# Build Distribution | Sentry for iOS This feature is available only if you're in the [Early Adopter program](https://docs.sentry.io/organization/early-adopter-features.md). Features available to Early Adopters are still in-progress and may have bugs. We recognize the irony. [Build Distribution](https://docs.sentry.io/product/build-distribution.md) helps you securely distribute iOS builds to your internal teams and beta testers. Streamline your distribution workflow with automated uploads from CI. ## [Getting Started](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/guides/ios/build-distribution.md#getting-started) **Accepted Formats**: XCArchive **Upload Mechanisms**: [Fastlane Plugin](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/guides/ios/build-distribution.md#uploading-with-fastlane) (version 1.35.0 or higher) *or* [Sentry CLI](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/guides/ios/build-distribution.md#uploading-with-the-sentry-cli) ### [Uploading With Fastlane](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/guides/ios/build-distribution.md#uploading-with-fastlane) The Fastlane plugin can be used to upload XCArchive or IPA builds to Sentry. On GitHub Actions, Fastlane will automatically detect your [build's metadata](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/guides/ios/build-distribution.md#upload-metadata) and include it in the upload. In other Continuous Integration (CI) environments, you may need to manually set metadata values. Uploading IPA files requires Sentry Fastlane plugin version `2.0.0-rc.3` or later. XCArchive uploads are supported in earlier versions. 1. Configure the [Sentry Fastlane plugin](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/guides/ios/dsym.md#sentry-fastlane-plugin) (version `2.1.0`): ```ruby bundle exec fastlane add_plugin fastlane-plugin-sentry ``` 2. Set up `SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN` in your environment (you can generate a token [here](https://sentry.sentry.io/settings/auth-tokens/)) 3. In `FastFile`, add a call to `sentry_upload_build` after your build step. **Uploading an XCArchive (preferred):** When using `build_ios_app`, the XCArchive path is automatically detected from `SharedValues::XCODEBUILD_ARCHIVE`: `Fastfile` ```ruby lane :upload_to_sentry do build_ios_app( scheme: 'YourScheme', configuration: 'Release' ) sentry_upload_build( org_slug: 'your-org', project_slug: 'your-project', build_configuration: 'Release' ) end ``` You can also explicitly specify the `xcarchive_path`: `Fastfile` ```ruby lane :upload_to_sentry do sentry_upload_build( org_slug: 'your-org', project_slug: 'your-project', xcarchive_path: 'path/to/YourApp.xcarchive', build_configuration: 'Release' ) end ``` **Uploading an IPA:** When using `build_ios_app`, the IPA path is automatically detected from `SharedValues::IPA_OUTPUT_PATH`. `Fastfile` ```ruby lane :upload_to_sentry do build_ios_app( scheme: 'YourScheme', configuration: 'Release' ) sentry_upload_build( org_slug: 'your-org', project_slug: 'your-project', build_configuration: 'Release' ) end ``` To upload an IPA instead of the XCArchive, explicitly specify `ipa_path`: `Fastfile` ```ruby lane :upload_to_sentry do build_ios_app( scheme: 'YourScheme', configuration: 'Release' ) sentry_upload_build( org_slug: 'your-org', project_slug: 'your-project', ipa_path: 'path/to/YourApp.ipa', build_configuration: 'Release' ) end ``` 4. After an upload has successfully processed, confirm the metadata is correct in the Sentry UI The Fastlane plugin automatically detects the following build metadata. If needed, the metadata values can be overridden by passing parameters to `sentry_upload_build`: `Fastfile` ```ruby sentry_upload_build( org_slug: 'your-org', project_slug: 'your-project', xcarchive_path: 'path/to/YourApp.xcarchive', # or ipa_path: 'path/to/YourApp.ipa' build_configuration: 'Release', # Optional metadata overrides: head_sha: 'abc123', base_sha: 'def456', vcs_provider: 'github', head_repo_name: 'organization/repository', base_repo_name: 'organization/repository', head_ref: 'feature-branch', base_ref: 'main', pr_number: '42' ) ``` See the [Fastlane repo](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-fastlane-plugin) for more information. ### [Uploading with the Sentry CLI](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/guides/ios/build-distribution.md#uploading-with-the-sentry-cli) 1. Install the [sentry-cli](https://docs.sentry.io/cli.md) (version `3.2.0`) We recommend using the latest version for the best possible experience, but at a minimum version `2.58.2` is required. 2. Authenticate the Sentry CLI by [following these steps](https://docs.sentry.io/cli/configuration.md#to-authenticate-manually) 3. Build your app to create an XCArchive (preferred) or IPA 4. Invoke the following CLI command to trigger the upload: ```bash sentry-cli build upload app.xcarchive \ --org your-org \ --project your-project \ --build-configuration Release ``` 5. After an upload has successfully processed, confirm the metadata is correct in the Sentry UI ## [Downloading Builds](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/guides/ios/build-distribution.md#downloading-builds) Once builds are uploaded to Sentry, your team members and beta testers can download them through the Sentry web interface. 1. Open the URL printed to the console after uploading the build 2. Click the **Install** button on the right side of the page 3) Either scan the QR code from a mobile device or click the **Download** button to download the build directly After downloading, you can install the build directly on your iOS device. For more information on installing enterprise apps, see [Apple's documentation on installing custom apps](https://support.apple.com/en-us/118254). ## [Upload Metadata](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/guides/ios/build-distribution.md#upload-metadata) We use build metadata to organize builds in the UI and ensure correct comparisons. | Field | Description | | ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `org`\* | Sentry organization slug | | `project`\* | Sentry project slug | | `build-configuration`\* | Build configuration describing how the app was built, for example `Release` or `Debug` or `Release-Bazel` | | `head-sha` | Current commit SHA | | `base-sha` | Base commit SHA (for comparisons, recommended to use the branch's merge-base) | | `vcs-provider` | VCS provider name (for example `github`, `gitlab`, `bitbucket`, `azure`, `github_enterprise`). If not provided, the provider will be auto-detected from the git remote URL. Note: Only `github` and `github_enterprise` are supported for status checks. | | `head-repo-name` | Repository name (`org/repo`) | | `pr-number` | Pull request number | | `head-ref` | Branch or tag name | | `base-ref` | Base branch name | \* *required field* ### [Build Configuration](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/guides/ios/build-distribution.md#build-configuration) Features such as automatically comparing the head build against the base build **will only compare builds of the same build configuration**. This is important to consider when setting up Size Analysis in your CI. For example, `Release` and `Debug` builds can be drastically different depending on the compiler and linker settings used during the build process. Trying to compare the two would give unexpected results. * #### [Auto-Update SDK](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/guides/ios/build-distribution/auto-update.md) Enable automatic update checks and installations for internal iOS builds using the Sentry Auto-Update SDK. ## Pages in this section - [auto-update](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/guides/ios/build-distribution/auto-update.md)