How to build an iOS AdHoc app with flutter
Pre-requisite
- Apple Developer Program membership ($99/year)
- Distribution certificate added to your machine
- In the Xcode project (Signing & Capabilities tab), select your team/ developer account which has the Apple Developer program membership.
1. Create an Archive (.xcarchive
)
Technically you do not build an Ad Hoc app, you build a debug/release/profile app, which you then distribute via a distribution method, one option is Ad Hoc.
-
Using command line: You can run
flutter build ipa
to build the xcarchive. Then it should show a URL for yourRunner.xcarchive
at the output (double click that link), or -
Using Xcode: Open the Xcode project, and in the menu bar, click
Product
>Archive
. The organizer window will open once the archive is complete.
2. Create an .ipa
Now the Organizer window should be open. Press the Distribute App
button: you should see multiple options. You can share the .ipa
file with users, and they can install it onto their iPhone:
It's worth noting you can also create an .ipa
using xcodebuild
, but when you're first learning, it's nicer to use Xcode.
3. Install the .ipa
on a device.
I wrote an answer about that: https://stackoverflow.com/a/68968301/7365866
Reminder
Just remember to do this:
Action Required: You must set a build name and number in the pubspec.yaml file version field before submitting to the App Store.
Nathan
I am an App- and Cloud Developer. In my free time I do improv and ultimate frisbee.
Updated on December 01, 2022Comments
-
Nathan over 1 year
I have an flutter app for ios and can build it for the app store using:
flutter build ios --release
But how can I build an Ad-Hoc app for ios?