also offers several paid plans.
GitLab CI/CD
GitLab CI/CD is a powerful, self-hosted (or cloud-based) CI/CD platform built into GitLab. It’s great for automating Flutter workflows (testing, building, and deploying). GitLab CI/CD offers a free plan with limited features.
Conclusion
Without automation, every small change in code requires manual processes: manual testing, time-consuming builds, and error-prone deployments. Implementing a CI/CD pipeline, which automates everything from code integration to production delivery, is one way to mitigate this. I tried to clearly explain what CI/CD is, with the aim of providing an introductory notion on the subject.
Did you get a better understanding continuous integration and continuous delivery? Who knows, maybe in the future I can write about setting up some CI/CD tool, delving deeper. Do you have any questions or find any errors? Let me know, comment below. See you later!👋
