Mobile CI with fastlane and GitHub Actions

Define your release once in a Fastfile and run the same lane locally and in CI.

fastlane wraps the messy parts of mobile release -- signing, building, uploading -- into named lanes you define once and run anywhere. In CI, your GitHub Actions job becomes a thin wrapper that invokes a lane, which keeps the build logic in version-controlled Ruby instead of YAML. This recipe runs a fastlane lane on a runner.

What the pipeline does

• Checks out the repo and installs the fastlane toolchain via Bundler.
• Runs a test lane defined in the Fastfile.
• Keeps build and release logic in the Fastfile, not the workflow.
• Runs the same lane developers use locally.

The workflow

Install fastlane through Bundler so the version is pinned in your Gemfile.lock and identical in CI and on laptops.

name: fastlane CI
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: macos-14
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
        with:
          ruby-version: '3.3'
          bundler-cache: true
      - name: Run fastlane test lane
        run: bundle exec fastlane test
        env:
          FASTLANE_HIDE_CHANGELOG: 'true'

A matching Fastfile lane

The lane holds the real logic; the workflow just calls it.

# fastlane/Fastfile
default_platform(:ios)

platform :ios do
  desc "Run unit tests"
  lane :test do
    run_tests(scheme: "MyApp")
  end
end

Notes for this platform

iOS lanes (run_tests, build_app) require a macos runner; Android-only lanes can run on Linux, so split platforms into separate jobs and only pay for macOS where you must. Use bundler-cache: true to cache gems between runs. Managed runners retry transient gem-install and upload failures automatically, which matters because fastlane lanes touch many flaky external services (App Store Connect, Play, signing).

Key takeaways

• fastlane keeps build and release logic in a version-controlled Fastfile, not YAML.
• Install fastlane via Bundler so CI and local use the same pinned version.
• Run Android lanes on Linux and only iOS lanes on macOS to limit cost.

Related guides