Codemagic CI/CD Configuration

Configure Codemagic CI/CD workflows using codemagic.yaml for mobile app builds.

File Location

Place codemagic.yaml in the root directory of your repository. Codemagic automatically detects and uses this file for build configuration.

Core Workflow Structure

Each workflow in codemagic.yaml defines a complete build pipeline:

workflows:
  workflow-id:
    name: Workflow Name
    instance_type: mac_mini_m2  # mac_mini_m2, linux, linux_x2, windows_x2
    max_build_duration: 60      # minutes (1-120)
    environment:
      # Environment configuration
    triggering:
      # Build triggers
    scripts:
      # Build steps
    artifacts:
      # Output files
    publishing:
      # Publishing destinations

Environment Configuration

Version Management

Specify tool versions in the environment section:

environment:
  flutter: stable              # stable, beta, master, or version (e.g., 3.7.6)
  xcode: latest               # latest, edge, or version (e.g., 14.3)
  cocoapods: default          # default or version
  node: 18.0.0               # version
  java: 11                    # version
  ruby: 2.7.2                # version

For Flutter Version Management (FVM), set:

environment:
  flutter: fvm

Environment Variables

Define variables at three levels with precedence (highest to lowest):

1. Workflow-specific variables:

environment:
  vars:
    PUBLIC_VAR: "value"
    API_ENDPOINT: "https://api.example.com"

2. Variable groups (from Codemagic UI):

environment:
  groups:
    - app_store_credentials
    - firebase_credentials
    - keystore_credentials

3. Built-in variables - Codemagic exports these automatically:
   • $CM_BUILD_ID - Unique build identifier
   • $CM_PROJECT_ID - Project ID
   • $CM_BRANCH - Git branch name
   • $CM_TAG - Git tag (if applicable)
   • $CM_COMMIT - Git commit hash
   • $CM_PULL_REQUEST - PR number (true/false)
   • $CM_REPO_SLUG - Repository slug
   • $CM_BUILD_DIR - Build directory path
   • $CM_ARTIFACT_LINKS - JSON array of artifact URLs

See references/built-in-vars.md for complete list.

Sharing Variables Between Scripts

Variables defined in scripts are scoped to that script only. To share variables, write to $CM_ENV:

macOS/Linux:

scripts:
  - name: Set variable
    script: |
      echo "MY_VAR=value" >> $CM_ENV
  - name: Use variable
    script: |
      echo "Using $MY_VAR"

Windows:

scripts:
  - name: Set variable
    script: |
      Add-Content -Path $env:CM_ENV -Value "MY_VAR=value"

Caching

Cache dependencies to speed up builds:

environment:
  cache:
    cache_paths:
      - ~/.gradle/caches
      - ~/.pub-cache
      - $HOME/Library/Caches/CocoaPods

Important: Each workflow has its own cache. Caching symlinks is not supported.

Build Triggers

Define when builds start automatically in the triggering section:

triggering:
  events:
    - push                    # Commits to tracked branches
    - pull_request           # Pull request opened/updated
    - tag                    # Tag created
    - pull_request_labeled   # Label added to PR

Note: Automatic triggering requires webhook configuration in your repository.

Branch/Tag Patterns

Limit triggers to specific branches or tags:

triggering:
  events:
    - push
  branch_patterns:
    - pattern: 'main'
      include: true
    - pattern: 'develop'
      include: true
    - pattern: 'feature/*'
      include: true
    - pattern: 'hotfix/*'
      include: true
  tag_patterns:
    - pattern: 'v*.*.*'
      include: true

Conditional Triggering

Skip builds based on changed files or custom conditions:

Changeset filtering:

triggering:
  events:
    - push
  when:
    changeset:
      includes:
        - '.'                 # All files
      excludes:
        - '**/*.md'          # Skip markdown-only changes
        - 'docs/**'          # Skip docs changes

Custom conditions:

triggering:
  events:
    - pull_request
  when:
    condition: not event.pull_request.draft  # Skip draft PRs

Using environment variables:

when:
  condition: env.CM_BRANCH == "main"

Complex conditions:

when:
  condition: |
    env.CM_BRANCH == "main" and 
    not event.pull_request.draft

Cancel Previous Builds

Automatically cancel outdated builds:

triggering:
  cancel_previous_builds: true

Scripts

The scripts section defines build steps:

Basic Script Formats

Single-line:

scripts:
  - echo "Hello world"

Named script:

scripts:
  - name: Run tests
    script: flutter test

Multi-line:

scripts:
  - name: Build iOS
    script: |
      flutter build ios --release
      cd ios
      xcodebuild -archive

Python/other languages:

scripts:
  - |
    #!/usr/bin/env python3
    import os
    print("Running Python script")

Script Options

Ignore failures:

scripts:
  - name: Optional step
    script: flutter test
    ignore_failure: true  # Workflow continues even if this fails

Conditional execution:

scripts:
  - name: Deploy to production
    script: ./deploy.sh
    when:
      condition: env.CM_BRANCH == "main"

Changeset-based execution:

scripts:
  - name: Build Android
    script: ./gradlew assembleRelease
    when:
      changeset:
        includes:
          - 'android/**'

Working Directory

Set working directory globally or per-script:

Workflow-level:

workflows:
  my-workflow:
    working_directory: packages/my_app

Script-level:

scripts:
  - name: Build in subdirectory
    working_directory: ios
    script: xcodebuild

Important: Using cd between scripts doesn't work because each script runs in a subshell. Use working_directory or inline cd within a single script.

Code Signing

See references/code-signing.md for complete iOS and Android code signing workflows.

