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Going live

The template runs without any accounts: it uses sample data, logs instead of reporting crashes, and keeps links and push local. This page lists what you add before release, and what each one switches on.

You add What switches on Needs
Your API Real data instead of sample data Your backend
Release signing Builds you can upload to the stores A keystore; an Apple Developer team
Firebase Crash reports, analytics, Remote Config, push delivery on Android A Firebase project (free)
Push on iOS Push delivery on iPhone Firebase, a paid Apple Developer team
A link domain https:// links that open the app A domain you control, plus the two above for iOS
Remote Config keys Forced updates and maintenance mode Firebase

Rename the app first if you haven’t: pnpm bootstrap --name AcmeShop --bundle-id com.acme.shop (see the README). Every bundle id below is the renamed one, with .dev and .staging for those environments.

Use your API

Section titled “Use your API”
  1. In .env.staging and .env.prod, set API_URL to your backend.
  2. In .env.dev, set API_URL too, and API_MOCKS=false when you want dev builds to use it.

Your backend needs the endpoints the app calls; src/mocks/handlers.ts shows each request and response. Two behaviours to match:

  • After sign-in the app sends POST /devices with { token, platform } whenever it has a push token. Drop a session’s devices when you handle POST /auth/logout: the app can’t call you after sign-out.
  • Writes queued offline replay with the same Idempotency-Key header. Return the first result for a key you’ve seen, so a replay is never applied twice.

Sign release builds

Section titled “Sign release builds”

Android: create an upload keystore and put these in ~/.gradle/gradle.properties (or CI secrets): RN_UPLOAD_STORE_FILE, RN_UPLOAD_STORE_PASSWORD, RN_UPLOAD_KEY_ALIAS, RN_UPLOAD_KEY_PASSWORD. Without them, release builds are signed with the debug key and Play rejects them.

iOS: open ios/<App>.xcworkspace in Xcode, select the app target, and set your team under Signing & Capabilities. A free Apple account can run the app on your own phone, but can’t use push or web links.

To build and upload from the command line or CI, use the fastlane lanes in releasing: they sign iOS builds with match and upload to TestFlight and Play internal testing.

Set up Firebase

Section titled “Set up Firebase”
  1. In the Firebase console, create a project. Use one project per environment if you want separate data (recommended), or one for all three.
  2. Add an Android app for each environment’s application id (com.acme.shop.dev, com.acme.shop.staging, com.acme.shop) and download its google-services.json to android/app/src/<env>/google-services.json (<env> is dev, staging or prod).
  3. Add an iOS app for each bundle id and download its GoogleService-Info.plist to ios/Config/Firebase/<env>/GoogleService-Info.plist.
  4. Rebuild (pnpm android, pnpm ios). Native code changed, so a Metro reload isn’t enough.

You can set up one environment at a time: the others keep building without Firebase. The app logs “Firebase is not set up for this build” at start-up when an environment has no file.

What you get: Crashlytics (crashes from release builds; debug builds don’t report), Analytics (screen views and the events the app tracks), Remote Config (feature flags, see below) and push delivery on Android. Release builds upload their symbol files to Crashlytics automatically.

If the build fails after adding a file: check that the package name / bundle id inside the file matches the environment folder it’s in. A dev file in prod/ fails the Google Services step.

Turn on push for iOS

Section titled “Turn on push for iOS”

Prerequisites: Firebase for that environment, and a paid Apple Developer team.

  1. In the Apple Developer portal, create an APNs authentication key (Keys → +, Apple Push Notifications).
  2. In Firebase, open Project settings → Cloud Messaging → Apple app configuration and upload the key.
  3. In the environment’s .env file, set IOS_APS_ENVIRONMENT=development (debug and TestFlight builds use development; App Store builds production).
  4. Run bundle exec ruby scripts/ios/configure-environments.rb from ios/, then rebuild.

People get asked for permission from the Notifications row in Settings, not at first launch. A notification whose data has link (for example acme-shop://post/123) opens that screen when tapped.

Testing without an Apple account: the simulator can show and open notifications. In the dev build, Settings → Component showroom → Send test notification.

Section titled “Open web links in the app”

Prerequisites: a domain you control (for example links.acme.com), HTTPS on it, and for iOS a paid Apple Developer team.

  1. In the environment’s .env file, set APP_LINK_DOMAIN=links.acme.com (no https://).

  2. Run bundle exec ruby scripts/ios/configure-environments.rb from ios/, then rebuild both apps.

  3. Generate the two verification files:

    Terminal window
    pnpm links:files --team-id ABCDE12345

    The Team ID is under Membership in your Apple Developer account. For Android the script reads your upload keystore (RN_UPLOAD_STORE_FILE); if Play signs your app, also pass the Play App Signing key’s fingerprint: --sha256 <fingerprint> (Play Console → Test and release → App integrity).

  4. Upload dist/well-known/<env>/apple-app-site-association and assetlinks.json to https://links.acme.com/.well-known/, served as application/json, without redirects.

The files only claim the paths the app handles (/post/*); the rest of your site keeps opening in the browser. When you add a linkable screen, add its path to LINK_PATHS in scripts/links-files.ts too.

If links open in the browser: iOS fetches the file when the app is installed, so reinstall after uploading. On Android, run adb shell pm verify-app-links --re-verify <application id> and check adb shell pm get-app-links <application id>.

Force an update or pause the app

Section titled “Force an update or pause the app”

These Remote Config keys control whether the app runs (defaults in src/shared/config/flags.ts):

Key Type Effect
min_supported_version string, e.g. 1.4.0 Older versions show an “Update required” screen
maintenance_mode boolean Everyone sees a maintenance screen with a Try again button
ios_app_store_id string (digits) The update screen’s button opens this App Store page; without it, iOS shows only text

The app checks at start-up and whenever it returns to the foreground. Without Firebase these keys keep their defaults, so nothing is ever blocked.

Before you turn on maintenance_mode: everyone is locked out until you turn it off, including people mid-task. Writes queued offline wait and sync afterwards.