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0014. Native CI builds are opt-in

  • Status: Accepted
  • Date: 2026-10-12
  • Supersedes: the “Labelled PRs and main also build Android and iOS” part of 0012

Context

Section titled “Context”

ADR 0012 builds Android and iOS on every push to main. Every repository made from the template inherits that workflow, switched on. The first run showed the cost:

  • A cold Android build on a standard GitHub runner takes 30–60 minutes, and on a private repository’s 8 GB runner it ran out of memory and was killed.
  • macOS minutes count ten times against a private repository’s free quota, so an iOS build on every push to main uses it up quickly.

A team that just created its app from the template gets slow, costly builds it didn’t ask for.

Decision

Section titled “Decision”
  • The checks job (types, lint, format, boundaries, tests) runs on every pull request and push to main, as before.
  • The Android and iOS builds run only when asked:
    • on a pull request labelled native (adding the label starts them)
    • from a manual run (Actions → CI → Run workflow)
    • on every push to main once the repository variable NATIVE_BUILDS is true
  • The Android job gets swap and at most two Gradle workers so it fits a standard runner; every job has a time limit.

Consequences

Section titled “Consequences”
  • A change that breaks a native build can reach main unnoticed unless someone labels the pull request or turns on NATIVE_BUILDS. Teams that can afford it should turn it on.
  • This repository sets NATIVE_BUILDS=true when CI is switched back on.

Alternatives considered

Section titled “Alternatives considered”
  • Keep native builds on every push to main: the cost lands on every new project by default.
  • Android on main, iOS opt-in: halves the cost but keeps the slowest, most memory-hungry job on by default.
  • Nightly scheduled builds: catches breakage a day late and still costs minutes every day, even with no changes.