It’s been a very challenging phase for many mobile app development teams who struggle during their first iOS app releases. However, we have discovered the way to deal with this. Here are the steps that have consistently worked for us, which may also work for your team.

Android Deployment & Keystore Setup

Create Your Release Keystore

keytool -genkeypair -v -storetype PKCS12 \

  -keystore my-release-key.keystore \

  -alias my-key-alias \

  -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

Move it into:

android/app/my-release-key.keystore

Add Credentials to gradle.properties

MYAPP_UPLOAD_STORE_FILE=my-release-key.keystore

MYAPP_UPLOAD_KEY_ALIAS=my-key-alias

MYAPP_UPLOAD_STORE_PASSWORD=your_store_password

MYAPP_UPLOAD_KEY_PASSWORD=your_key_password

Configure build.gradle

signingConfigs {

  release {

    storeFile file(MYAPP_UPLOAD_STORE_FILE)

    storePassword MYAPP_UPLOAD_STORE_PASSWORD

    keyAlias MYAPP_UPLOAD_KEY_ALIAS

    keyPassword MYAPP_UPLOAD_KEY_PASSWORD

  }

}

Generate the Release AAB

cd android
./gradlew bundleRelease

Upload the AAB to the Play Console.

iOS Deployment (The Flow That Rarely Breaks)

While using React Native for the iOS app phase is straightforward for those who regularly use it, it initially seems complicated to everyone. Our developers have followed this flow to drive consistency in our work and solve puzzle-like scenarios.

Open:

ios/YourApp.xcworkspace

Choose:

Any iOS Device (arm64)

Then:

Product → Archive → Distribute App → App Store Connect → Upload

Next, need to update metadata, upload the screenshots, and privacy details in App Store Connect. Once done, we can hit submit for review.

Environment Variables Using react-native-config

To avoid any mihapps encounters and maintain cleanliness, that's what every react native app development team prefers:

.env

API_BASE_URL=https://api.example.com

Usage:

import Config from 'react-native-config';

api.get(`${Config.API_BASE_URL}/auth`);

Utilizing CodePush: Over-the-Air Updates

CodePush is one of the most underrated advantages of React Native. For UI fixes and small patches, it saves days of waiting for App Store review.

Install

npm install react-native-code-push

Wrap the Root Component

import codePush from 'react-native-code-push';

const options = {

  checkFrequency: codePush.CheckFrequency.ON_APP_START,

};

export default codePush(options)(App);

Release an Update

appcenter codepush release-react -a <owner>/<app> -d Production

Hope this guide will help you to build iOS and Android app using React Native.