docs/deploy-ota.md
OTA deployments to TestFlight/APK installs happen automatically upon all merges into main. In cases where the fingerprint diff shows incompatible native changes, a new client build will automatically be ran and deployed to TestFlight (iOS) or delivered in Slack (Android).
Production OTAs can only update the JavaScript bundle. Changes to native modules must be done as a full release cycle through the app stores.
[!TIP] If you're using a TestFlight build, in order to reference the correct build number and to verify the success of an OTA, you will need to delete the TestFlight app itself, delete the Bluesky app entirely, and re-install from the App Store.
Find the latest production build numbers for iOS and Android in Slack. These are
spit out into #bot-client-builds after each release. You can also find this
information under the About section in app settings.
| Slack | In app |
|---|---|
You need to ensure that the latest release was properly tagged using the format
1.X.0. If the commit is not properly tagged, then the OTA deployment will
simply fail since the GitHub Action will not be able to find a commit to
fingerprint and diff against.
Create a branch based off the last commit that was deployed in the most recent
release. This could be the commit that was tagged 1.x.0, or a later commit,
but it needs to be the tip of the latest production release in any case.
Double check yourself by ensuring that the version in package.json matches
what's in the latest release.
This new OTA branch should follow the format 1.X.0-ota-1. If one or more OTAs
have already been deployed for this release, incremement the branch name e.g.
1.x.0-ota-2.
Cherry pick in the commits that need to be deployed on top of the most recent release or OTA.
Since translators may have added new strings, and positions within the code may have shifted, it's typically best to pull the latest translations.
Run this and commit the result as the last commit on the OTA branch.
pnpm intl:release
You'll need to run two separate actions: one to deploy the iOS/Android OTA itself, and one to build the web Docker container.
For the iOS/Android OTA, head to Actions > Bundle and Deploy EAS Update and run the action.
| Steps | |
|---|---|
Select your OTA branch 1.x.0-ota-x, select production in the dropdown, enter the git tag of the latest release 1.x.0, enter the iOS build number and Android version code you found in Step 1, and click "Run workflow" |
[!NOTE] Production OTAs are bound to the specific native build they target, so the workflow requires the build numbers to be entered manually. There is no need to change the global EAS build counters (and doing so is no longer necessary for OTAs - they are only used when producing new native builds).
[!NOTE] If you do enter an incorrect version here, the deployment will either:
- Fail, because the action cannot find a commit with your misentered version
- Succeed, but with no users receiving the update. This is because the version and build numbers you entered will not match any clients in the wild, so none will be able to receive the update.
For web, head to Actions > build-and-push-bskyweb-aws and run the action.
| Steps | |
|---|---|
Select your OTA branch 1.x.0-ota-x and click "Run workflow" |
Once the web Docker container build finishes, go to your 1.x.0-ota-x branch,
copy the most recent commit hash. Post this hash in #ops-deploys and request
someone with web deploy access deploy the built container.
In about five minutes, the new deployment should be deployed and devices will begin downloading and installing in the background.
To confirm this, as mentioned above, you must completely clear the TestFlight build from your device and re-install from the App Store. Then, you'll need to:
Settings > About page and confirm the hash matches the most recent hash on your OTA branch