GitHub Action with Fastlane Plugin

GitHub Action with TestApp.io Fastlane plugin allows you to build and upload both Android & iOS apps to TestApp.io to notify your testers for testing and feedback.

Configuration

Check TA-CLI for more info

iOS

We will demonstrate with our sample iOS project, testappio-ios-sample-app, to show how GitHub Action + Fastlane + TestApp.io plugin works.

Configure iOS project for Fastlane

1. Install Fastlane

The below command works for most cases. If not, please read this — Setup Fastlane

gem install fastlane

2. Init Fastlane

In the iOS project folder:

bundle exec fastlane init

Follow the wizard — it will create ./fastlane/Appfile with your Apple ID and team.

3. Init Match

Fastlane match is a tool for generating all necessary certificates, provisioning profiles and storing them in a Git repository encrypted.

Create a private empty GitHub repository for storing certificates and provisioning profiles.

bundle exec fastlane match init

Follow the instructions, provide the new empty git repository when asked, and it will create the Matchfile.

This Git repository will be used to store your certificates and profiles.

4. Generate the certificate and provisioning profile

bundle exec fastlane match adhoc

Following the instructions, it will generate certificates/profiles and store them in the Git repository specified in the previous step.

Provide a matching password for encrypting the certificates and profiles in the Git repository.

5. Select provisioning profiles in Xcode

The newly created certificates and profiles should now be possible to select inside your project. Open Xcode and go to Signing & Capabilities.

Don't choose Automatically Manage Signing

6. Add the testappio plugin for Fastlane

bundle exec fastlane add_plugin testappio

7. Configure GitHub Secrets

Create the following repository-level secrets in your GitHub repository (Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions):

• MATCH_PASSWORD — the password you specified while generating the certificates and profiles
• FASTLANE_PASSWORD — the password of your Apple ID
• MATCH_GIT_BASIC_AUTHORIZATION — for accessing the certificate/profile repository (see below)
• TESTAPPIO_API_TOKEN — from portal.testapp.io/settings/api-credentials
• TESTAPPIO_APP_ID — from your app page at portal.testapp.io/apps

To generate MATCH_GIT_BASIC_AUTHORIZATION, navigate to GitHub Tokens to create a Personal Access Token, then run:

echo -n your_github_username:your_personal_access_token | base64

Run the pipeline

8. Create the lane

Create ./fastlane/Fastfile and copy the below content:

default_platform(:ios)

platform :ios do

  desc "Build the adhoc and upload to TestApp.io"
  lane :development do
    match(type: "adhoc")
    gym(export_method: "ad-hoc")
    upload_to_testappio(
      release_notes: "My release notes here..."
    )
  end
  
end

More info on the Fastlane plugin: testappio actions

You may already have your lane in place — copy the upload_to_testappio action and put it into your pipeline after the IPA export.

9. Create the GitHub Workflow

Create .github/workflows/ios.yml under your project root folder:

name: Build & upload IPA to TestApp.io

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  ios:
    name: Build and upload to TestApp.io
    runs-on: macos-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Setup Ruby
        uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
        with:
          ruby-version: '3.2'
      - uses: maierj/fastlane-action@v3.1.0
        env:
          MATCH_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.MATCH_PASSWORD }}
          FASTLANE_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.FASTLANE_PASSWORD }}
          TESTAPPIO_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.TESTAPPIO_API_TOKEN }}
          TESTAPPIO_APP_ID: ${{ secrets.TESTAPPIO_APP_ID }}
          MATCH_GIT_BASIC_AUTHORIZATION: ${{ secrets.MATCH_GIT_BASIC_AUTHORIZATION }}
        with:
          lane: 'ios development'
          verbose: true

10. Commit and push the change to trigger the GitHub Action.

Android

We will demonstrate with our sample Android project testappio-android-sample, how GitHub Action + Fastlane + TestApp.io plugin works.

1. Create repository-level Secrets TESTAPPIO_API_TOKEN and TESTAPPIO_APP_ID

2. Create .github/workflows/android.yml file

name: Build & upload APK to TestApp.io

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  android:
    name: Build and upload to TestApp.io
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Setup Ruby
        uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
        with:
          ruby-version: '3.2'
      - uses: maierj/fastlane-action@v3.1.0
        env:
          TESTAPPIO_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.TESTAPPIO_API_TOKEN }}
          TESTAPPIO_APP_ID: ${{ secrets.TESTAPPIO_APP_ID }}
        with:
          lane: 'android development'
          verbose: true

3. Create fastlane/Fastfile

default_platform(:android)

platform :android do

  desc "Submit a new Build to TestApp.io"
  lane :development do

    increment_version_code

    gradle(task: "clean assembleDebug")
  
    upload_to_testappio(
      release_notes: "My release notes here..."
    )
  end
end

4. Commit and push the change to trigger the GitHub Action.

Related Articles

• GitHub Actions Setup
• Fastlane Plugin
• ta-cli Documentation
• ta-cli on GitHub

Tip: Once your CI/CD pipeline uploads a build, team members using the TestApp.io mobile app receive a push notification and can install the build with a single tap. You can also create share links to distribute builds to external testers and clients.

Need help? Contact us — we're happy to assist!