Deploy Project
Deploying a project involves several critical steps to ensure that the application is built, configured, and delivered successfully across multiple platforms. This guide provides comprehensive instructions for preparing credentials, building app binaries for Android and iOS, managing configuration files, and utilizing advanced features such as CodePush and force updates.
By following this guide, you'll ensure a smooth and efficient deployment process, minimizing potential issues and optimizing the user experience.
Credentials
Android
To build an Android app binary, you need a keystore. If you don’t have a release keystore, you can generate one using the following command (replace KEYSTORE_PASSWORD
, KEY_PASSWORD
, KEY_ALIAS
, and com.akinon.shop
with your chosen values):
keytool -genkeypair -v -storetype PKCS12 -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 -storepass KEYSTORE_PASSWORD -keypass KEY_PASSWORD -alias KEY_ALIAS -keystore release.keystore -dname "CN=com.akinon.shop,OU=,O=,L=,S=,C=US"
Different store and key passwords are not supported for PKCS12 keystores.
iOS
There are a few more prerequisites for building the iOS app binary. You need a paid Apple Developer Account, and then you'll need to generate the Distribution Certificate and Provisioning Profile for your application, which can be done via the Apple Developer Portal.
Creating a Certificate
Launch the "Keychain Access" application. Click the "Keychain Access" button in the top left corner, then navigate to the "Certificate Assistant" tab and click the "Request a Certificate From a Certificate Authority..." button.
Fill out the form as shown below.
Click "Continue", then save the file as
CertificateSigningRequest.certSigningRequest
.Go to Developer Apple and log in. Navigate to Certificates.
Click the "+" button. On the next page, select "iOS Distribution (App Store and Ad Hoc)" and click "Continue".
Click "Choose File" button and upload the
CertificateSigningRequest.certSigningRequest
file. Click "Continue".Click "Download" to save the
ios_distribution.cer
file, then double-click the file to add it to the "Keychain".
Creating a P12 Certificate
Launch "Keychain Access" application.
Navigate to the "Login" tab in the left sidebar.
Select "My Certificates" from the top menu.
Right-click on the previously added certificate and select Export.
Ensure "Personal Information Exchange (.p12)" is selected as the "File Format", then click "Save".
Create a strong password, then click "OK".
Enter the system password, click "Allow", and save the file as "AkinonProdDist.p12".
Creating a Bundle ID
Go to Developer Apple. After logging in, navigate to the Identifiers section.
Click the "+" button. On the page that opens, select "App IDs" and click "Continue".
Select the app type and click "Continue".
Fill the "Description" field with the client name. Under "Bundle ID", select "Explicit", and enter the
ios > bundleIdentifier
value defined inakinon.json
. Click "Continue". The Bundle ID must be unique (e.g., com.brand.app).Review the information and click "Register".
Creating a Provisioning Profile
Go to Developer Apple. After logging in, navigate to the Profiles section.
Click the "+" button. Under "Distribution", select "App Store" and click "Continue".
Select the previously created Bundle ID as the App ID and click "Continue".
Select the previously created "Certificate" and click "Continue".
Fill in the "Provisioning Profile Name" field as shown below, review the information, and click "Generate".
Click "Download" to save the profile.
Creating Additional Extensions
For each extension in the project, extra provisioning profile files must be created. If you don't have an extension in your project skip this step.
Identifier
Go to Developer Apple. After logging in, navigate to the Identifiers section.
Click the "+" button. On the page that opens, select "App IDs" and click "Continue".
Select the app type and click "Continue".
Enter the client name in the "Description" field, followed by the extension name. Under "Bundle ID", select "Explicit" option and enter the bundle ID for the extension. Click "Continue".
Review the information and click "Register".
Provisioning Profile
Go to Developer Apple. After logging in, navigate to the Profiles section.
Click the "+" button. Under "Distribution", select "App Store" and click "Continue".
Select the previously created Bundle ID as the App ID and click "Continue".
Fill in the "Provisioning Profile Name" field as shown below, review the information, and click "Generate".
Click "Download".
Upload Credentials
To upload the credentials for Android, Huawei, and iOS, follow these steps:
Navigate to the Project Detail page in the App Maker platform.
On the Project Credentials page, the filter area allows you to select between Production/Staging and iOS/Android. The items listed will update based on the selected filters.
To edit a value or upload a new credential, click the Edit button next to the desired item. This will open a modal where you can enter the required information.
Build
This page offers several functionalities, including creating a new build, viewing details of the current build, generating a code push for a build, and publishing a force update.
Before starting this process, ensure that the fields in the Configuration section, such as package
, bundleIdentifier
, version
, name
, icon
, and splashScreen
in the akinon.json
file, are correct.
If any configuration value is changed in the akinon.json file, the user must click the BUILD PACKAGE button under Management before proceeding to create a new build. This step ensures that platform configurations are recreated with the updated settings.
To start the creation of a new build, click the Create New Build button.
During this process, you will need to enter a new version number. This version should be based on the latest version listed under Store Version in the App Store Connect > My Apps > TestFlight tab. This version number will be used to represent the app version displayed in the app stores.
After filling out all the required information in the relevant fields, click the Create button to begin the build creation process.
On the Builds page, users will find the list of iOS and Android builds based on the selected Production and Staging information. To initiate a new build, click the Create button, and it will appear with the status Pending. The status will be updated to Success or Failed depending on the outcome.
By clicking on the deployment detail, users can access related logs and monitor the build's progress. Here, users have the option to download the IPA file for iOS builds and the APK file for Android builds.
CodePush
The store status of a successful build is updated based on whether the build has been sent to the store.
For builds with a successful store status, CodePush can be initiated.

Click the +CODEPUSH button, fill in the required fields in the displayed modal, and click Create.

You can only create a code push for builds with a successful store status that haven’t been force-updated.
Mandatory OFF: When the user opens the application, it automatically checks for any new updates by visiting the Akinon servers in the background. If there are updates available, the application downloads them in silent mode and applies the new bundle the next time it's opened. This mode is activated when the mandatory field isn't activated when making a codepush on the App Maker platform.
Mandatory ON: When the user opens the application, it checks for any new updates in the background. If an update is detected, the application displays an alert to the user, presenting Cancel and Update buttons.
If the user kills the application and reopens it, it will open with the latest update applied.
If the user clicks the Update button, the application restarts with the update complete.
If the user clicks the Cancel button, the device remains unchanged. However, the new update will be applied the next time the application is reopened.
The Cancel button is provided to comply with Apple's App Store Review Guidelines, which prohibit forcing users to access the contents of the application or perform certain actions.
Applications must not force users to rate, review, download other apps, or perform any similar actions in order to access app functionality, content, or use.
If the mandatory field is activated when making a codepush on the App Maker platform, the created codepush will run in Mandatory mode.

You cannot change the build target and the platform fields creating a codepush. The build target and platform are determined by the build selected when creating the codepush.
Force Update
After creating a build on a new version and updating its store status to success, users can initiate a force update for the old build. The codepush sent during this force update will automatically work in mandatory mode. To achieve this, select the published build and click the Force Update button. Click Yes, Proceed, and the process will start.

Force Updates cannot be undone. Once a force update is created, it cannot be reverted. This action is irreversible.
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