Okay, so I wanted to mess around with HockeyApp, or rather, its successor, App Center, for distributing a test build of an app I’m working on. I’d heard good things, and frankly, emailing APKs around felt so…2010.
First, I signed up for an App Center account. Pretty standard stuff, name, email, the usual drill. They have a free tier, which is perfect for just kicking the tires.
Getting Started
Once I was in, I created a new app within App Center. I had to choose the OS (Android in my case) and the platform (I’m using React Native, so I selected that). It gives you some instructions based on your choices, which is handy.
The Integration Part
Next, I needed to integrate the App Center SDK into my project. This involved installing some packages using npm (or yarn, if you’re into that). It was something like `npm install appcenter appcenter-analytics appcenter-crashes –save-exact`. Pretty straightforward, if you’ve ever added a package to a JavaScript project.
After that, there was some code I needed to add to my app’s entry point (usually `*` or `*`). This was basically just importing the App Center modules and starting them up with an app secret. The app secret is like a unique ID for your app in App Center, and you can find it in the app’s settings on the App Center website.
- Install packages: `npm install appcenter appcenter-analytics appcenter-crashes –save-exact`
- Import modules in `*` or `*`
- Start App Center with your app secret.
Building and Uploading
After that, I tested my app in debug mode with App Center. Every time it crashed, I got an email from App Center, so I know it works.
Then, the big moment: building a release version of my app. For Android, that means generating a signed APK. I already had my signing key set up (that’s a whole other adventure), so I just ran the usual build command.
Once the APK was ready, I went back to the App Center website, navigated to the “Distribute” section for my app, and created a new release. I uploaded the APK, added some release notes (mostly just “Test build, please ignore weirdness”), and then… I needed to figure out distribution groups.
Distribution Groups
Distribution groups are basically just lists of testers. I created a new group, added the email addresses of my friends who I wanted to test the app, and then selected that group for the release. You can also make releases public, but I wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
Finally, I hit the “Distribute” button. App Center sent out emails to everyone in my distribution group, with instructions on how to download and install the app. And that was it! My friends could now install the app directly from the link, and I could track crashes and basic analytics in App Center.
It felt way more professional than emailing APKs. Plus, I can easily push out new versions and manage different groups of testers. Definitely going to keep using this for future projects.
