Fastlane for Mobile Flutter Development and Why It Is a Must for Your App

While developing a Flutter app targeting both iOS and Android, our team of developers needed an efficient way to bring our code changes to users as soon as possible. Regular ways to do this required multiple launches of IDE and web portals, a lot of time, and a ton of patience. 

How could we save time?

The answer is Fastlane – an app automation tool for Flutter.

Why Fastlane Is Good

It’s hard to manage iOS and Android releases manually – especially with platform-specific configurations, signing requirements, and versions. Fastlane simplifies these tasks and can automate things such as: 

• Automated Build & Deployment:  Fastlane can generate and distribute test builds for both Mobile Platforms with a single command.
• Code Signing Management: The handling of iOS provisioning profiles and certificates is streamlined.
• Versioning & Metadata Management: Fastlane ensures version consistency across platforms.
• TestFlight & Google Play Integration: Seamless distribution of builds to testers.

A team can reduce a lot of manual work using Fastlane. Developers can run automated tests, build APKs and IPAs, and push them to Apple and Android stores with a single Fastlane command. Fastlane can also generate screenshots for your app, and if your app has a lot of languages, it can automatically create that screenshot for every one of them. 

Fastlane scripts save time and reduce errors in routine jobs, like those I’ve mentioned above, so developers can focus on coding rather than build management.

Integrating Fastlane into my current Flutter project transformed our deployment process. It’s an essential tool for any team researching how to streamline mobile app releases. Whether one is distributing builds to testers or preparing for production releases, Fastlane makes the process smooth and efficient. 

Fastlane does have a few downsides. It requires some time to set up, and it can be frustrating at first. 

However, it’s worth it because you’ll save a lot of time later.

Our team at Swan Software Solutions always works to find new tools and technologies to help us work better. If you’d like to learn more about our technology services and how we could help your company, contact us to schedule a free assessment.