flutter-ota

The command line for flutter_ota_kit — build patches, deploy them to your backend, and manage rollouts.

flutter-ota is the companion CLI for flutter_ota_kit, open-source OTA code push for Flutter Android. Pack a release APK into a signed patch, upload it to the backend you own (Supabase / Postgres / Cloudflare / AWS / PocketBase), and manage channels, staged rollouts, and instant rollback — no store review, no monthly bill.

The runtime SDK your app depends on is the separate flutter_ota_kit pub package.

Install

npm i -g @_nazmiforreal/flutter-ota
flutter-ota --help

A prebuilt linux-x64 binary ships in the package. On other platforms the CLI compiles from bundled Dart source on first install, which needs the Flutter SDK (the CLI shares the flutter_ota_kit Flutter package). If Flutter isn't available, build a binary once yourself:

cd $(npm root -g)/@_nazmiforreal/flutter-ota/dart-src/packages/cli-tools
flutter pub get && dart compile exe bin/flutter_ota_kit.dart -o ../../bin/flutter-ota-<os>-<arch>

The 60-second workflow

# 1. Scaffold config + a setup helper for your backend
#    (adds the latest flutter_ota_kit to your pubspec automatically)
flutter-ota init supabase        # or: postgres | cloudflare | aws | pocketbase

# 2. Provision the backend (Supabase & PocketBase are fully automated)
flutter-ota migrate supabase

# 3. Build the release APK, then pack it into a device-ready patch
flutter build apk --release
flutter-ota build \
  --apk build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/app-release.apk \
  --version 1.0.1 \
  --target-version-code 100

# 4. Sign + deploy it to a channel
flutter-ota deploy --source dist --channel production \
  --target-app-version 1.0.0 --force -m "hotfix: crash on login"

Devices pick up the patch on their next launch. Pull it back with:

flutter-ota rollback --channel production

Commands

| Command | What it does | |---------|--------------| | init <backend> | Scaffold config, .env, and lib/flutter_ota_kit_setup.dart; add the SDK dependency + INTERNET permission | | build | Pack a release APK into dist/patch.zip (all ABIs by default) | | deploy | Upload + register a bundle; sign it with --key | | bundle | list / show / delete / disable / enable / force / promote / update | | channel | list / get / set the live bundle per channel | | rollback | Disable the latest enabled bundle (or roll back to a specific one) | | storage | list / delete stored bundle objects | | migrate | Provision the backend schema | | keys | Generate an Ed25519 signing keypair | | fingerprint | Compute a deterministic build fingerprint | | doctor | Diagnose the environment + backend connectivity | | config | get / set / list config values | | console | Open the web console | | pocketbase | Manage a local single-binary PocketBase backend |

Help works at every level, including nested subcommands:

flutter-ota deploy --help
flutter-ota bundle list --help
flutter-ota pocketbase records list --help

Backends

Select one with --backend supabase|postgres|cloudflare|aws|pocketbase (or set provider in .flutter_ota_kit/config.json). Settings resolve with a clear precedence:

explicit flag  >  environment variable  >  .flutter_ota_kit/config.json  >  default

Config search order: ./.flutter_ota_kit/config.json, then ~/.flutter_ota_kit/config.json. Secrets belong in your shell env or .env, never in committed config.

| Backend | Provisioning | |---------|--------------| | Supabase | migrate supabase — SQL + storage bucket, fully automated | | PocketBase | pocketbase install + pocketbase serve — single binary, schema auto-installed | | Postgres | migrate postgres applies SQL migrations | | Cloudflare | migrate cloudflare creates D1 + R2, runs SQL | | AWS | No SQL — S3 bucket/prefix created on first deploy |

Documentation

• CLI Reference
• Getting Started
• Backends
• Production Playbook

License

MIT