Mobile App Builds, Environments & Testing — A Practical Glossary
Confused by terms like staging, internal builds, provisioning profiles, or Expo's EAS? You’re not alone. This blog-ready reference breaks down the essential terminology for mobile app pipelines, testing and distribution for both iOS and Android — plus a focused section for Expo EAS users. Paste this snippet into your blog (designed to look great on a black background) and use it as a permanent quick-reference for teams and newcomers alike. 📚✨
Staging — Pre-production environment that mirrors production for final validation (staging servers, test data).
Production — The live environment for real users; stable, monitored, and connected to production services.
Continuous Integration (CI) — Automated build & test pipelines (GitHub Actions, Bitrise, CircleCI).
Continuous Delivery/Deployment (CD) — Automated distribution to testers or app stores.
Release Build — Optimized and signed for distribution (App Store / Play Store). Obfuscated on Android (ProGuard/R8).
Internal Build — Distributed only to internal teams (QA, PMs, devs) for quick feedback.
Beta Build — External pre-release builds to gather wider feedback before production.
Integration Testing — Tests how modules work together.
UI / End-to-End (E2E) — Tests the app from a user’s perspective (Appium, Detox, Espresso, XCTest).
Manual Testing — Human QA exploring app behavior.
Automated Testing — Scripts run in CI to regress and validate builds.
Smoke / Regression Testing — Quick checks for basic features and checks that new code didn’t break existing features.
Development Certificate — Sign apps for debugging on devices.
Distribution Certificate — Sign apps for TestFlight or App Store release.
App Store Connect — Apple’s console to manage builds, metadata, testers, analytics.
TestFlight — Apple’s beta platform: internal testers (team members) vs external testers (public up to 10k).
App Review — Apple’s mandatory review before public release (expect manual checks).
App Signing — Apps must be signed. Google Play can opt to manage the signing key (App Signing by Google Play).
APK — Android package (legacy / direct install).
AAB (Android App Bundle) — Preferred Play Store format; allows device-specific optimized APKs.
Testing Tracks — Internal testing (small), Closed testing (limited group), Open testing (public beta) before rollout.
EAS Submit — Automates submitting builds to App Store Connect and Google Play.
EAS Update — Over-The-Air (OTA) updates to push JS / asset changes without an app-store release. Use channels to scope who receives updates.
EAS Credentials — Securely manage iOS certificates, provisioning profiles, and Android keystores via the EAS dashboard/CLI.
Channels vs Branches — Channels control which users receive an update; branches organize releases and code states. Example channels: development, staging, production.
Expo Dev Client — Custom development build (with native modules) for testing native features without submitting to stores.
• Use CI to run unit, integration and E2E tests on every pull request. ✅
• Mirror production services in staging (or use feature flags) to reduce surprises. 🧭
• Label builds clearly (build number, git commit, channel) — makes tracing issues much faster. 🏷️
• Use EAS Update for urgent JS fixes, but avoid using it for changes that require native code updates or major UX shifts. ⚠️
🚀 From Code to Store: Your Complete Guide to Mobile App Deployment
Ever felt overwhelmed by terms like "staging," "production," "TestFlight," or "EAS builds"? You're not alone! The journey from writing code to getting your app into users' hands involves multiple environments and platforms. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about mobile app deployment for both iOS and Android, including the modern Expo EAS workflow. 📱✨
🏗️ Part 1: Core Environments & Terminology
💻 Development
This is where it all begins - on your local machine. Code is actively being written, debuggers are running, and things might be... unstable. 🔧
• State: Unstable, with debug tools
• Data: Mock/development APIs
👥 Internal Testing
Your app is stable enough for your team and QA testers. Time to catch those bugs before wider release! 🐛
• iOS: TestFlight Internal (100 users)
• Android: Internal Testing Track (100 users)
🧪 Staging/QA
A mirror of production - this is your final testing ground with production-like data and services. 🎯
• Data: Staging servers (production-like)
• Build Type: release
🌍 Production
The real deal! Your app is live in the app stores for the world to see. No pressure! 🌟
• Services: Real production backend
• Store Review: Required ✅
📦 Part 2: Build Types & Distribution
🔍 Debug Builds
Slow but debuggable. Includes source maps, verbose logging, and development tools.
⚡ Release Builds
Optimized, minified, and ready for testing/production. Fast and efficient.
🔄 Distribution Channels Comparison
| Channel | Android (Google Play) | iOS (App Store) |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | Internal Testing (100 users) No review |
TestFlight Internal (100 users) No review |
| Closed/External | Closed Testing (2000 users) Light review |
TestFlight External (10k users) Apple review |
| Production | Production Track Full review |
App Store Full review |
⚡ Part 3: Expo EAS Specifics
🎯 EAS Build Profiles
🔄 Preview Profile
Perfect for sharing during development. Get a build on physical devices quickly!
⚙️ Development Profile
Creates a development client for real device testing with Expo Dev Client.
🚀 Production Profile
Clean, optimized builds for store submission. Use channels to differentiate staging vs production.
🔄 EAS Submit & Update
Automate your store submissions and push updates over-the-air! 🔄
📤 EAS Submit
Automatically upload builds to app stores
🔄 EAS Update
Push JS updates without store review
🎯 Part 4: Practical Workflow Example
💻 Development
Code the feature locally with expo start
👥 Internal Testing
Build with preview profile → TestFlight Internal / Play Internal
🧪 Staging/QA
Production build on staging channel → External testing tracks
🌍 Production
Production build on production channel → App Store & Play Store
🔄 OTA Updates
Fix JS bugs with eas update -- no store review needed!
🎉 You're Now a Deployment Pro!
Understanding this pipeline is key to delivering high-quality apps efficiently. Whether you're working with native iOS/Android or using Expo EAS, this roadmap will guide you from code to production with confidence. Happy deploying! 🚀
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