Release FlightDownload

Docs · Getting started

Set up Release Flight in four steps.

Release Flight is a self-hosted macOS app. To get from download to shipped, you install the wizard, activate your license, connect App Store Connect and Google Play, then run your first release through the pipeline. Each step below opens with the short answer, then the detail.

Step 01

Install the wizard

To install Release Flight, download the macOS app and run the setup wizard, which provisions Release Flight's database, workers, and storage locally via Docker.

  1. 1Download the app from the download page and open the .dmg.
  2. 2Make sure Docker Desktop or OrbStack is running — the wizard uses it to self-host services locally.
  3. 3Launch the wizard. It pulls the images, runs migrations (including the Postgres row-level-security policies), and starts every service.
  4. 4When it finishes, the wizard opens Release Flight at your local URL and creates your first admin account.
Step 02

Activate your license

To activate Release Flight, paste your per-seat license key into the wizard. The key unlocks the app for your team and is validated online once, then cached so the app keeps working offline.

  1. 1Get a license key by starting a subscription on the pricing page — Indie for solo developers or Studio per seat for teams, billed monthly.
  2. 2Paste the key into the activation screen the wizard shows on first launch.
  3. 3The key is verified online once and then cached, so the app keeps running even if you go offline.
  4. 4Add teammates from Settings → Team; each active user consumes one seat against your subscription.
Step 03

Connect App Store Connect + Google Play

To connect your stores, add an App Store Connect API key and a Google Play service-account JSON in Settings → Credentials. Both are AES-256-GCM encrypted at rest and never returned to the browser.

  1. 1App Store Connect: in App Store Connect → Users and Access → Integrations, create an API key with the App Manager role, then add the Issuer ID, Key ID, and downloaded .p8 to Release Flight.
  2. 2Google Play: in the Google Play Console, create a service account, grant it access to your apps, download the JSON key, and paste it into Release Flight.
  3. 3Credentials are AES-256-GCM encrypted at rest and are never sent back to the browser — the server uses them directly.
  4. 4Once connected, Release Flight imports your apps so you can manage metadata, screenshots, and ASO for both stores side by side.
Step 04

Ship your first release

To ship your first release, pick an app, edit its metadata and screenshots, then run the build-and-deploy pipeline to produce a signed binary and submit it to the App Store or Google Play.

  1. 1Pick an app from your dashboard and edit titles, descriptions, keywords, and what's-new copy — character-limit guards match Apple and Google's exact rules.
  2. 2Upload and validate screenshots and app previews per device class and locale.
  3. 3Run ASO research to refine keywords before you submit.
  4. 4Start the pipeline: it clones your repo, detects the framework, builds and signs the binary, and deploys it to the store you choose.

Where to go next

Download the app

Get the macOS installer and self-host in minutes.

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Explore features

Metadata, screenshots, ASO intelligence, and the build pipeline.

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Read the FAQ

Answers on hosting, security, pricing, and store coverage.

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Getting started with Release Flight — Docs · Release Flight