Building a Native Binary for the App Store

A guide on how to produce a binary and steps to upload to the Apple App Store or Android Play Store.

Signing up for a Servoy Cloud Account

In order to create any native binaries we first must create Servoy Cloud Account and namespace. You can visit the following link to do so. After registering please setup a namespace. You can use the following reference link.

Adding a job

Add a new job with "Mobile" type selected. From there we can edit and start a mobile build. With mobile builds you should also integrate with the svyPhonegap Module. The following link has more details on how to do that.

Configuring a mobile job

You can configure a mobile job by clicking on the edit button and selecting Edit job Config. For more details on the options within the build configuration, please refer to our reference page.

Use Servoy's Cloud Control Center. The service will help you fill out the configurations required and generate a native mobile binary.

Add a new Job

Select the Mobile Type

Add configuration options

Select which native integration plugin(s) you need

Start a mobile build job

Creating an Android Debug binary

An android native debug binary can be installed on any android device version 7.1 and up. Having a debug binary is useful for testing out the functionality prior to producing a signed version for the app store. This allows developers to test out their app quickly on a native device quickly. It's also necessary to use this option if you want to inspect Cordova or Phonegap plugins you are adding via the advanced settings or other custom plugins.

Creating an Android Production binary and certificates

For publishing to the Android Play store mark the option "Android for play store" within the Environment section of the build configuration. Then in the "Appstore" section you will need to include and Android keystore, alias, and relevant password as well. The steps to publish are below:

1. Generate a keystore (using keytool or other java tool)

2. keytool -genkey -v -keystore my-release-key.keystore -alias alias_name -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

3. keep track of alias and password during the generation process and enter them within the build configuration.

4. Start the job and click the "Android APK Download" link to download binaries once the job is complete. Keep track of binaries for uploading to the google developer console.

   
5. Sign up for a developer account (https://developer.android.com/distribute/console/)

   1. From within the google play console select the "Create App" Option

   2. Fill out the form to generate the app listing.

      
   3. Once app listing is generated you can upload a generated binary within the "Test and release" section under Testing/Production links.

   

   d. Select the "Create new release" option and upload your binary.

   

Creating an IOS binary and Certificates

For publishing to the Apple App store mark the option "iOS" within the Environment section of the build configuration. Then in the "Appstore" section you will need to have the certificate (.p12), provision file (.mobileprovision), and the certificate password. These items can be generated through the apple dev site.

1. Sign up for a developer account (https://developer.apple.com/account/)

2. Generate a Developer Certificate

   
3. Click on Certificates and add a new item.

Choose the iOS Distribution option.

Upload a Certificate Signing Request

You can generate one using from a mac machine using the keychain access application.

1. Once you have generated and downloaded your certificate. Open the certificate with keychain access application and export the certificate to .p12 file. It will also ask for a password, make note o that as it will be required for the mobile build configuration (IOS Certificate Password entry).

   
2. Generate identifier

   

   

When registering an App ID - take note of the Bundle ID. It must match the "Appstore ID" within the servoy build Package configuration.

1. Generate Provisioning profile for distribution to App Store

   

Select the same App Id you generated earlier

1. Create the app store listing under App Store Connect.

   

   Create a new App, and select the same bundle ID that you've created earlier.

2. After generating the binary from the cloud control center you can use the "Transporter" App to upload the binary (.ipa) file. Once the .ipa is selected transport app should show the app you've created if listing was generated properly.