Build Helper overview

Build Helper is the Flutter build-and-release cockpit in Mobile DevTools. It finds the Flutter apps on your machine and gives you one screen to switch an app’s environment, bump its version, build APK / AAB / IPA, and ship the result to testers or the stores.

It runs entirely on your machine at http://localhost:4095. There is no login, no account, and no server — just a local dashboard.

Who it’s for

Mobile teams who release the same app across several environments (dev / demo / qa / prod) and are tired of hand-editing version numbers, remembering the right flutter build flags, and uploading bundles by hand. If you build a Flutter app more than once a week, this replaces a folder full of shell scripts.

The core idea

Every release is the same short pipeline, and Build Helper runs it for you:

switch environment → write the version → build the artifact → distribute → record it.

You pick the environment, the version, and the artifacts; it does the rest and streams a live log while it works.

What you can do

• See every app at a glance — a dashboard of the Flutter projects under your projects root, each with its detected environments, version, health, and last build.
• Switch environment — flip an app between dev / demo / qa / prod (it rewrites the AppMode constant and swaps the matching Firebase config files).
• Bump the version — set the version name and build number per environment, with the next build number pre-filled.
• Build — produce an APK, AAB, or IPA, with optional clean / pub get / analyze / test steps first.
• Distribute — send builds to OneDrive, Firebase App Distribution, Google Play, and TestFlight.
• Sign Android releases — generate an upload keystore (or link one you have) and wire build.gradle automatically.
• Report — filter build history and export it as CSV or a printable PDF.
• Preflight your toolchain — a Doctor that checks Flutter, Xcode, CocoaPods, rclone, and the Firebase CLI, and installs the safe ones for you.

The main screens

Build Helper has four tabs plus a shared settings gear.

Screen	What it’s for
Dashboard	KPI tiles and a grid of your apps. Click an app to open it.
Build	The core workflow: pick an app’s environment, version, artifacts, options, and distribution targets, then build with a live log.
Reports	Filter build history by date range and environment; export CSV or PDF.
Setup	The Doctor and the distribution connectors (OneDrive / Firebase / Google Play / Apple).
⚙ (gear)	Shared settings — your profile, Slack/Telegram/email notifications, and issue trackers. Powered by platform-kit.

Launch it

Build Helper is one of the tools in the Mobile DevTools hub.

• From the hub — run node serve, open http://localhost:4090, and click Build Helper.
• Standalone — run node build-helper/server.js and open http://localhost:4095 directly.

Note

Nothing is written into your app repos. All of Build Helper’s own state — config, build history, artifacts, logs — lives under ~/.mobile-devtools/build-helper/. Delete that folder to reset it.

Next

• Usage — a step-by-step walkthrough of a build.
• Features — every feature, in detail.
• Signing & distribution — set up keystores and each distribution channel.
• Troubleshooting — common problems and fixes.