App Center

App Center is the build list inside the tapflow dashboard. It has nothing to do with Microsoft App Center. The iOS and Android builds your team uploads collect here by app and version, and this is where you pick one and start a QA Session. It is the first screen you see after signing in.

How to use

1. Pick an app from the Apps list on the left. An app is identified by its bundle ID (the iOS bundle identifier or the Android package name), and can have a different one on each platform.
2. Builds are grouped by version name into collapsible releases. A build whose version name could not be read goes under Unversioned.
3. Press Start QA on the build you want to test. The build's QA Session opens.

Each build row shows the build number, label, platform, review status badge, scheduled-deletion badge, uploader, and upload date. A build whose version or build number was changed carries an Edited badge.

Find a build

• Type part of a version name or label into Search version or label… to see only builds that contain it.
• Pick Backlog, In Progress, Done or Rejected in the status filter (default All statuses) to see only builds with that status.

When nothing matches, the list shows No matching builds.

Upload a build

1. Press Upload build at the top right of the screen.
2. Click the File area to choose a file, or drag one onto it.
   • iOS: a simulator build, .app.zip or .tar.gz/.tgz. A .app.zip is the .app folder built from the command line and zipped. Upload a cloud simulator build's .tar.gz/.tgz, such as one from EAS, as it is.
   • Android: .apk
3. Optionally pick a review status under Status (optional). With the default, None, the build has no status.
4. Optionally write a note under Label (optional), such as a branch name or staging, feature X. It shows on the build's row and is found by search.
5. To use a version or build number other than the build file's, open Override version and fill in Version or Build number. A field left empty uses the file's value.
6. Press Upload. A Build uploaded notice appears and the build joins the list.

iOS .ipa files are not supported

.ipa is the format for real devices. tapflow accepts .app.zip and .tar.gz/.tgz for simulators. If an upload fails, see Builds & uploads troubleshooting.

An uploaded build is linked to an app by its bundle ID. If no app has that bundle ID, a new one is created. Uploading while an app is selected links the build to that app. If the app has no bundle ID on that platform yet, the build's ID is added to it, so an app whose iOS and Android IDs differ can still be one app. If another app already holds the build's ID, or the selected app has a different ID on that platform, the build goes to the app for its own bundle ID.

You can also create the app first with Add App below the Apps list, giving its Name, Bundle ID and Platform (iOS, Android or Both).

To upload builds automatically from a CI pipeline, see Upload from CI.

Edit a build

Choose Edit build from a build row's ⋯ menu to change its label, version and build number. This needs the Admin, Developer or QA role.

• Label: a note on the build. Clear it to remove the label.
• Version, Build number: values to use instead of the ones read from the build file. The file's value is shown under each field, and clearing a field goes back to it.

Changing the version moves the build into that version's release and opens it. A build under Unversioned because its version could not be read can be given one this way.

The values you set only change how tapflow shows and groups the build. The app installed on the device is the file you uploaded, with its own version. A build with changed values carries an Edited badge; point at it or move to it with the keyboard to see the file's values.

Merge and split apps

If one product split into two apps because its iOS and Android bundle IDs differ, you can merge them. You can also split them again: an app merged by mistake, or a bundle ID attached to the wrong app. This needs the Admin, Developer or QA role.

Merge

1. In Settings, on the Apps card, press Arrange apps. A handle appears in front of each bundle ID row, and the rows start to wiggle.
2. Drag the bundle ID row you want to move onto the app you want to keep. From the keyboard, press Space on the handle to pick it up, choose an app with the arrow keys, and press Space to drop it.
3. Press Merge in the confirmation.

That platform's bundle ID and builds move to the app you keep, along with the builds' comments, recordings and run records. If the other app has nothing left, it is deleted. The app keeps the name of the one you dropped onto. You can split a merged app again as below, but the deleted app's name does not come back.

CI that uploads with the deleted app's app_id keeps working, because the build's bundle ID finds the app.

Split

1. Press Arrange apps and pick up the bundle ID row to take out. A New app area opens right below the app it was in.
2. Drop the row on New app. From the keyboard, pick the row up, move down to New app with the arrow key, and press Space.
3. Name the new app in the confirmation and press Split. The name starts as the original app's name followed by the platform.

That platform's bundle ID and builds move to the new app, which is listed first. The original app has to keep its other platform, so New app does not open for an app with only one row.

Builds uploaded with the original app's app_id still go to the new app when they carry the bundle ID you moved. If the row you took out had builds but no bundle ID, point CI at the new app's app_id: builds whose bundle ID could not be read follow app_id.

Rows that cannot move

They have no handle and do not wiggle. Point at or focus the row to see why.

• A row of an app that uses the same bundle ID on both platforms. That app is already one app.
• A row of the app that collects builds whose bundle ID could not be read.

While you drag, apps the row cannot go to are dimmed: an app that already has a bundle ID on that platform. A row with builds but no bundle ID can still go there.

Review status

The review status tells the team how far a build has been checked. Change it from the status menu on the build's row.

Status	Meaning
—	No status
Backlog	Not yet ready
In Progress	Ready for review
Done	Stakeholders approved
Rejected	Issues found, needs fixes

• A build marked Done has its Start QA button disabled. To test an approved build again, change its status first.
• In a QA Session, the status badge sits next to the breadcrumb at the top until you pick a Mac.
• When the status changes to Done or Rejected, any review webhooks your operator registered are called.

Schedule deletion

Schedule a build you no longer need for deletion by choosing Schedule deletion from its row's ⋯ menu. Press Schedule deletion in the confirmation and the build files are deleted after 7 days. The row gets a countdown badge such as Deletes in 6d.

Until then you can cancel it any time with Cancel scheduled deletion in the same menu. Scheduled deletion is independent of the review status.

Platform support

	iOS	Android
Upload file	.app.zip, .tar.gz/.tgz (simulator build)	.apk
What identifies the app	Bundle identifier	Package name

Limits

• The Viewer role is read-only. When a Viewer presses Upload build or Add App, a notice says QA or Developer access is needed instead of opening the dialog. A Viewer sees no status menu and no ⋯ menu, only Start QA and the status badge. For what each role can do, see Team, roles & tokens.
• The list shows each app's 100 most recently uploaded builds. Search by version to find older ones.
• App Center cannot rename or delete an app. The Admin, Developer and QA roles can do both from the ⋯ menu of each app on the Apps card in Settings → Default (Edit, Delete). Deleting an app deletes all of its builds.
• The deletion confirmation always says 7 days. If your operator changed TAPFLOW_BUILD_TTL_DAYS on the relay, the real period follows that value.

Troubleshooting

• If an upload fails with a 400 error, see iOS build upload errors.
• If an APK shows as Unversioned or merges into another app, see Builds & uploads. When all it needs is a version, you can set one with Edit a build.

Related

• QA Session: picking a Mac and a device after pressing Start QA
• Upload from CI: uploading builds automatically from a pipeline
• Review webhooks: notifying another system when a review status changes