5 ms·

TestFlight: iOS beta testing on the fly

60 points by bjonathan 16y ago

chr15 16y ago
To the developer: Some of the CSS looks broken: http://min.us/mvkte3T http://min.us/mvkte3T OSX 10.6.6 Firefox 3.16.13 Looks OK in the latest versions of Chrome and Safari
solipsist 16y ago
Does anyone understand how this service works? It would be nice to have an FAQ page on the website or something...
- gharbad 16y ago
  It looks like all real information about what the service does is under the blog.. From what I can gather, it allows you to manage beta/prebeta (free) access to the apps you are currently developing for iOS.
- cmelbye 16y ago
  If you're referring to the actual process of installing apps over-the-air, see this article explaining it: http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2010/12/apple-best-kept-secret-how-to-do-ad-hoc-installs.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2010/12/apple-best-kept-s...
  - solipsist 16y ago
    Wow! This just rocked my world. Being an iOS developer for a few years now, this will definitely come in handy. Thanks!
  - beej71 16y ago
    We've been using this process (rolled our own) for a couple months and I very highly recommend it, whether you build it yourself or use this TestFlight thing. Your testers will love you.
- kmfrk 16y ago
  Weird that this hasn't been submitted before. The process (and purpose): You create 1. One or several team groups 2. One or several user groups You can then proceed to push pre-release builds to TestFlight and have specific groups of users (press, volunteers, friends, iPod/iPhone 3G/3GS/4) try the build, before it's sent to the App Store. Sending a release to the App Store before testing it with a larger group of users can be pretty catastrophic. As a bonus, you basically drag and drop your .ipa(?) file to the browser, and TestFlight does the rest. The users can then proceed to get the build through TestFlight's HTML5 app. Before, as I understand, the alternative was to send your app files to people and have them import it in iTunes.
- psm42 16y ago
  Or, if you have an iPhone (or iPad or iPod touch) running iOS 4.0+, you can try it out by becoming a beta tester for my app, [Split Decision](http://testflightapp.com/join/d9566ad38cbafb7444b0cf6c8b4aa0ad-OTM2/ http://testflightapp.com/join/d9566ad38cbafb7444b0cf6c8b4aa0...).
jluxenberg 16y ago
So can one use this process to install non-signed apps onto a non-rooted iPhone? Does this mean I can write an app for the iPhone without going through Apple's AppStore?
- meat-eater 16y ago
  No. It's primarily a way for registered iOS developers to send beta builds to their testers' devices wirelessly. The usual process required syncing via itunes.
Skroob 16y ago
If you're an iOS developer, you NEED TestFlight. It makes the process of sending betas, client demos, really anything you'd use an adhoc build for, so much easier. I use it almost every day, and I can't count how many frustrating hours it has saved me. (Not a paid advertisement, I just really love TestFlight this much, I promise!)
sgman 16y ago
Apple has given developers this capability in since iOS4 came out. Tutorial: http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2010/12/apple-best-kept-secret-how-to-do-ad-hoc-installs.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2010/12/apple-best-kept-s...
nolanbrown23 16y ago
When I first saw TestFlight I waited several months to get into the beta before I gave up and just wrote my own to use. I don't want to be all spammy but I'll post it if anyone wants.
- halostatue 16y ago
  I am interested.
  - nolanbrown23 16y ago
    http://appsendr.com http://appsendr.com
- quanganhdo 16y ago
  What I did was sending them a tweet, and got into the beta within hours ;) TestFlight rocks, especially when you have a lot of apps on the App Store. EDIT: AppSendr looks gorgeous.
falldowngoboom 16y ago
If you're looking for a more DIY solution, I found a tool call iOS Beta Builder helpful. It prepares the XML manifest and creates a nice HTML page, so your testers just need to click to install. (you need their UDIDs first). The process is: - "build and archive" from Xcode - save the ipa - drag it into beta builder - publish output to a your website - send URL to beta testers http://www.hanchorllc.com/2010/08/24/introducing-ios-beta-builder/ http://www.hanchorllc.com/2010/08/24/introducing-ios-beta-bu...

