GitHub actions for flutter CI/CD

Flutter is an open-source mobile application development framework that has gained popularity among developers due to its ease of use and cross-platform compatibility. Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) is an essential part of the software development process that helps to automate the testing, building, and deployment of code changes. GitHub Actions is a powerful tool that enables developers to automate their workflows and integrate them with GitHub. In this article, we will explore how to write GitHub Actions for Flutter CI/CD.

Step 1:

Setting up Flutter Environment The first step in writing GitHub Actions for Flutter CI/CD is to set up the Flutter environment on the machine where the Actions will run. This involves installing the Flutter SDK and adding it to the PATH environment variable. Additionally, you should ensure that the machine has the necessary dependencies for building and running Flutter applications.

Step 2:

Creating a New GitHub Actions Workflow To create a new GitHub Actions workflow, you will need to create a YAML file in the .github/workflows directory of your repository. This file will define the steps that the Actions will follow. The YAML file should contain the following information:

• Name: A descriptive name for the workflow
• On: The events that will trigger the workflow, such as push, pull request, or schedule.
• Jobs: A list of jobs to be executed by the workflow, each containing a series of steps.

Step 3:

Defining the Jobs In this step, you will define the jobs that the workflow will execute. You can define multiple jobs that run in parallel or sequentially, depending on the requirements of your application. For a Flutter CI/CD workflow, you may want to define the following jobs:

• Build: This job will build the Flutter application and generate the output files.
• Test: This job will run the unit and integration tests to ensure that the application is functioning correctly.
• Deploy: This job will deploy the application to the desired platform or environment.

Step 4:

Writing the Steps In this step, you will write the steps that the jobs will follow. For a Flutter CI/CD workflow, the steps may include the following:

• Checkout: This step will check out the source code from the repository.
• Setup Flutter: This step will set up the Flutter environment on the machine where the Actions will run.
• Build: This step will build the Flutter application using the flutter build command.
• Test: This step will run the unit and integration tests using the flutter test command.
• Deploy: This step will deploy the application to the desired platform or environment using the appropriate deployment tool.

Step 5:

Configuring the Workflow In this step, you will configure the workflow to run on the desired events, platforms, and environments. You can define variables, secrets, and other settings that the workflow will use during execution. Additionally, you can set up notifications and other actions to be taken upon completion of the workflow.

Step 6:

Testing the Workflow After writing and configuring the workflow, it is essential to test it thoroughly to ensure that it is working as expected. You can test the workflow by making changes to the repository and observing the Actions logs to verify that the workflow is executing correctly.

Lets see some examples :

Example 1: Building and Testing a Flutter App :

name: Flutter CI/CD

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
    - name: Checkout code
      uses: actions/checkout@v2
      
    - name: Setup Flutter
      uses: subosito/flutter-action@v1
      
    - name: Get dependencies
      run: flutter pub get
      
    - name: Build and test
      run: |
        flutter build apk
        flutter test

This example defines a single job that runs on the main branch when code is pushed to the repository. The job checks out the code, sets up the Flutter environment using the subosito/flutter-action action, gets the dependencies, builds an APK file, and runs the tests.

Example 2: Deploying a Flutter App to Firebase:

name: Deploy to Firebase

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
    - name: Checkout code
      uses: actions/checkout@v2
      
    - name: Setup Flutter
      uses: subosito/flutter-action@v1
      
    - name: Get dependencies
      run: flutter pub get
      
    - name: Build APK
      run: flutter build apk
      
    - name: Deploy to Firebase
      uses: w9jds/firebase-action@master
      with:
        args: deploy --only hosting
      env:
        FIREBASE_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.FIREBASE_TOKEN }}

This example defines a job that deploys a Flutter app to Firebase Hosting when code is pushed to the main branch. The job checks out the code, sets up the Flutter environment, gets the dependencies, builds an APK file, and deploys the app using the w9jds/firebase-action action. The FIREBASE_TOKEN environment variable is set using a secret stored in the repository's settings.

Example 3: Running Flutter Tests on Multiple Platforms:

name: Flutter CI/CD

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    strategy:
      matrix:
        os: [ubuntu-latest, macOS-latest, windows-latest]

    steps:
    - name: Checkout code
      uses: actions/checkout@v2
      
    - name: Setup Flutter
      uses: subosito/flutter-action@v1
      with:
        channel: dev
      
    - name: Get dependencies
      run: flutter pub get
      
    - name: Build and test
      run: flutter test

This example defines a job that runs Flutter tests on multiple platforms (Ubuntu, macOS, and Windows) when code is pushed to the main branch. The job uses the matrix feature to define different operating systems, sets up the Flutter environment using the subosito/flutter-action action with the dev channel, gets the dependencies, and runs the tests using the flutter test command.

Conclusion:

GitHub Actions provides a powerful and flexible way to automate your Flutter CI/CD workflows. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can write and configure GitHub Actions for your Flutter applications, allowing you to streamline your development process and increase productivity.