An app in the dashboard represents one application you ship. Channels are the release tracks inside it. This page covers creating and managing both.
Creating an app
- Open Apps and select Create App.
- Enter an App Name. This is the display name in the dashboard.
- Enter an App ID in reverse domain notation, for example
com.example.myapp. - Choose a Platform.
- Select Create.
You are taken straight to the new app's detail page. A channel named production is created at the same time and marked as the default channel.
The App ID
The App ID is what the plugin configuration and the CLI use to identify your app. It must:
- start with a letter,
- contain only letters, numbers, dots, hyphens, and underscores,
- be at most 255 characters.
App IDs are globally unique across the entire platform, not just within your organization. The update server routes update checks by App ID alone, so no two organizations can share one. If the ID you want is already registered, creation fails with a conflict and you need to remove it from the other organization first, or contact support.
Deleting an app does not release its App ID. The record is soft-deleted and keeps the ID reserved, so recreating an app with the same ID in the same organization also fails — contact support to restore or purge it.
Platforms
| Option | Stored value |
|---|---|
| iOS | ios |
| Android | android |
| Both (iOS & Android) | both |
| Electron | electron |
| All (iOS, Android & Electron) | all |
The default is Both (iOS & Android). The platform is a label on the app; which devices actually receive a given bundle is decided by the bundle's own target platform and the update rules on the channel.
Plan limits
Creating an app requires an active subscription (including an active trial) and room under your plan's app limit. If you are at the limit, creation is refused with a message naming the limit. Channel creation is limited the same way, but the channel limit counts every channel across all of the organization's apps, not per app. Current counts are on Settings > Usage; the limits themselves are in Plans and pricing.
The app list
Apps lists every app in the active organization with its name, App ID, platform, and counts of channels, bundles, and devices. The search box filters the list. Selecting a row opens the app.
The app detail page
The header shows the app name, its App ID, its platform, and a delete button. Below that, the Overview tab shows counts of channels, bundles, deployments, and devices, plus cards linking to each section.
There is no screen for renaming an app or changing its platform after creation.
Uploading signing keys
An app's RSA public key is uploaded from the CLI with dya keys upload, not from the dashboard. The private key never leaves your machine. See CLI commands and Encryption.
Deleting an app
The trash icon in the app header deletes the app after a confirmation dialog. This removes the app along with its channels, bundles, deployments, and devices from every screen, and cannot be undone from the dashboard. As noted above, the App ID stays reserved afterwards.
Channels
A channel is a named release track inside an app — production, beta, and staging are the usual pattern. Devices check a channel by name and receive whichever bundle is currently active on it. Keeping separate channels is how you get a build in front of testers before everyone else.
Open Channels from an app to see each channel's name, its active bundle version, and how many devices are on it. The channel created with the app carries a default badge.
Creating a channel
Select Create Channel and enter a name. Channel names must start with a letter, contain only letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores, and be at most 50 characters. The name must be unique within the app.
Channel settings
The gear icon on a channel row opens its settings. All three are off by default.
| Setting | Effect when enabled |
|---|---|
| Block Major Version Auto-Updates | A device is not offered the channel's bundle if the bundle's major version differs from the version the device is running |
| Block Minor Version Auto-Updates | A device is not offered the channel's bundle if the bundle's minor version differs from the version the device is running |
| Allow Downgrades | Devices are offered the channel's bundle even when its version is lower than the version they are running |
The two version-blocking rules and the downgrade rule only apply when both the device's current version and the bundle version parse as semantic versions. With Allow Downgrades off — the default — a device running a higher version than the channel's active bundle is served no update at all.
Deleting a channel
The trash icon deletes a channel after confirmation. The default channel has no delete button: it cannot be deleted while it is the default.
Moving a bundle between channels
There is no dedicated promote button. To move a release from one channel to another, create a new deployment that targets the second channel and selects the same bundle. Bundles belong to the app, so every bundle is selectable on every channel of that app. See Deployments.