GitHub Actions CI/CD Configuration

This document describes how to set up and configure the GitHub Actions CI/CD pipeline for the Sendbird UIKit React Native project.

Overview

The GitHub Actions workflow handles automated deployment of both iOS and Android sample applications using modern authentication methods and optimized caching strategies.

Required GitHub Secrets

Shared

• SENDBIRD_APP_ID
  • Your Sendbird application ID
  • Used to configure the sample app environment

Android Deployment

• FASTLANE_ANDROID_SERVICE_ACCOUNT

  • Create service account with Firebase App Distribution role from Google Cloud Console
  • Download JSON key file
  • Encode as base64: cat service-account.json | base64
  • Save encoded text to GitHub Secrets
  • Decoding reference: echo "encoded-base64-text" | base64 --decode

• FASTLANE_ANDROID_APP_ID

  • Open your Firebase project settings → General
  • Find your Android app (formatted like 1:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:android:xxxxx)
  • Save app ID to GitHub Secrets

iOS Deployment

App Store Connect API Authentication (Recommended)

• APP_STORE_CONNECT_API_KEY_ID

  • API Key ID from App Store Connect
  • Format: 10-character alphanumeric string (e.g., D83848D23B)

• APP_STORE_CONNECT_API_ISSUER_ID

  • API Key Issuer ID from App Store Connect
  • Format: UUID (e.g., 227b0bbf-ada8-458c-9d62-3d8022b7d07f)

• APP_STORE_CONNECT_API_KEY

  • Private key content from the downloaded .p8 file
  • Include the full key with headers:

    -----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
    [Key content]
    -----END PRIVATE KEY-----
    

Certificate Management

• FASTLANE_IOS_MATCH_GIT_URL

  • SSH URL to the private repository storing certificates
  • Format: git@github.com:organization/certificates-repo.git
  • Must use SSH format for authentication

• FASTLANE_IOS_MATCH_GIT_PRIVATE_KEY

  • SSH private key for accessing the match repository
  • Generate with: ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "github-actions@sendbird.com"
  • Add the public key to the certificates repository as a deploy key
  • Save the private key content to GitHub Secrets

• FASTLANE_IOS_MATCH_PASSWORD

  • Password used to encrypt/decrypt certificates in the match repository
  • Can be found in the match repository

How to Generate App Store Connect API Key

1. Login to App Store Connect

   • Go to App Store Connect
   • Sign in with your Apple ID

2. Navigate to API Keys

   • Users and Access → Integrations → App Store Connect API

3. Create New API Key

   • Click "Generate API Key"
   • Set name: GitHub Actions - Sendbird UIKit
   • Select access: Developer role
   • Download the .p8 file immediately (cannot re-download)

4. Configure GitHub Secrets

   • Key ID: Copy from the API key details page
   • Issuer ID: Copy from the API key details page
   • Key Content: Copy entire content of the .p8 file

Workflow Features

Caching Strategy

• Node.js Dependencies: Cached based on yarn.lock hash
• CocoaPods: Cached based on Podfile.lock hash with validation
• Ruby Gems: Cached automatically by ruby/setup-ruby action

Security

• SSH Authentication: For accessing private certificate repositories
• API Key Authentication: Modern App Store Connect authentication
• Secret Validation: Pre-flight checks for required environment variables

Platform Support

• iOS: Automatic TestFlight deployment
• Android: Firebase App Distribution deployment
• Conditional Execution: Platform-specific deployment based on input selection

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Pod Cache Validation Failures

   • Clear GitHub Actions cache for the repository
   • Actions → Caches → Delete affected cache entries

2. SSH Authentication Failures

   • Verify the private key format (include headers and footers)
   • Check if the public key is added to the certificates repository

3. App Store Connect API Errors

   • Verify all three API key components are correctly set
   • Ensure the API key has sufficient permissions
   • Check the .p8 file content format

Maintenance

• API Keys: Renew App Store Connect API keys before expiration (typically 1 year)
• Certificates: Monitor certificate expiration dates in the match repository
• SSH Keys: Rotate SSH keys periodically for security
• Dependencies: Keep fastlane and related tools updated