Mobile Engineering Agents

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Workflow: Release the Application ​

Led by the Release Manager with the DevOps Expert. Checklist-driven and reproducible.

Objective ​

Ship a tested build to TestFlight/App Store safely: correct versioning, signing, metadata, phased rollout, and a ready rollback plan.

Inputs ​

  • Release scope/changelog, target version, store metadata, signing assets.

Outputs ​

  • A tagged, CI-built, signed build submitted with monitoring and a rollback plan.

Step-by-Step Process ​

  1. Pre-flight — main is green (lint/test/build pass); changelog assembled; version + build numbers bumped per SemVer.
  2. Tag + build in CI (DevOps) — build from a clean tagged commit; never an ad-hoc local build.
  3. Sign — Fastlane match; verify certs/profiles aren't near expiry.
  4. Validate — regression + QA sign-off; crash-free baseline acceptable; privacy/data-use declarations accurate.
  5. TestFlight beta — distribute; gather feedback; verify upload symbolicates (dSYMs).
  6. Submit + phased rollout — release notes + metadata + screenshots; phased App Store rollout with monitoring.
  7. Monitor + decide — watch crash-free rate and key metrics; advance or roll back.
  8. Review against checklists/release_review.md.

Flutter variant ​

The procedure above is unchanged; only the build and signing commands differ.

  • Version of record is pubspec.yaml (version: 1.4.0+42 — name+build number). Bump it there; do not hand-edit the generated iOS/Android version fields.

  • Pre-flight gate: dart format --set-exit-if-changed ., flutter analyze, and flutter test --coverage must all be green.

  • Environment/flavor config comes from --dart-define-from-file (or --dart-define), never from committed constants. Note that these values are extractable strings in the binary — they are configuration, not secrets.

  • Build both artifacts:

    bash
    flutter build appbundle --release --flavor prod \
  --dart-define-from-file=config/prod.json \
  --obfuscate --split-debug-info=build/symbols
flutter build ipa --release --flavor prod \
  --dart-define-from-file=config/prod.json \
  --obfuscate --split-debug-info=build/symbols \
  --export-options-plist=ios/ExportOptions.plist

  • Upload the Dart symbol files from build/symbols to the crash reporter. This is the Flutter analogue of the dSYM rule: an obfuscated release without uploaded symbols produces stack traces nobody can read, and you only discover it after the first production crash.

  • Distribution is the same Fastlane surface — upload_to_testflight and supply — driven from one lane set covering both stores.

  • Check bundle size with flutter build --analyze-size before submission.

Validation Steps ​

  • Build originates from a tagged CI run; version/build numbers correct and unique.
  • Signing valid; dSYMs uploaded; crashes symbolicate.
  • Privacy declarations match actual data use.
  • Rollout monitored; rollback path verified.

Failure Scenarios ​

  • Rejected build number → bump and re-submit.
  • Expired cert/profile → rotate via match; rebuild.
  • Crash spike during rollout → halt rollout; roll back / expedite a hotfix.
  • Inaccurate privacy manifest → correct before resubmission.

AI Agent Instructions ​

  • Never release from a local build; require a tagged CI artifact.
  • Gate strictly on the release checklist; phase the rollout with monitoring.
  • Ensure a rollback/hotfix plan exists before submitting.
  • Keep version/build numbers and privacy declarations accurate.

Acceptance Criteria ​

  • [ ] Built from a tagged, green CI commit; versions bumped correctly.
  • [ ] Signed; dSYMs uploaded; QA + regression signed off.
  • [ ] Metadata + privacy declarations accurate.
  • [ ] Phased rollout with monitoring + rollback plan.
  • [ ] checklists/release_review.md passes.