Mobile Release Engineering at Scale with Shipit Mobile - Shopify

This post details the development of Shipit Mobile, a platform to create, view, and manage app releases for Shopify's mobile applications. It addresses the manual and error-prone nature of previous mobile release processes by introducing automation for build number incrementing, CI execution, testing, and distribution to app stores (Google Play and App Store via Fastlane). The system uses a trunk-based development branching model, defines distribution channels, and aims to make the release captain role transferable through guided workflows and Slack notifications. It also includes mechanisms for emergency releases and emphasizes the importance of a scalable CI system for mobile.