GitHub Actions in Flutter: How I Automate My Build Process

Why I Decided to Automate My Flutter Builds

Every time I completed a feature, I had to:

1. Build an APK or IPA manually
2. Test it locally
3. Zip and upload it to TestFlight or share it with QA

It was tedious and error-prone.

By using GitHub Actions, I now trigger builds automatically on every push or pull request, and the generated artifacts are ready for testing. It’s also incredibly useful for CI/CD pipelines when releasing to the Play Store or App Store.

Step 1: Creating My Flutter Project on GitHub

I already had my Flutter app locally. So, I initialized the Git repo:

 git init
 git remote add origin https://github.com/myusername/myflutterapp.git
 git add .
 git commit -m "Initial commit"
 git push -u origin main

Then came the magic: setting up GitHub Actions.

Step 2: Setting Up the GitHub Actions Workflow

In the root of my Flutter project, I created a folder called .github/workflows. Inside it, I added a file:

 mkdir -p .github/workflows
 touch .github/workflows/flutter_build.yml

This file will define the GitHub Action workflow.

Step 3: Writing the flutterbuild.yml Workflow

Here’s my initial flutterbuild.yml file:

 name: Flutter CI
 on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]
 jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
    steps:
      - name: Checkout source
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
 
      - name: Set up Flutter
        uses: subosito/flutter-action@v2
        with:
          flutter-version: ’3.22.0’ # Replace with your Flutter version
 
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: flutter pub get
      - name: Analyze code
        run: flutter analyze
 
      - name: Run tests
        run: flutter test
 
      - name: Build APK
        run: flutter build apk --release
 
      - name: Upload artifact
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: release-apk
          path: build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/app-release.apk

Let Me Break It Down Step by Step

on: Section

This tells GitHub when to run the workflow. I set it to trigger on every push or pull request to the main branch.

jobs: and build:

This defines the job. I named it build and specified ubuntu-latest as the environment, which is perfect for building Flutter apps.

Step: Checkout source

  - name: Checkout source
  uses: actions/checkout@v3

This checks out my code from the GitHub repository so that the runner can access it.

Step: Set up Flutter

  - name: Set up Flutter
  uses: subosito/flutter-action@v2
  with:
    flutter-version: ’3.22.0’

This installs Flutter in the GitHub runner. I use the exact version that matches my local dev environment.

Step: Install dependencies

  - name: Install dependencies
  run: flutter pub get

This step installs all the Dart/Flutter dependencies from pubspec.yaml.

Step: Analyze code

  - name: Analyze code
  run: flutter analyze

It’s always good practice to run static analysis to catch potential issues early.

Step: Run tests

  - name: Run tests
  run: flutter test

This runs all my unit tests to ensure everything still works.

Step: Build APK

  - name: Build APK
  run: flutter build apk --release

This builds the release version of the APK, which is what I usually send to testers.

Step: Upload artifact

  - name: Upload artifact
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: release-apk
    path: build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/app-release.apk

This uploads the APK to the “Artifacts” section of the GitHub Actions page so I (or my QA team) can download it

Step 4: Pushing Changes and Watching It Work

Once I pushed the .github/workflows/flutter_build.yml file to the repository:

 git add .
 git commit -m "Add GitHub Actions workflow"
 git push

GitHub Actions automatically kicked in. I visited the Actions tab in my repository and saw the workflow run in real-time 🎉

At the end of the build, I could download the APK from the job summary. No more manual builds for every change!

Step 5: Improving the Workflow for iOS (Optional)

For iOS, it’s a bit tricky since Apple builds require macOS. If you want to build .ipa files, you’ll need a macOS runner, which GitHub supports — but on a limited basis (and slower than Ubuntu).

Here’s a simplified snippet for building iOS:

  jobs:
  build_ios:
    runs-on: macos-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout source
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
 
      - name: Set up Flutter
        uses: subosito/flutter-action@v2
        with:
          flutter-version: ’3.22.0’
 
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: flutter pub get
 
      - name: Build iOS
        run: flutter build ios --no-codesign

I used --no-codesign because signing iOS apps requires credentials and certificates, which I didn’t want to set up just yet. But it’s a good start for CI.

Step 6: Bonus – Notify Me on Slack/Discord

I added notifications to alert my team when builds fail or succeed using a Slack webhook:

  - name: Notify Slack
  uses: rtCamp/action-slack-notify@v2
  env:
    SLACKWEBHOOK: ${{ secrets.SLACKWEBHOOK }}
    SLACK_MESSAGE: Build ${{ job.status }} for ${{ github.repository }}

I stored my Slack webhook URL securely in GitHub Secrets.

Final Thoughts

Setting up GitHub Actions was one of the most empowering decisions I’ve made for my Flutter projects. Now:

●    Every push gets analyzed, tested, and built automatically

●    My QA team can easily access the APKs

●    I save time, reduce mistakes, and focus on building features

If you’re a Flutter dev and not using GitHub Actions yet — start today. It’s simple, powerful, and you only have to set it up once.