60 points by bjonathan 16y ago

chr15 16y ago

To the developer: Some of the CSS looks broken: http://min.us/mvkte3T http://min.us/mvkte3T OSX 10.6.6 Firefox 3.16.13 Looks OK in the latest versions of Chrome and Safari

solipsist 16y ago

Does anyone understand how this service works? It would be nice to have an FAQ page on the website or something...

gharbad 16y ago
It looks like all real information about what the service does is under the blog.. From what I can gather, it allows you to manage beta/prebeta (free) access to the apps you are currently developing for iOS.
cmelbye 16y ago
If you're referring to the actual process of installing apps over-the-air, see this article explaining it: http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2010/12/apple-best-kept-secret-how-to-do-ad-hoc-installs.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2010/12/apple-best-kept-s...
- solipsist 16y ago
  Wow! This just rocked my world. Being an iOS developer for a few years now, this will definitely come in handy. Thanks!
- beej71 16y ago
  We've been using this process (rolled our own) for a couple months and I very highly recommend it, whether you build it yourself or use this TestFlight thing. Your testers will love you.
kmfrk 16y ago
Weird that this hasn't been submitted before. The process (and purpose): You create 1. One or several team groups 2. One or several user groups You can then proceed to push pre-release builds to TestFlight and have specific groups of users (press, volunteers, friends, iPod/iPhone 3G/3GS/4) try the build, before it's sent to the App Store. Sending a release to the App Store before testing it with a larger group of users can be pretty catastrophic. As a bonus, you basically drag and drop your .ipa(?) file to the browser, and TestFlight does the rest. The users can then proceed to get the build through TestFlight's HTML5 app. Before, as I understand, the alternative was to send your app files to people and have them import it in iTunes.
psm42 16y ago
Or, if you have an iPhone (or iPad or iPod touch) running iOS 4.0+, you can try it out by becoming a beta tester for my app, [Split Decision](http://testflightapp.com/join/d9566ad38cbafb7444b0cf6c8b4aa0ad-OTM2/ http://testflightapp.com/join/d9566ad38cbafb7444b0cf6c8b4aa0...).

jluxenberg 16y ago

So can one use this process to install non-signed apps onto a non-rooted iPhone? Does this mean I can write an app for the iPhone without going through Apple's AppStore?

meat-eater 16y ago
No. It's primarily a way for registered iOS developers to send beta builds to their testers' devices wirelessly. The usual process required syncing via itunes.

Skroob 16y ago

If you're an iOS developer, you NEED TestFlight. It makes the process of sending betas, client demos, really anything you'd use an adhoc build for, so much easier. I use it almost every day, and I can't count how many frustrating hours it has saved me. (Not a paid advertisement, I just really love TestFlight this much, I promise!)

sgman 16y ago

Apple has given developers this capability in since iOS4 came out. Tutorial: http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2010/12/apple-best-kept-secret-how-to-do-ad-hoc-installs.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2010/12/apple-best-kept-s...

nolanbrown23 16y ago

When I first saw TestFlight I waited several months to get into the beta before I gave up and just wrote my own to use. I don't want to be all spammy but I'll post it if anyone wants.

halostatue 16y ago
I am interested.
- nolanbrown23 16y ago
  http://appsendr.com http://appsendr.com
quanganhdo 16y ago
What I did was sending them a tweet, and got into the beta within hours ;) TestFlight rocks, especially when you have a lot of apps on the App Store. EDIT: AppSendr looks gorgeous.

falldowngoboom 16y ago

If you're looking for a more DIY solution, I found a tool call iOS Beta Builder helpful. It prepares the XML manifest and creates a nice HTML page, so your testers just need to click to install. (you need their UDIDs first). The process is: - "build and archive" from Xcode - save the ipa - drag it into beta builder - publish output to a your website - send URL to beta testers http://www.hanchorllc.com/2010/08/24/introducing-ios-beta-builder/ http://www.hanchorllc.com/2010/08/24/introducing-ios-beta-bu...