Automating OTA Updates: How Onespot deploys to 200+ apps without touching a laptop

Onespot, a platform for building custom-branded mobile apps for schools, has streamlined its deployment process for over 200 React Native apps by automating over-the-air (OTA) updates using Expo, GitHub Actions, and a mobile phone. This approach eliminates the need for manual updates on a developer's laptop, transforming the deployment into a data-driven solution. Onespot's system leverages a centralized JSON registry to manage app-specific configurations, and a Python script, "onescript.py," generates necessary config files for each app. Deployments are triggered via API, enabling team members, even non-developers, to initiate updates through a secret admin dashboard in the apps themselves. The automation reduces the complexity and time involved in deploying updates, ensuring scalability and efficiency while maintaining security and oversight through CI/CD practices. This innovative approach highlights the importance of treating deployment as a first-class system, ultimately making the process more reliable and less error-prone by separating repetitive tasks from human intervention.

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