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In Newly v2, at app.newly.app and in Newly for Mac, you publish an iOS build from inside a chat. You ask the agent, a Ship to TestFlight card opens, and Newly builds your app on a cloud Mac and uploads it to App Store Connect. From there, TestFlight lets you install the app on your own iPhone and share it with testers.

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Before you start

You need all of these:
  • An Apple Developer Program membership. Newly signs and uploads the app under your Apple team.
  • The organization owner or admin role. Only an owner or admin can connect Apple and start an upload. Members see “An organization owner or admin must connect Apple and authorize the upload.”
  • A saved Newly cloud project. Publishing works from a Remote chat on a project Newly stores for you. Every chat in the web app is a Remote chat. On Mac, use a Remote chat. Otherwise the card shows “Publishing requires a saved Newly cloud project.”
  • A plain app.json file. Projects that configure the app with app.config.js, app.config.ts or any other app.config file can’t publish. New Newly projects already use app.json.
Never paste your Apple password, verification codes or keys into the chat. The card has its own secure sign-in, and the agent never sees what you enter there.

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Publish a build

1

Ask the agent

In your chat, send a message such as “publish to TestFlight”. The agent opens the Ship to TestFlight card in the conversation.
2

Connect Apple

The first time you publish a project, the card asks you to sign in to App Store Connect and choose your team and app. See Connect Apple and manage signing for each option. Each project connects separately.
3

Check the version it will build

Once Apple is connected, the card shows your app’s bundle ID and a line like “Build the saved revision 1a2b3c4d and upload it to Apple.” That short code identifies the latest saved version of your project. If the card says “Finish and save the cloud project before publishing.”, wait for the agent to finish its turn, which saves your project, then press Refresh status.
4

Start the upload

Press Build & upload to TestFlight.

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While it runs

The card shows where the release is:
  1. “Preparing and submitting the release…”
  2. “Waiting for a Mac builder…”
  3. “Building, signing, and uploading…”
“You can close this tab. Publishing will continue.” The release keeps going if you close the browser tab or the Mac app. Come back to the chat later to see the result. Only one release can run for a project at a time. If you try to start another, you see “A release is already running for this project. Reopen its publishing card to follow it.” If the saved code changes after you opened the card, Newly asks you to look again: “The saved source changed. Refresh and review the new revision before publishing.” Press Refresh status and check the new version before you start. If you see “Submission was interrupted. Refresh status, then resume this release; do not start another upload.”, press Refresh status, then Resume release submission.

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When the upload finishes

The card shows ”✓ Uploaded to TestFlight”. Apple may still be processing the build, so it can take a while before the build appears for testers. Press Open App Store Connect to go to your app’s TestFlight page, add testers and follow Apple’s processing. What happens next, including testers and App Store review, is on From TestFlight to the App Store.

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Version and build numbers

  • Build number: Newly increases it automatically on each upload, so you don’t have to change anything between releases.
  • Version: the version your testers and users see comes from expo.version in your project’s app.json. New projects start at 1.0.0. To release a new version, ask the agent to change it. See App name, icon, bundle ID and version.

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If a release fails

The card shows the reason, with View logs and Retry.
  • View logs shows the build and upload logs, with secrets removed.
  • You can also ask the agent to read the logs and explain what went wrong. It can fix code problems in your project, but it won’t revoke certificates or start a new upload for you. You press Retry yourself.
Common failures:
Newly couldn’t package your project for the build. Check that:
  • the project has a package.json and a plain app.json with an expo section at its top level, and no app.config file
  • the project has no more than 5,000 files and 100 MB in total, not counting node_modules, .expo, .git and .env files
  • no single file is larger than about 10 MB (large videos or datasets are the usual cause)
  • the project doesn’t contain symbolic links
Ask the agent to check these, then press Retry.
Your Apple team has hit its limit for distribution certificates, or Apple has a conflicting one. Use Manage signing certificates on the card. See Signing certificates.
A release build stops if it runs for more than 1 hour. Press Retry. If it keeps happening, contact support from the app. See Getting help.
Newly couldn’t finish setting up signing or sending the build. Contact support from the app and say which project and chat the release was in. See Getting help.

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Credits

The cloud build and the upload to Apple don’t draw down credits. The agent’s chat turns do, including the message that opens the card and any turns where the agent reads logs or fixes your code. See How credits work.

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Android

Newly v2 doesn’t produce Android builds you can install on a phone or upload to Google Play. See From TestFlight to the App Store.

Connect Apple and manage signing

Apple ID sign-in, API keys, and signing certificates.

From TestFlight to the App Store

Testers, the store listing and App Store review.

Testing on a real phone

Install your app on your iPhone through TestFlight.

App name, icon, bundle ID and version

Change what users see and what Apple identifies.