App Uploads

Before you can automate mobile tests in CI, you need an iOS Simulator build or Android APK/APKS to test against.

Build and upload a mobile app with TesterArmy CLI

What you need to upload

iOS
Android

Upload an iOS Simulator build as .app.zip or .zip (archive a .app bundle at the zip root). The CLI can also accept a raw .app directory and zip it for you.

Simulator builds onlyDo not upload an .ipa. That is a device build. TesterArmy needs a .app bundle built for iOS Simulator with the .app directory at the archive root.

Build for iOS Simulator

If you already have an Xcode project, build a simulator app with xcodebuild:

xcodebuild -workspace ios/MyApp.xcworkspace \
  -scheme MyApp \
  -configuration Release \
  -sdk iphonesimulator \
  -destination 'generic/platform=iOS Simulator' \
  -derivedDataPath ios/build \
  build

The simulator app bundle usually ends up here:

ios/build/Build/Products/Release-iphonesimulator/MyApp.app

If you are using Expo / React Native, the mobile example app is a good reference. Its build flow looks like this:

npx expo prebuild --platform ios

xcodebuild -workspace ios/testerarmy.xcworkspace \
  -scheme testerarmy \
  -configuration Release \
  -sdk iphonesimulator \
  -destination 'generic/platform=iOS Simulator' \
  -derivedDataPath ios/build \
  build

Zip the `.app` bundle

For dashboard uploads and the presigned API upload flow, archive the .app bundle after the build completes:

cd ios/build/Build/Products/Release-iphonesimulator
zip -r MyApp.app.zip MyApp.app

You should end up with a file like MyApp.app.zip whose top-level entry is MyApp.app/, not Payload/MyApp.app/.

Upload an Android build as .apk / .apks when Android support is enabled for your workspace.

Android formatsAndroid uploads must be a single .apk or a split APK archive (.apks). .aab and .xapk are not supported.

Build an Android APK/APKS

Our Android 15 cloud emulators support x86_64 and arm64-v8a apps. The emulator runs on x86_64 and uses native translation for ARM64 libraries, so an ARM64-only APK can run too. Apps without native libraries work across architectures.Upload a signed Release APK that launches without a development server. Split APK archives (.apks) must also contain Release builds and all required splits for either x86_64 or arm64-v8a. Run a test with your app to verify its native dependencies work on the emulator.Build the release variant using your project’s signing configuration:

./gradlew assembleRelease

If you are using Expo / React Native, the mobile example app is a good reference. Its Android build flow looks like this:

npx expo prebuild --platform android

cd android
./gradlew assembleRelease -PreactNativeArchitectures=x86_64

This example targets x86_64 to avoid native translation. You can also use -PreactNativeArchitectures=arm64-v8a or upload an existing ARM64 build.The APK usually ends up under android/app/build/outputs/apk/. Verify that the final APK is signed and its packaged native libraries support x86_64 or arm64-v8a before uploading it. Adapt the Gradle task to your app’s module and flavor when needed.

Upload via the dashboard

Go to your project and click the Mobile tab. Then click Browse files and select your .app.zip, .apk, or .apks. TesterArmy uploads the artifact to temporary storage first, validates the bundle metadata, and then promotes the validated artifact into your project. If validation fails, the temporary upload is removed and no project app is created.

Upload via the API

For large artifacts, use the three-step presigned flow that streams the bytes straight to storage:

POST /api/v1/projects/{projectId}/mobile/upload with { filename, fileSize }. The response includes an uploadUrl and storageKey.
PUT the archive bytes to uploadUrl.
POST /api/v1/projects/{projectId}/mobile/upload/confirm with the same storageKey, filename, and fileSize, plus optional removeAfter.

The presigned URL writes to temporary storage. The confirm step validates the artifact and promotes it into project storage; failed validation deletes the temporary object. See the API reference. The direct multipart upload (POST /api/v1/projects/{projectId}/mobile) remains supported for existing integrations.

Create your first mobile test

Before adding CI, upload your build, create at least one mobile test, and run it to make sure it passes. Runs target your most recent uploaded app for the platform automatically; pass an explicit app ID via the API or CLI only when you need to pin a specific build. When writing prompts, guide the agent like you would guide a human user. Weak prompt example: “Open settings” Strong prompt example: “Tap the profile icon in the top right, open Settings, and verify the notifications toggle is visible” Specific prompts produce more reliable tests and make CI failures easier to understand.

Upload with the CLI

The TesterArmy CLI can upload a raw .app directory, an .app.zip, an .apk, or an .apks. Raw .app directories are packed for you with the app bundle at the archive root:

testerarmy upload-app \
  --app-path ios/build/Build/Products/Release-iphonesimulator/MyApp.app \
  --project <projectId>

--app-path and --project are required. For temporary CI uploads, you can set removeAfter in seconds:

testerarmy upload-app \
  --app-path MyApp.apk \
  --project <projectId> \
  --remove-after 3600 \
  --json

Use --output ./result.json to write the JSON payload to a specific file, or --output ./artifacts/ to write ta-app-upload-<date>.json inside a directory. The command rejects .ipa archives. It also rejects Android .aab and .xapk bundles. If you use Expo EAS, see Expo EAS for the full workflow that builds the mobile app artifact, downloads it, uploads it, and runs TesterArmy tests.

Notes

Use removeAfter to auto-delete temporary uploads created during CI.
Each project has a 2 GB storage limit.
Auto-delete Oldest App is enabled by default: when a new upload would exceed the storage limit, TesterArmy automatically deletes the oldest uploaded app to make room. Apps used by queued or running tests are never auto-deleted. Disable the toggle in the project’s Mobile tab to have over-limit uploads rejected instead.
Our GitHub Action can upload the .app directory directly, so you do not need to zip it when running through GitHub Actions.
Android uploads require workspace-level Android support to be enabled.

Get Started

Set Up Your Project

Build and Run Tests

Automate Testing

Mobile Testing

CLI and Coding Agents

Account and Billing

Troubleshooting

Migrate to TesterArmy

Resources

What you need to upload

Build for iOS Simulator

Zip the `.app` bundle

Build an Android APK/APKS

Upload via the dashboard

Upload via the API

Create your first mobile test

Upload with the CLI

Notes

​What you need to upload

​Build for iOS Simulator

​Zip the .app bundle

​Build an Android APK/APKS

​Upload via the dashboard

​Upload via the API

​Create your first mobile test

​Upload with the CLI

​Notes

What you need to upload

Build for iOS Simulator

Zip the `.app` bundle

Build an Android APK/APKS

Upload via the dashboard

Upload via the API

Create your first mobile test

Upload with the CLI

Notes