Artifacts

Specify files to save after the build:

artifacts:
  - build/ios/ipa/*.ipa
  - build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/*.apk
  - build/**/*.aab
  - $HOME/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/**/Build/**/*.dSYM

Paths can be relative (to clone directory) or absolute. Use glob patterns for flexibility.

Publishing

Configure where to publish build artifacts:

Email

publishing:
  email:
    recipients:
      - user@example.com
      - team@example.com
    notify:
      success: true
      failure: true

Slack

publishing:
  slack:
    channel: '#builds'
    notify_on_build_start: true
    notify:
      success: true
      failure: true

App Store Connect

publishing:
  app_store_connect:
    api_key: $APP_STORE_CONNECT_PRIVATE_KEY
    key_id: $APP_STORE_CONNECT_KEY_IDENTIFIER
    issuer_id: $APP_STORE_CONNECT_ISSUER_ID
    submit_to_testflight: true

Google Play

publishing:
  google_play:
    credentials: $GCLOUD_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_CREDENTIALS
    track: internal  # internal, alpha, beta, production
    submit_as_draft: false

Firebase App Distribution

publishing:
  firebase:
    firebase_token: $FIREBASE_TOKEN
    android:
      app_id: $FIREBASE_ANDROID_APP_ID
      groups:
        - testers
    ios:
      app_id: $FIREBASE_IOS_APP_ID
      groups:
        - testers

Custom Publishing Scripts

publishing:
  scripts:
    - name: Custom deployment
      script: |
        if [ -f "build/app.ipa" ]; then
          ./deploy.sh build/app.ipa
        fi

Advanced Features

YAML Anchors for Reusability

Define reusable sections with &anchor and reference with *anchor:

definitions:
  instance_mac: &instance_mac
    instance_type: mac_mini_m2
    max_build_duration: 120
  
  flutter_env: &flutter_env
    flutter: stable
    xcode: latest
    cocoapods: default
  
  setup_script: &setup_script
    name: Setup
    script: |
      flutter pub get
      pod install

workflows:
  ios-release:
    name: iOS Release
    <<: *instance_mac
    environment:
      <<: *flutter_env
    scripts:
      - *setup_script
      - name: Build
        script: flutter build ios
  
  android-release:
    name: Android Release
    instance_type: linux
    environment:
      <<: *flutter_env
    scripts:
      - *setup_script
      - name: Build
        script: flutter build apk

Build Inputs

Allow runtime parameters for flexible builds:

workflows:
  flexible-build:
    name: Flexible Build
    build_inputs:
      - name: build_flavor
        type: choice
        description: Select build flavor
        required: true
        choices:
          - dev
          - staging
          - production
      - name: run_tests
        type: boolean
        description: Run tests before build
        default: true
    scripts:
      - name: Build with flavor
        script: |
          flutter build apk --flavor $build_flavor

Labels

Add labels for workflow organization:

workflows:
  my-workflow:
    name: My Workflow
    labels:
      - QA
      - ${TENANT_NAME}
      - v${APP_VERSION}

Common Patterns

Flutter Workflow Template

workflows:
  flutter-workflow:
    name: Flutter Build
    instance_type: mac_mini_m2
    max_build_duration: 60
    environment:
      flutter: stable
      xcode: latest
      groups:
        - app_store_credentials
      vars:
        BUNDLE_ID: "com.example.app"
    triggering:
      events:
        - push
      branch_patterns:
        - pattern: 'main'
          include: true
    scripts:
      - name: Get dependencies
        script: flutter pub get
      - name: Run tests
        script: flutter test
      - name: Build iOS
        script: flutter build ipa --release
      - name: Build Android
        script: flutter build apk --release
    artifacts:
      - build/ios/ipa/*.ipa
      - build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/*.apk
    publishing:
      email:
        recipients:
          - team@example.com

iOS Native Workflow

See references/ios-workflow.md

Android Native Workflow

See references/android-workflow.md

Monorepo Setup

See references/monorepo.md

Validation and Testing

Schema Validation

Use JSON schema for IDE validation:

# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://codemagic.io/codemagic-schema.json

Local Validation

Check for common issues:

• YAML syntax errors
• Missing required fields
• Invalid instance types
• Incorrect environment variable references

Debugging

Add debug script to inspect environment:

scripts:
  - name: Debug environment
    script: |
      set -ex
      printenv
      flutter --version
      xcodebuild -version

Troubleshooting

Build not triggering:

• Verify webhook configuration
• Check branch/tag patterns match
• Review changeset filters
• Ensure codemagic.yaml is in root directory
• Check if [skip ci] is in commit message

Environment variable not found:

• Verify variable group names match UI
• Check variable name spelling
• Ensure secret variables are marked as such
• Use printenv to list available variables

Scripts failing:

• Check exit codes with set -e
• Review logs for error messages
• Verify tool versions are correct
• Test scripts locally first

Code signing issues:

• Verify certificates are uploaded to Codemagic
• Check provisioning profile validity
• Ensure bundle IDs match
• Review code signing identity references

Cache not working:

• Verify cache paths exist
• Check cache size limits
• Ensure paths are not symlinks
• Review cache age (expires after 7 days of inactivity)

Best Practices

1. Use variable groups for sensitive data instead of hardcoding
2. Enable cancel_previous_builds to save build minutes
3. Use changeset filtering for monorepos to avoid unnecessary builds
4. Cache dependencies to speed up builds
5. Use YAML anchors to reduce duplication
6. Add conditional steps to optimize workflow execution
7. Test locally before committing changes
8. Use semantic versioning for tags
9. Keep scripts focused - one responsibility per script
10. Document complex workflows with inline comments