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What ReleaseDesk does
ReleaseDesk is a self-hosted place to store application builds and decide who receives them. A build can be a mobile package, a desktop installer, or another supported artifact. The server keeps the file, its hashes, and any metadata it can extract. You then promote the release to a channel such as beta or stable.
There are three ways people and applications reach a release:
- A person opens the public download page or receives a link to a private build.
- An installed application asks one of the update feeds for a release on its channel.
- A tester signs in to the tester portal to find builds shared with their group.
The dashboard uses the same management API that release automation uses. The rdesk CLI can upload, promote, and revoke releases from CI. The CLI also has distribution and store commands, but their current server routes require a dashboard session; an API token alone cannot complete those operations. ReleaseDesk has separate connections for Google Play and App Store Connect; promoting a ReleaseDesk channel does not submit a build to either store.
A release in practice
Suppose a team ships an Android app and a macOS app under one ReleaseDesk app record. They upload an APK and a macOS package with the same version and build number. ReleaseDesk attaches both artifacts to one release. The team can leave that release unpublished while checking the files and release notes, promote it to beta, then promote it to stable when ready. The public page presents the latest available artifact for each platform; update clients query the feed for their configured channel.
The app record is the boundary for releases and channels. The organization is the boundary for members, tokens, testers, and administration. See Core concepts for the precise relationships.
Choose a starting point
| If you need to… | Start with… |
|---|---|
| Publish one build | Publish your first release |
| Add extra files or reusable content | Files, assets, and depots |
| Call the HTTP API | API conventions and Authentication and access |
| Find an endpoint | API reference map |
| Back up your instance | Backups |
| Configure outgoing email | |
| Push to Apple's store | App Store Connect |
ReleaseDesk serves its documentation at /docs/ in a built deployment. The management API is under /api/v1/; public pages, feeds, and downloads have their own paths. Those paths are described in API conventions.