Mobile — CI/CD & Build Tools

Mobile CI is harder than backend CI: macOS runners are scarce and expensive, signing certificates are stateful, and store submission has its own gauntlet. For general CI see CI/CD. For signing specifically see Mobile — Fastlane & Code Signing. For tests on devices see Mobile — Cloud Test Labs.

Mobile-first hosted CI

• ★ Codemagic — Flutter / RN / iOS / Android / KMP; generous free tier (500 build minutes/month). The default for indie Flutter / RN projects in 2026.
• ★ Bitrise — long-standing mobile CI; iOS / Android / RN / Flutter / KMP; visual workflow editor. Free hobby tier; paid for teams.
• EAS Build — Expo's hosted build for RN. Free hobby tier; paid for teams. Tightly integrated with Expo SDK and EAS Update.
• Xcode Cloud — Apple's iOS-only CI. Free quota included with Apple Developer Program (small), paid beyond. macOS-perfect; iOS-only.
• AppCircle — mobile-first CI alternative; reasonable free tier.

General CI with macOS runners

• ★ GitHub Actions — macos-14 / macos-15 runners are free for public repos; metered for private (10x multiplier vs Linux). Excellent action ecosystem (setup-flutter, setup-java, cocoapods-cache, react-native-cli).
• GitLab CI with macOS runners (paid SaaS minutes or self-hosted).
• CircleCI with macOS executors — paid.
• Buildkite with self-hosted Mac mini fleet — common for big teams.

Self-hosted macOS

• ★ GitHub Actions self-hosted runners on macOS — point at a Mac mini / Mac Studio rack.
• MacStadium / Scaleway Apple Silicon — managed Mac hosting.
• Anka (Veertu) — macOS VM orchestration on bare-metal Mac fleets.
• Tart — open-source macOS VM tool for Apple Silicon; the lighter alternative to Anka.
• Orka (MacStadium) — Kubernetes-flavored macOS VM management.

Build automation / signing

• ★ Fastlane — Ruby toolchain; match (signing), gym (build iOS), pilot (TestFlight), supply (Play). Free, MIT. See Mobile — Fastlane & Code Signing.
• ★ Tuist — Swift-defined Xcode project generation + signing; great alongside Fastlane.
• xcodebuild / gradlew — the underlying CLIs; bare option for those avoiding Fastlane.
• App Store Connect API — direct REST API; replaces some Fastlane functions.

Bundling / packaging

• Metro (RN) — default JS bundler; supports tree-shaking and Hermes bytecode.
• Re.Pack (RN) — Webpack-shape; module federation, code splitting.
• Gradle + Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) — the Android build pipeline.
• Bundletool — produce Android App Bundles (AABs) for Play.
• xcconfig — Xcode build configurations; pair with Tuist for sanity.
• Swift Package Manager — iOS dependency manager; default in 2026.
• CocoaPods — legacy maintained.

OTA / over-the-air updates

• ★ EAS Update — Expo's OTA channel; free hobby tier.
• CodePush — Microsoft App Center–era; App Center has been sunset (March 2025); consider successors.
• react-native-ota-hot-update — community alternatives.
• Capgo, Appflow (Ionic, paid) — Capacitor OTA.

Cache / acceleration

• Bazel remote cache — for Bazel-based mobile builds.
• Gradle build cache — local + remote (Develocity / Gradle Enterprise paid).
• CocoaPods Binary Cache, xcframeworks, prebuilt artifact registries.
• actions/cache with Pods + Gradle keys.

Pick this if…

• Indie Flutter or RN, free quota: Codemagic.
• Small / mid team, mobile-first: Bitrise.
• Already in Expo: EAS Build + EAS Update.
• Already in GitHub Actions, modest macOS needs: stick with GitHub Actions + Fastlane.
• Big team with macOS scale issues: self-hosted Mac fleet via Tart + GitHub runners, or Anka.
• iOS-only Apple-everything: Xcode Cloud.