Automate your React Native world with fastlane

Trepanier describes deployment as a recurring source of inconvenience for mobile teams. Fastlane is a Ruby toolchain that simplifies common iOS and Android development and release tasks, and it can be set up in both platform folders with `fastlane init`.

Match stores shared, encrypted signing certificates and provisioning profiles in a private Git repository, making it easier to onboard developers. Gym builds iOS apps, Pilot manages TestFlight builds and testers, and Deliver uploads app metadata, screenshots, and binaries. Snapshot automates localized screenshots, while Precheck flags possible metadata issues before submission.

Gradle builds Android apps and supports dependencies and custom build logic. Screengrab creates localized screenshots across device types, which Trepanier also suggests using for QA. Supply uploads Android builds and store assets, and keeps metadata locally so teams can version and share it.

Fastlane lanes combine actions in a Fastfile into repeatable release processes. Trepanier recommends separate beta and release lanes for iOS; his beta example uses Gym and Pilot. Teams can also use individual tools or non-deployment lanes, and should check for existing actions before writing Bash scripts.

A demonstration shows an iOS build, signing, and TestFlight deployment taking about 14 minutes, compared with around 17 minutes for the manual process. Trepanier says compilation remains the longest step, while automation helps repeat deployment steps consistently. Fastlane cannot remove Apple or Google account setup or Apple’s app review wait.