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Flutter hotfix from GitHub Actions: publish an OTA update from CI

#flutter #githubactions #cicd #dart

A hotfix that someone has to publish from their laptop depends on that person being online. A hotfix that goes out from CI has the same review as every other change, and anyone on the team can trigger it.

Here's how to publish an over-the-air (OTA) update for a Flutter app from GitHub Actions, using OverPush.

Before you start

Your app needs one store release made with OverPush (overpush release android / overpush release ios). Patches are checked against that release. See the getting started guide.

1. Get a CI token

In your project, on your laptop:

overpush token
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It prints two values. In your GitHub repo, go to Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → New repository secret and add both:

  • OVERPUSH_TOKEN
  • OVERPUSH_API_BASE

Treat the token like a password. You can remove it any time from the dashboard.

2. Add the workflow

.github/workflows/patch-android.yml:

name: patch-android
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      rollout:
        description: Rollout percent
        default: "10"
jobs:
  patch:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    env:
      OVERPUSH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.OVERPUSH_TOKEN }}
      OVERPUSH_API_BASE: ${{ secrets.OVERPUSH_API_BASE }}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: subosito/flutter-action@v2
        with:
          flutter-version: 3.41.4   # the version that built the release
      - run: curl -fsSL https://overpush.in/install.sh | bash
      - run: flutter pub get
      - run: ~/.overpush/bin/overpush patch android --yes --rollout-percent ${{ inputs.rollout }}
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For iOS, copy it, use runs-on: macos-latest and overpush patch ios. A patch needs no code signing.

Use the same Flutter version that built the store release.

3. Ship a hotfix

  1. Merge the fix into your release branch.
  2. Go to Actions → patch-android → Run workflow, enter a rollout percent (start with 10), and run it.
  3. Watch installs and failures in the dashboard, then raise the rollout.

Patching an older release

To patch something other than the newest release:

overpush patch android --yes --release-version 1.4.0+31
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Notes

  • CI tokens are on the Pro plan and up.
  • If the fix turns out to be wrong: overpush patches revoke N, and devices go back to the release code at their next launch.
  • Codemagic works the same way: https://docs.overpush.in/ci-codemagic.html

Full CI docs: https://docs.overpush.in/ci-github.html

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