

Apple's Best Kept Secret: Ad Hoc Installs for Testing Purposes - Garbage
http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2010/12/apple-best-kept-secret-how-to-do-ad-hoc-installs.php

======
st3fan
Yeah this is how I do builds of Firefox Home. I have a script that is executed
by Hudson when we check in new code. THe script then builds the project, makes
all the .ipa, .html and .plist files, uploads them to a server and tweets a
message to testers with a direct over-the-air install link.

People love it.

------
basil
I wrote some bash scripts a couple months ago which automates this process.
When Hudson is done building, it uploads the .dSYM directory, signed .ipa,
HTML for instructions and legacy zip file for pre-iOS4 users. Check out
[http://www.oiledmachine.com/posts/2010/10/27/automated-
ota-i...](http://www.oiledmachine.com/posts/2010/10/27/automated-ota-ios-app-
distribution.html)

------
gte910h
I've been using:

[http://iosdevgoodies.joostschuur.com/ad-hoc-ota-ios-beta-
app...](http://iosdevgoodies.joostschuur.com/ad-hoc-ota-ios-beta-app-updates-
hockey)

~~~
gfontenot
Me too. Link to that project (Open Source MIT License):

<https://github.com/TheRealKerni/Hockey>

~~~
christoph
Awesome! Just downloaded it and was up and running the server and client auto-
update in less than 30mins :)

I tweaked BWHockeyController to always remind of updates regardless, since I
don't really want to add a settings page to my app and always want people to
update (or at least get nagged!)

~~~
gte910h
I did not actually setup the server before....so when we had issues with the
prior install, your posted time here in HN made me confident enough to create
a new cloud server and toss one up there in about < 30 minutes. Thanks man for
adding to the discussion.

------
nolanbrown23
I built AppSendr which distributes apps via this method. So far it's proven to
be very useful for a wide variety of needs. I don't know why this hasn't been
more publicized.

------
HectorRamos
I've been using the TestFlight beta for around a month now (used iOS
BetaTester prior to this).

I can't recommend them enough and will gladly pay for the service once they
launch. It is very, very good.

The process used to take 10 minutes, now with TestFlight it's just 20 seconds,
literally.

------
AndrewO
This is great when combined with Dropbox's public folders. I recently
developed an app where I pushed 40+ builds out to testers. On every bugfix or
new feature, I just had to Build & Archive, save the IPA directly to Dropbox
and then give it the public URL.

I stashed an HTML file in the same folder with a link to the provisioning
profile (also in the public folder—when you add new devices this needs to be
updated) and the IPA file. Testers could bookmark the page and grab a new
version whenever they wanted (or whenever I notified them).

------
melito
This is one of the most helpful things I've seen posted on Hacker News all
year. Thank you very much for sharing.

------
wallflower
BetaBuilder is an essential tool we've been using.

<https://github.com/HunterHillegas/iOS-BetaBuilder>

~~~
sudont
Do the UDID limitations still exist? I'd say the Enterprise license would be a
workaround, but pretty sure that Apple would revoke it as an abuse of terms.

~~~
gte910h
If you're using it for _actual testing_ and not _unauthorized distribution_ ,
get a second company account.

And yes, the UDID limitations with Adhoc certificates are all still there.

~~~
sudont
Right, one cross-platform developer (Tweetdeck, maybe) was talking about his
beta and it was a hundred on iOS, and around 20k on Android.

~~~
gte910h
I think if your app can be monetized while free, android is a terrific
platform.

------
rookie
I have been very very impressed with what the guys have at
<http://www.testflightapp.com>

I have been using it in beta for a while now and it has never been easier to
get testers updated. And their UUIDs back to me.

------
christoph
Thanks! I didn't know this was possible. It's going save me untold amounts of
time.

------
ethank
TestFlightApp.com is really good for this, doing OTA downloads and such.

------
jw84
AppMakr.com is a platform that helps anyone build apps and we launched over-
the-air one-click install for testing back in November for our users; we call
it AppDrop. You can find more info and watch a video here:
<http://go.appmakr.com/appdrop>.

AppDrop and similar techniques really helps in reducing the friction of
getting an app tested and made. This is a trend that more and more solution
providers will jump on.

------
kabir_h
There's another great way to test your mobile app before release: Android.

~~~
kbutler
> There's another great way to test your mobile app before release: Android.

Although this was a bit snarky, I think it makes a good point.

This is Apple lowering (but not removing) an Apple-created hurdle. It would be
nice if I could avoid the UDID hassle altogether.

I need to port to Android and see how I feel about that development
experience.

kb

