Build Distribution

Build Distribution helps you securely distribute iOS and Android builds to your internal teams and beta testers. Streamline your distribution workflow with automated uploads from CI.

Getting Started - iOS

Accepted Formats: XCArchive

Upload Mechanisms: Fastlane Plugin or Sentry CLI

Uploading iOS Builds With Fastlane

The Fastlane plugin can be used to upload XCArchive or IPA builds to Sentry. On GitHub Actions, Fastlane will automatically detect your build's metadata and include it in the upload. In other Continuous Integration (CI) environments, you may need to manually set metadata values.

1. Configure the Sentry Fastlane plugin (version 1.36.0):

   Ruby

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   bundle exec fastlane add_plugin fastlane-plugin-sentry
   

2. Set up SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN in your environment (you can generate a token here)

3. In FastFile, add a call to sentry_upload_build after your build step:

   Ruby

   Fastfile

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   lane :upload_to_sentry do
      build_ios_app(
        scheme: 'YourScheme',
        configuration: 'Release',
      )
      sentry_upload_build(
        org_slug: 'your-org',
        project_slug: 'your-project',
        build_configuration: 'Release' # Adjust to your configuration
      )
   end
   

4. After an upload has successfully processed, confirm the metadata is correct in the Sentry UI

   

The Fastlane plugin automatically detects all build metadata. If needed, the metadata values can be overridden by passing parameters to sentry_upload_build:

lane :upload_to_sentry do
  build_ios_app(
    scheme: 'YourScheme',
    configuration: 'Release',
  )
  sentry_upload_build(
    org_slug: 'your-org',
    project_slug: 'your-project',
    build_configuration: 'Release',
    # Optional metadata overrides:
    head_sha: 'abc123',
    base_sha: 'def456',
    vcs_provider: 'github',
    head_repo_name: 'organization/repository',
    base_repo_name: 'organization/repository',
    head_ref: 'feature-branch',
    base_ref: 'main',
    pr_number: '42'
  )
end

See the Fastlane repo for more information.

Uploading iOS Builds With the Sentry CLI

1. Install the sentry-cli (version 3.1.0)

   We recommend using the latest version for the best possible experience, but at a minimum version 2.58.2 is required.

2. Authenticate the Sentry CLI by following these steps

3. Build your app to create an XCArchive (preferred) or IPA

4. Invoke the following CLI command to trigger the upload:

   Bash

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   sentry-cli build upload app.xcarchive \
     --org your-org \
     --project your-project \
     --build-configuration Release
   

5. After an upload has successfully processed, confirm the metadata is correct in the Sentry UI

   

Getting Started - Android

Accepted Formats: APK (preferred) | AAB

• APK: Distributed as uploaded. You must ensure uploaded APKs are properly signed and universal (if required) before uploading. Using a consistent signing key allows users to update previously installed builds.
• AAB (Android App Bundle): Build Distribution automatically converts AABs to universal APKs, but signs each upload with a unique key, which prevents users from updating previously installed builds.

Upload Mechanisms: Gradle | Sentry CLI

Uploading Android Builds With Gradle

The Gradle plugin automatically detects build metadata from your git repository. On GitHub Actions, all metadata is automatically detected. On other CI systems, you may need to manually set some values using the vcsInfo extension.

1. Configure the Sentry Android Gradle plugin with at least version 6.0.0-rc.1

2. Set the auth token as an environment variable to be used when running your release build.

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   export SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN=___ORG_AUTH_TOKEN___

3. Enable uploading for distribution for CI builds.

   KotlinGroovy

   build.gradle.kts

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   sentry {
     distribution {
       enabled = providers.environmentVariable("GITHUB_ACTIONS").isPresent
     }
   }

4. Invoke the following Gradle tasks to build your app and trigger the upload.

   AabApk

   aab

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   ./gradlew bundleRelease

5. After an upload has successfully processed, confirm the metadata is correct in the Sentry UI

   

Overriding Metadata

The Gradle plugin automatically detects build metadata from your git repository. On GitHub Actions, all metadata is automatically detected. On other CI systems, you may need to manually set some values using the vcsInfo extension.

Configure overrides in your Gradle build configuration:

sentry {
  distribution {
    enabled = providers.environmentVariable("GITHUB_ACTIONS").isPresent
  }

  vcsInfo {
    headSha.set("abc123")
    baseSha.set("def456")
    vcsProvider.set("github")
    headRepoName.set("organization/repository")
    baseRepoName.set("organization/repository")
    headRef.set("feature-branch")
    baseRef.set("main")
    prNumber.set(42)
  }
}

Available vcsInfo properties:

Uploading Android Builds With the Sentry CLI

1. Install the sentry-cli (version 3.1.0)

   We recommend using the latest version for the best possible experience, but at a minimum version 2.58.2 is required.

2. Authenticate the Sentry CLI by following these steps

3. Build your app to create an AAB (preferred) or APK

4. Invoke the following CLI command to trigger the upload:

   Bash

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   sentry-cli build upload app.aab \
     --org your-org \
     --project your-project \
     --build-configuration Release
   

5. After an upload has successfully processed, confirm the metadata is correct in the Sentry UI

   

Downloading Builds

Once builds are uploaded to Sentry, your team members and beta testers can download them through the Sentry web interface.

1. Open the URL printed to the console after uploading the build
2. Click the Install button on the right side of the page

3. Either scan the QR code from a mobile device or click the Download button to download the build directly

iOS

After downloading, you can install the build directly on your iOS device. For more information on installing enterprise apps, see Apple's documentation on installing custom apps.

Android

After downloading, you can install the APK directly on your Android device. You'll need to enable installing apps from unknown sources:

• Android 8.0 and higher: Navigate to the Install unknown apps system settings screen to enable app installations from your browser or file manager.
• Android 7.1.1 and lower: Enable the Unknown sources setting in Settings > Security.

For more information, see Android's documentation on unknown sources.

Upload Metadata

We use build metadata to organize builds in the UI and ensure correct comparisons.

* required field

Build Configuration

Build configuration metadata keeps comparisons scoped to like-for-like builds. The Android Gradle plugin sends the build variant (for example, freeDebug or paidRelease). On iOS, set this to your Xcode build configuration, such as Debug, Staging, or Release.