Introduction
Stallion is an end-to-end testing and deployment framework for React Native apps, enabling over-the-air (OTA) updates without rebuilding your entire app each time. With its CLI, SDK, and console, Stallion helps you quickly create, distribute, and manage releases—making it easier than ever to keep your testers and users up to date.
Why Stallion?
- Instant OTA Updates: Share new features and fixes with production users in real time—no waiting on app store reviews or manual installs.
- End-to-End Testing: Eliminate the need to recreate full app builds. Download and test updates directly within your app.
- Adoption Analytics: Monitor how quickly users adopt each release and make data-driven decisions.
- Safety Features: Automatically roll back unstable updates to keep your app functioning smoothly, and manually roll back if needed.
- Phased Rollout: Control the rollout percentage of a Stallion Release. Gradually scale and monitor releases.
- Fully Managed & Productivity-Oriented: Skip the hassles of hosting and version control—Stallion takes care of it all so your team can ship features faster and focus on building great products.
Getting Started
Install the Stallion CLI and SDK to enable seamless OTA updates in your React Native app. With just a few commands, you can bundle, upload, and deliver updates instantly.
Installation
Install the CLI and SDK inside your React Native project.
npm install react-native-stallion
npm install --save-dev stallion-cli
Follow the native installation steps mentioned here to complete the SDK installation. After completing the installation, you should be able to open the Stallion SDK modal.
Sending your first Stallion Release
Use the Stallion CLI to publish your first React Native bundle. Simply run the Publish Bundle command to upload your update to Stallion servers.
npx stallion publish-bundle --upload-path=<orgname>/<project-name>/<bucket-name> --platform=<android/ios> --release-note="<notes>"
Once successful, you should see an output similar to the screenshot below:
Head over to your bucket in the Stallion Console to verify the uploaded bundle. You’ll see it listed inside your bucket, where you can review its metadata, release notes, and other details.
Testing the Stallion Release
With your bundle now published, you can install it on any released app that has the Stallion SDK integrated. Inside the app, head to the Testing tab provided by the Stallion SDK to browse all available buckets. Simply select your target bucket, download the bundle, and once the download is complete, restart the app to apply the update.
Promoting a Stallion Release to production
Once your bundle has been fully tested, Stallion allows you to seamlessly promote it to production. With a single click, your update is distributed to users across your entire app base.
Head over to the Stallion Console and then follow the steps mentioned in the Stallion Production section of the docs.
Tip:
You can manually control distribution parameters for a Stallion Release like rollout percentage, rollback and paused states. These controls can be accessed inside Manage Release section of Stallion Console.
Tracking release adoption
The Adoption Stats section inside Stallion Console gives you a quick overview of your release’s performance, showing:
- Downloads: Total completed downloads.
- Installs: Total successful installations.
- Rollbacks: Total automatic rollbacks triggered.
These metrics help you track how many users have received the update, installed it, and, if needed, reverted to a previous version.
Conclusion
Stallion streamlines the entire OTA update process for React Native apps—giving you the tools to build, test, release, and monitor updates with ease. Whether you’re shipping hotfixes or feature updates, Stallion helps you move faster while maintaining control and stability across your user base.
By combining the power of the CLI, SDK, and Console, you can drastically reduce your release cycles, minimize operational overhead, and deliver a seamless experience to your users.
Ready to take your React Native deployments to the next level? Dive deeper into the full documentation and start building with Stallion today!