It is a nightmare scenario to find a bug in our mobile applications after publishing the apps. We should fix the bug, create new versions, and upload them to Google Play and the App Store. This is not the worst part. We have to wait until the releases are approved by the stores. Sometimes they are rejected, and we create new versions. Almost all of us experience this scenario, and we know how unnecessary it is.
Now we have a solution to fix our app without publishing them to the stores. Shorebird is a code-push solution for Flutter, and it is stable for Android and iOS now. The founder of Shorebird is Eric Seidel, who is also the founder of Flutter.
I just implemented Shorebird in my own Application, Birikim. It was great experience. I didn’t come across any problems, and I will publish my app with code push support in the next release.
What do I like most?
The best part is that I can remove the shorebird from my project without any effort. I just need to build my application with the Flutter cli command instead of the Shorebird cli command.
Price?
There is a Hobby subscription package for free usage. If you have a small application, you can use the Shorebird without paying anything. The Hobby Package is enough for me. We should use patches when we really need them.
Do I have any concerns?
I have just one concern about the Shorebird. After the iOS patch, the application can run slowly. Because the application will run on the patch, and I didn’t test the performance. But I think it won’t be a problem. I will publish the release version, and the users will get the release version shortly.
How can you learn more about it?
My first recommendation is to watch the video below. I started to learn about the shorebird with this video.
After that, you can watch this video too.
Finally, you can consolidate your knowledge by reviewing the documentation section.
That was my learning path.
Conclusion
The shorebird seems like a great tool for Flutter developers. I wish great success to shorebird team. I will use it in my applications, and I will try to help the team make Shorebird much better.