Build app with github-action and upload to Firebase App Distribution

5 min readJul 26, 2023

Often, having testers test apps can be a tedious task. But now, it’s much more convenient and even free. Below is how you can achieve this by using GitHub Actions and Firebase App Distribution.

Firebase App Distribution makes distributing your apps to trusted testers painless. By getting your apps onto testers’ devices quickly, you can get feedback early and often. And if you use Crashlytics in your apps, you’ll automatically get stability metrics for all your builds, so you know when you’re ready to ship.

GitHub Actions makes it easy to automate all your software workflows, now with world-class CI/CD. Build, test, and deploy your code right from GitHub. Make code reviews, branch management, and issue triaging work the way you want.

Play with following:

Part 1: Prepare your github project

Create a new github project or using your existing one

git clone your project to somewhere, like my working folder

At Android studio, create a project with below folder name

Insert project base information, please written down “package name”, it will used for next step.

OK. your project was created like this

Part 2: Prepare your google cloud project at Google Cloud Console

After finish, You will see like this

Part 3: Prepare your firebase project

Go to your firebase console:

Part 4: Add Firebase to your Android App

Package name should be same with above step!

Following the step to add firebase into your project

After create a firebase project, you will see this screen. And then click your Android project

You will see you App ID, like 1:xxxxxxxx…:android:xxxxxxx…. , please write it down for next step use.

Setup test user account at your firebase console

Part 5: Get firebase token

install https://firebase.google.com/docs/cli
login with your account

firebase login:ci

After “Allow”

Part 6: Prepare the key(s), which is used for build the app and deploy to firebase distribution.

We are using https://github.com/wzieba/Firebase-Distribution-Github-Action to help to deploy our app to firebase distribution.

appId: Got from part 2 already ✅
serviceCredentialsFileContent: step from https://github.com/wzieba/Firebase-Distribution-Github-Action/wiki/FIREBASE_TOKEN-migration ❓
(Remark: there have some unknow result cannot use)
token: Got from part 54+ already ✅

Part 7: Step up github action file

Go back your github repository. Add two key:

FIREBASE_APP_ID
CREDENTIAL_FILE_CONTENT
FIREBASE_TOKEN

Finally, you will see like this

Part 8: Create“android.yaml” to let github action know to build

Create android.yaml” into your android project, and stored at

Sample of android.yaml

name: Android CI

on:
  push:
    branches: [ "main" ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ "main" ]

jobs:
  build:

    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: set up JDK 17
        uses: actions/setup-java@v3
        with:
          java-version: '17'
          distribution: 'temurin'
          cache: gradle

      - name: Grant execute permission for gradlew
        run: chmod +x gradlew
      - name: build release
        run: ./gradlew assembleDebug
      - name: upload artifact to Firebase App Distribution
        uses: wzieba/Firebase-Distribution-Github-Action@v1.5.1
        with:
          appId: ${{secrets.FIREBASE_APP_ID}}
          #token: ${{secrets.FIREBASE_TOKEN}}   
          serviceCredentialsFileContent: ${{ secrets.CREDENTIAL_FILE_CONTENT }}      
          groups: testers
          file: app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk