1. Why Fastlane on a Dedicated Mac?

Fastlane is the standard automation tool for iOS and Android development. It handles everything from code signing to TestFlight deployment. Running Fastlane on a dedicated Mac Mini M4 gives you:

Persistent Keychain

Code signing certificates persist between runs. No need to import/export on every build.

Fast Incremental Builds

DerivedData persists, so fastlane build takes 2-4 minutes instead of 15+.

Simulator Screenshots

Run fastlane snapshot with real simulators for all device sizes.

Reliable Deploys

A stable, dedicated environment means fewer flaky deployments and code signing issues.

2. Install Fastlane

SSH into your Mac Mini M4 and install Fastlane. We recommend Homebrew for the simplest setup:

Option A: Install via Homebrew (Recommended)

# Install Homebrew (if not already installed)
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

# Install Fastlane
brew install fastlane

# Verify installation
fastlane --version
# fastlane 2.225.0

Option B: Install via RubyGems

# Use the system Ruby or install rbenv for version management
gem install fastlane -NV

# Or with Bundler (recommended for team consistency):
# Create a Gemfile in your project root
cat > Gemfile <<'EOF'
source "https://rubygems.org"

gem "fastlane"
gem "cocoapods"  # if using CocoaPods
EOF

bundle install

Initialize Fastlane in Your Project

# Navigate to your project directory
cd /path/to/your/ios-project

# Initialize Fastlane
fastlane init

# Choose option 4: "Manual setup"
# This creates the fastlane/ directory with Appfile and Fastfile

3. Configure Match for Code Signing

Fastlane Match stores your code signing certificates and provisioning profiles in a private Git repository or cloud storage. This ensures all machines (and team members) use the same signing identity.

Initialize Match

# Initialize match (choose "git" for storage)
fastlane match init

# This creates fastlane/Matchfile

Configure Matchfile

# fastlane/Matchfile

git_url("https://github.com/your-org/ios-certificates.git")

storage_mode("git")

type("appstore")  # default type, can be overridden per lane

app_identifier(["com.yourcompany.myapp"])
username("your-apple-id@example.com")

# For CI environments, use App Store Connect API key instead of username/password
# api_key_path("fastlane/AuthKey.json")

Generate Certificates

# Generate development certificates and profiles
fastlane match development

# Generate App Store distribution certificates and profiles
fastlane match appstore

# For ad-hoc distribution
fastlane match adhoc

# On CI, use readonly mode to avoid accidentally creating new certs
fastlane match appstore --readonly

4. Create Fastfile (Build, Test, Deploy Lanes)

Here is a complete Fastfile with lanes for building, testing, and deploying your iOS app:

# fastlane/Fastfile

default_platform(:ios)

platform :ios do

  # ---- SHARED ----

  before_all do
    setup_ci if ENV['CI']  # Configures keychain for CI environments
  end

  # ---- BUILD ----

  desc "Build the app for testing"
  lane :build do
    match(type: "development", readonly: true)

    build_app(
      workspace: "MyApp.xcworkspace",
      scheme: "MyApp",
      configuration: "Debug",
      destination: "generic/platform=iOS Simulator",
      derived_data_path: "DerivedData",
      skip_archive: true,
      skip_codesigning: true
    )
  end

  # ---- TEST ----

  desc "Run all unit and UI tests"
  lane :test do
    run_tests(
      workspace: "MyApp.xcworkspace",
      scheme: "MyApp",
      devices: ["iPhone 16 Pro"],
      derived_data_path: "DerivedData",
      result_bundle: true,
      output_directory: "fastlane/test_results",
      parallel_testing: true,
      concurrent_workers: 4
    )
  end

  # ---- BETA ----

  desc "Build and push a new beta to TestFlight"
  lane :beta do
    # Ensure we are on a clean git state
    ensure_git_status_clean

    # Fetch App Store certificates
    match(type: "appstore", readonly: true)

    # Increment build number
    increment_build_number(
      build_number: latest_testflight_build_number + 1
    )

    # Build the app
    build_app(
      workspace: "MyApp.xcworkspace",
      scheme: "MyApp",
      export_method: "app-store",
      derived_data_path: "DerivedData",
      output_directory: "fastlane/builds"
    )

    # Upload to TestFlight
    upload_to_testflight(
      skip_waiting_for_build_processing: true,
      api_key_path: "fastlane/AuthKey.json"
    )

    # Commit the version bump
    commit_version_bump(
      message: "chore: bump build number [skip ci]",
      force: true
    )

    # Tag the release
    add_git_tag(
      tag: "beta/#{lane_context[SharedValues::BUILD_NUMBER]}"
    )

    push_to_git_remote
  end

  # ---- RELEASE ----

  desc "Build and submit to App Store Review"
  lane :release do
    match(type: "appstore", readonly: true)

    # Increment version number (patch)
    increment_version_number(bump_type: "patch")
    increment_build_number(
      build_number: latest_testflight_build_number + 1
    )

    build_app(
      workspace: "MyApp.xcworkspace",
      scheme: "MyApp",
      export_method: "app-store",
      derived_data_path: "DerivedData"
    )

    upload_to_app_store(
      submit_for_review: true,
      automatic_release: false,
      api_key_path: "fastlane/AuthKey.json",
      precheck_include_in_app_purchases: false
    )

    commit_version_bump(message: "chore: release #{lane_context[SharedValues::VERSION_NUMBER]}")
    add_git_tag
    push_to_git_remote
  end

  # ---- ERROR HANDLING ----

  error do |lane, exception|
    # Send notification on failure (Slack, email, etc.)
    # slack(
    #   message: "Lane #{lane} failed: #{exception.message}",
    #   success: false
    # )
  end
end

5. Set Up Automated Screenshots

Fastlane Snapshot captures App Store screenshots across multiple devices and languages automatically. On a dedicated Mac, this runs reliably without competing for resources.

# Initialize snapshot
fastlane snapshot init

# This creates:
# - fastlane/Snapfile
# - fastlane/SnapshotHelper.swift (add to UI test target)

Configure Snapfile

# fastlane/Snapfile

devices([
  "iPhone 16 Pro Max",
  "iPhone 16 Pro",
  "iPhone SE (3rd generation)",
  "iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)"
])

languages([
  "en-US",
  "fr-FR",
  "de-DE",
  "ja"
])

scheme("MyAppUITests")
output_directory("./fastlane/screenshots")
clear_previous_screenshots(true)

# Speed up by running in parallel
concurrent_simulators(true)

Add Snapshot to Your UI Tests

// In your XCUITest file:
import XCTest

class ScreenshotTests: XCTestCase {

    override func setUp() {
        continueAfterFailure = false
        let app = XCUIApplication()
        setupSnapshot(app)
        app.launch()
    }

    func testHomeScreen() {
        snapshot("01_HomeScreen")
    }

    func testDetailScreen() {
        let app = XCUIApplication()
        app.cells.firstMatch.tap()
        snapshot("02_DetailScreen")
    }

    func testSettings() {
        let app = XCUIApplication()
        app.tabBars.buttons["Settings"].tap()
        snapshot("03_Settings")
    }
}

Add a Screenshot Lane

  # Add to your Fastfile:
  desc "Capture App Store screenshots"
  lane :screenshots do
    capture_screenshots
    frame_screenshots(white: true)  # Add device frames
    upload_to_app_store(
      skip_binary_upload: true,
      skip_metadata: true,
      api_key_path: "fastlane/AuthKey.json"
    )
  end

6. Deploy to TestFlight

For CI environments, use the App Store Connect API key instead of your Apple ID credentials. This avoids 2FA prompts on headless servers.

Create an API Key

Go to App Store Connect > Users and Access > Keys
Click the + button to generate a new API key
Select App Manager role
Download the .p8 file
Note the Key ID and Issuer ID

Create the API Key JSON

# fastlane/AuthKey.json
{
  "key_id": "YOUR_KEY_ID",
  "issuer_id": "YOUR_ISSUER_ID",
  "key": "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\nYOUR_P8_KEY_CONTENT\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----",
  "in_house": false
}

# IMPORTANT: Add this to .gitignore!
echo "fastlane/AuthKey.json" >> .gitignore

Run the Deployment

# Deploy to TestFlight
fastlane beta

# Or run the full release pipeline
fastlane release

7. Integrate with CI/CD

Fastlane integrates seamlessly with any CI/CD platform. Here is a GitHub Actions example using your self-hosted Mac Mini M4 runner:

# .github/workflows/deploy.yml
name: Deploy to TestFlight

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: [self-hosted, macOS, ARM64, M4]

    env:
      MATCH_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.MATCH_PASSWORD }}
      MATCH_GIT_BASIC_AUTHORIZATION: ${{ secrets.MATCH_GIT_TOKEN }}

    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up App Store Connect API Key
        run: |
          mkdir -p fastlane
          echo '${{ secrets.APP_STORE_CONNECT_API_KEY }}' > fastlane/AuthKey.json

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          bundle install
          pod install  # if using CocoaPods

      - name: Deploy to TestFlight
        run: bundle exec fastlane beta

      - name: Clean up API key
        if: always()
        run: rm -f fastlane/AuthKey.json

8. Best Practices

Use Bundler for Fastlane version pinning

Add a Gemfile with a pinned Fastlane version. Run bundle exec fastlane to ensure consistent versions across all environments.

Use App Store Connect API keys, not Apple ID credentials

API keys avoid 2FA prompts and are more secure for CI environments.

Use match --readonly in CI

Prevents accidental creation of new certificates. Only generate certs manually when needed.

Use setup_ci in CI environments

This creates a temporary keychain to avoid polluting the system keychain and prevents keychain permission dialogs.

Keep DerivedData for faster builds

On a dedicated Mac, specify derived_data_path to reuse build artifacts between runs.

Fastlane + Dedicated Mac Server: Complete Automation Guide

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