Install the Self-Hosted Appcircle Server
This document provides an overview of the steps required to install the self-hosted Appcircle on your infrastructure. It's a summary of the overall journey and gives you an idea of the big picture.
For detailed instructions, please refer to the corresponding pages mentioned below.
Server Installation
Supported Linux Distributions
Before proceeding with the installation, it is essential to verify the compatibility of the targeted operating system version.
If you're planning to use Docker as the container runtime engine, you should check for compatible OS versions here.
If you're planning to use Podman as the container runtime engine, you should check for compatible OS versions here.
Hardware Requirements
Check CPU, memory, swap, and disk space requirements.
You can check the hardware requirements here.
Dependencies for Download
To download and extract the application installation zip package, you need to install the necessary dependencies.
You can see the dependencies here.
Download and Extract the Package
Obtain the application's zip file and extract its contents.
You should follow the download and extract processes here.
Install Server Dependencies
Install additional dependencies and packages required by the self-hosted Appcircle server.
If you're planning to use Docker as the container runtime engine, you can check application dependencies and how to install them here.
If you're planning to use Podman as the container runtime engine, you can check application dependencies and how to install them here.
Configure Podman Specific Settings
You should skip this step if you are installing the application with Docker.
If you are installing the server with Podman, you must configure Podman's network settings. And also need to install an additional application to use podman rootless.
You can check the port forwarding settings here.
You can check the Podman network stack settings here.
Configure Server Settings
You need to edit the default global.yaml file for your requirements and infrastructure.
You can see the detailed configuration steps here.
HTTP and HTTPS Settings
You can utilize the Appcircle server in either HTTP or HTTPS mode, which can be configured in the global.yaml settings file.
After following the general configuration steps above, see the SSL configuration details here.
Domain Settings of the Modules
You need to set a main domain for the Appcircle server. Also, you should decide the domain configurations for the Enterprise App Store and Testing Distribution modules.
SMTP Settings for Email Notifications
To utilize email services such as registration or testing distribution notifications, it is necessary to define SMTP settings in the global.yaml configuration file.
Initial Username and Password
The initial user will be the owner or administrator of the organization on the Appcircle server. So, you should configure it in global.yaml properly.
DNS Settings for Subdomains
The Appcircle server has some subdomains for different services. They should be configured according to the network infrastructure.
You can see the DNS configuration details here.
Pull the Container Images
The Appcircle server is a containerized application composed of microservices.
Prior to running the server, it is necessary to pull the images from the Appcircle image repository. You don't need to perform an additional step to pull container images, as the Appcircle install script will automatically handle the image retrieval process.
If you're planning to use a proxy repository to access the origin repository, it should be defined in the global.yaml configuration file.
You can check the required steps on how to define a custom image registry here.
You need cred.json file to pull the container images. Only the enterprise customers who have self-hosted Appcircle license can have cred.json.
For details about the cred.json, see here.
Initialize Vault
Before starting the Appcircle server, you should initialize the vault.
You can check out how to initialize the vault here.
Run the Appcircle Server
At the end, you are ready to start the Appcircle server. 🎉
Start the server and verify its health.
Runner Installation
To build and distribute mobile applications, you need self-hosted Appcircle runners that are connected to the server.
You can check out how to install a self-hosted runner here.
Connect Runner to the Server
You need to connect your self-hosted runner to the server. So the server can share builds and distribute jobs with the runner.
You can check how to connect runner to server here.
Build a Sample App
To test overall functionality and system stabilization, you can build example mobile applications.
If you don't have one, you can use the sample repositories of Appcircle mobile applications.
To build sample applications, create a build profile. After that, you can click Quick start using the sample repository" button to import sample Appcircle repositories.
If you're on a restricted network and cannot reach Appcircle's GitHub repository, you can import the sample apps to your git provider on your private network and use them from there.
Below is a list of sample apps that you can use for demoing or testing:
Please note that this overview serves as a high-level roadmap, and detailed instructions for each step can be found in the associated pages.
For more detailed instructions to install the server, please refer to installation page.
Click here to see Appcircle server installation on Docker.
Click here to see Appcircle server installation on Podman.