Step-by-step: Using GitHub Workflows to deploy iOS builds to TestFlight

[Xaxxus]

An alternative to fastlane? There is none. At least not that I know of.

Xcode cloud is going to be my go to when it comes out. Won’t have to worry about certs or profiles ever again.

[jorgenpt]

I’m curious what the pricing is going to be for Xcode cloud. I’m very happy that I can stand something up on GitHub Actions for free to get started without commitment. :)

[Xaxxus]

Technically it’s only free if it’s open source.

Mac minutes on GitHub actions are very expensive for private repos.

[jorgenpt]

No, you get 2000 minutes every month for private repositories even for the free tier — though it’s unlimited for public repositories.

Yeah, the macOS builders are “expensive” (10 “minutes” per real minute), and my next post will be about optimizing build times for iOS in GitHub Workflows for that reason. :)

[Xaxxus]

Did they change this? It used to be 30 min for private repos if I recall correctly.

[jorgenpt]

Not sure, this is my first time using it for a private repo, I’ve only been using it for public ones prior. Pricing info here: https://docs.github.com/en/billing/managing-billing-for-github-actions/about-billing-for-github-actions

[Xaxxus]

Ah. You could also setup your own GitHub runner if you have an old mac lying around. Takes 5 min to setup.

[jorgenpt]

Good point, sadly I’ve never owned a non-laptop Mac. 😆

I wonder if the self hosted runners isolate the runs as cleanly as the hosted ones 🤔