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Automate the iOS build/test/deploy cycle with Distiller and Hockey (blog.distiller.io)
18 points by jimdotrose 4405 days ago
4 comments

I wish this was a link to the actual documentation linked in the blog post rather than this incredibly short post which is nothing but a sales pitch. The idea looks nice, but I couldn't help but laugh at the "Use Safari" warning in the documentation log. Why would I need to use Safari to download a simple file from the Developer Center?
Here's the link to the setup document: http://docs.distiller.io/start/getting_started_ota_deploymen...

The "use Safari" warning is because the Apple Developer Center can randomly go all pear-shaped when using other browsers. Not sure why - it logically makes no sense - but it happens more often than you think.

This appears to be in the same space as shenzhen: https://github.com/nomad/shenzhen (which works wonderfully)

Can you differentiate your service/system?

Sure. There's definitely some overlap. Shenzhen is a smaller piece of the puzzle, designed to build and deploy from a single system at the point that a user decides to do so.

Distiller provides hosted continuous integration, building your code and running all of your tests every time someone commits to GitHub. It also allows you to push the passing build to an OTA platform (Testflight or Hockey) as a final step.

The difference is most notable in a team environment where everyone can have access to build results, including seeing the test results on a GitHub pull request before deciding to merge a set of changes.

I want this, but: The product is not explained. It actually took a bit of clicking to finally find the setup process under documentation.

Minor nit, your blog header doesn't link back to the main site.

Sorry about the spare home page. That's our fault.

The guides for set up are here: http://docs.distiller.io/guides/

We're trying to simplify the configuration through a few different means to make setup as straightforward as possible:

- autodetecting available workspaces, projects and schemes so you can setup a project in a couple clicks. - automatically handle submodule / Cocoapod dependencies within the VM - autoincrementing build numbers to simplify OTA (this is a pita)

And if there's any issue around setup, you can get us at help@distiller.io or hop into chat at https://www.hipchat.com/gCQq5vQ18

fwiw, I just updated the blog header, thanks for pointing it out!
I was just looking for something like this. I missed my push->circleci->test->deploy workflow when I moved to iOS development. Will be having a serious look at this later.