Neptune Mobile Build Service user interface at a glance

The main page of the service consists of two panes:

Builds pane

Displays all the builds associated with each account assigned to your user. Here, you can conveniently add, access and manage the various builds created within your accounts. This pane provides an organized overview of your existing builds, facilitating easy tracking and administration.

Certificates pane

Houses all the uploaded certificates for the supported platforms. Within this pane, you can upload, view and manage the certificates that have been associated with each account assigned to your user.

Creating a new build

Prerequisites

You will need:

  • A (.zip) file containing mobile applications

  • A certificate

Steps

  1. In the Neptune Mobile Build Service, select New Build

A dialog will open that requires inputs from the user:

mobile build service build dialog 2024 03 19

Settings

In this tab, you configure the basic settings of the build.

In Account, you assign in which account the build should be place in.

In Build Environment, you specify the purpose type of the build (Release or Debug).

In ZIP File, you upload the (.zip) file you want to work with.

Platforms

In this tab, you can select the desired platforms for which you want to create a build for.

By selecting Enable, you choose the corresponding platform.

For Android:

Android Keystore

Choose an Android certificate.

Android Package Type

Select the type of Android app distribution. There are two common package types: APK (Android Application Package) and Bundle (Android App Bundle ).

Android Engine

Select the version of Cordova Android Engine.

For Windows:

Windows Certificate

Choose a Windows certificate.

For iOS:

iOS Certificate

Choose an iOS certificate.

iOS Package Type

Select the type of iOS app distribution. There are three common package types:

  • Ad Hoc - Distribute apps for testing.

  • App Store - Distribute apps to the App Store. If this option is selected, the .ipa file generated by the Mobile Build Service can be used in the process of publishing the app to the App Store.

  • Enterprise - Distribute apps for internal use.

Adding your certificate

  1. Select Certificates.

  2. Press Create.

Each platform requires specific files that you must have prepared, along with certain inputs.

For Android:

  • Alias

  • Alias Password

  • Keystore File

  • Keystore Password

For Windows:

  • Package File

  • Package Thumbprint

  • Publisher ID

  • Password

For iOS:

  • Mobile Provision File

  • P12 File

  • Password

Read Key Creation for Android, iOS and Windows for more information regarding on how to generate these certificates for each platform.

Build properties

Once a build is uploaded in the Neptune Mobile Build Services it will be displayed in the Build pane with information regarding the status, logs, build history and more.

mobile build service build panel

Scan

When you scan the QR code, a message box will open, containing a QR code that directly downloads the application onto your device.

Settings

Implements a similar dialog as the New Build, allowing you to save and rebuild the selected build whenever you modify its properties.

Source

Downloads a (.zip) containing all type of application files into the device/computer you are currently using.

More

Opens a dialog containing the information, the logs and other options for the build.

mobile build service logs xml

It is essential to note that in case of a failed build, you can access the logs and the config.xml file to track down the errors and diagnose the issue.