The Ultimate CI/CD Platforms for React Native Apps in 2021
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In the realm of mobile app development, numerous CI/CD platforms cater to React Native applications. Each platform has its distinct characteristics; some are designed to facilitate team collaboration, while others prioritize simplicity and efficiency. Therefore, selecting the right platform to align with your project requirements is crucial.
This article examines various CI/CD service providers for React Native projects, assisting you in identifying the most suitable platform for your application.
GitHub Actions
GitHub Actions is an automation workflow tool offered by GitHub. If you're utilizing GitHub for version control, opting for GitHub Actions is a convenient choice as it centralizes your workflow.
With GitHub Actions, open-source React Native applications for both Android and iOS can benefit from unlimited free-running minutes. For private repositories, users can access 2,000 free build minutes per month along with 500 MB of storage. Additionally, they offer cost-effective pay-as-you-go pricing options.
Pros
- Enhanced build times for Android and iOS
- Simple workflow duplication
- Competitive pricing plans
Cons
- Single sign-on (SSO) is unavailable for free or team plans
To learn more about automating React Native builds using GitHub Actions, refer to the following article.
Automate React Native Builds with GitHub Actions
Since 2019, GitHub has integrated CI/CD natively through GitHub Actions, featuring straightforward YAML configuration.
CircleCI
CircleCI allows users to initiate builds for public React Native projects hosted on GitHub or Bitbucket without any cost. They provide 25,000 free credits monthly (valued at $180 annually) for open-source macOS builds. The pricing structure is based on CPU usage, with the first container being free for a single build. For greater parallelism or throughput, an upgrade to a paid plan is necessary, starting at $15 per month for three users.
Pros
- SSH access to running containers simplifies debugging
Cons
- The free plan for private projects does not include macOS VM
CircleCI-Public/circleci-demo-react-native
Utilize yarn to install JS dependencies, execute yarn test for JS tests (via Jest), and run yarn start to launch the app.
Expo
Expo serves as both a framework and a platform for universal React projects, highly regarded for its user-friendliness, simplicity, and quick startup time. Recently, Expo has introduced the EAS Build and Submit services, allowing React Native app development without relying solely on their framework.
These features are currently in preview mode and accessible only through a paid plan until full release. Expo does offer a free plan for commercial projects, which is quite beneficial, but users on a free plan may experience a 10 to 20-minute wait in the build queue during peak times.
Pros
- Extremely convenient for React Native project builds
- Supports cross-platform builds
- Generous free plan
Cons
- Build queue waiting times during peak hours for free users
Expo
Build a project that operates natively on all user devices. Join over 200,000 developers and get started by editing...
Appcircle
Appcircle delivers enterprise-level DevOps capabilities for mobile app developers, ranging from startups to large corporations. Their free package permits 20 builds monthly, but they also offer tailored packages for enterprise needs. The Developer Plan is complimentary for open-source projects, allowing 200 builds per month and 10GB of storage. While Android build times may be longer compared to other platforms, iOS build times are notably shorter, making Appcircle more suitable for enterprise applications.
Pros
- Increased storage and build limits for open-source projects
Cons
- Relatively high Android build times
Guide to Automated Mobile CI/CD for React Native with Appcircle
Reading Time: 8 minutes. Appcircle is a mobile CI/CD platform that offers a fully automated environment to manage...
Buddy
Buddy's free plan includes 120 pipeline runs each month with one concurrent pipeline, making it ideal for freelancers due to its extensive features. It allows for the development and customization of deployments and testing with minimal learning effort. However, Buddy's iOS deployment feature is still forthcoming, although early access is available.
Their Pro plan includes 10GB of cache storage and various other features for $75 per month. The build times for Android React Native projects are commendable.
Pros
- Intuitive GUI
- Offers a broader range of features
Cons
- Relatively high cost compared to alternatives
CI/CD for React Native | Docs | Buddy: The DevOps Automation Platform
Buddy enables you to create delivery pipelines that build, test, and deploy your React Native application seamlessly.
Semaphore CI
Similar to GitHub Actions, Semaphore provides unlimited builds for open-source projects and a free plan for private projects allowing up to 100 builds monthly with one concurrent pipeline. Semaphore is excellent for side projects and early-stage MVPs due to its impressive build speeds for both Android and iOS React Native applications. However, the free plan lacks support for Android or iOS builds.
Pros
- Exceptional customer support
- Improved pipeline visualizations and user-friendly interfaces
Cons
- Restarting a single job is unsupported; the entire build must be re-executed
- Can become expensive for multiple projects
semaphoreci-demos/semaphore-demo-react-native
Demonstration application and CI/CD pipeline showcasing how to run a React Native project on Semaphore 2.0.
Bitrise
Bitrise provides unlimited free builds for public repositories, allowing unlimited team members and offering build logs for easier debugging. Their Organization Elite plan features faster builds and enhanced functionalities. Bitrise is highly rated for continuous integration, particularly in mobile development, making it an excellent choice for teams focusing on React Native projects.
Pros
- Unlimited team members for open-source projects
- User-friendly interface
Cons
- Build times for Android and iOS projects can be relatively high (with standard build machines)
- 45-minute build timeout
React Native Continuous Integration and Delivery
CI/CD for mobile applications built with Facebook's React Native SDK. Designed for Mobile DevOps: Connect, configure...
Conclusion
The primary aim of CI/CD is to streamline the development process while maintaining the integrity of the codebase and the final application. When selecting a build platform, consider factors such as pricing, build times, storage capacity, vCPU, and concurrent pipelines to ensure a good fit for your requirements.
This article evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of various CI/CD service providers for React Native applications. I hope it assists you in finding the ideal platform for your React Native project.
For insights into the top ten React Native Component Libraries available in 2021, check out my linked article below.
Top React Native Component Libraries to Use in 2021
Explore React Native libraries that will simplify your development process in 2021.
Thank you for reading, and happy coding!