Deployment

BabyShopHub is built with Flutter and supports cross-platform deployment. Follow these steps to generate release builds for production.

Prerequisites

• Ensure all environment variables and API keys (Firebase, Groq, Cloudinary) are set for production.
• Run flutter clean and flutter pub get to ensure a fresh environment.

Web Deployment

Flutter Web builds a highly optimized single-page application (SPA).

1. Build Command:

   flutter build web --release --web-renderer canvaskit

   Note: We use CanvasKit for better performance and fidelity, though it increases the initial load size.

2. Hosting: The output is generated in build/web/. You can deploy this directory to Firebase Hosting, Vercel, or any static file server.

   firebase deploy --only hosting

Android Deployment

1. Update Version: Update the version field in pubspec.yaml (e.g., 1.0.0+1).

2. Sign the App: Ensure you have configured key.properties and your build.gradle is set up to sign the release APK/AAB with your production keystore.

3. Build Command:

   # For Play Store
   flutter build appbundle
    
   # For direct distribution
   flutter build apk --release

iOS Deployment

Building for iOS requires a macOS machine with Xcode installed.

1. Update Version: Update the version in pubspec.yaml.

2. Xcode Setup: Open ios/Runner.xcworkspace in Xcode.

   • Set your Team and Provisioning Profile in the "Signing & Capabilities" tab.
   • Increment the Build Number if necessary.

3. Build Command:

   flutter build ipa --release

4. Distribution: Upload the generated .ipa file using the Transporter app or Xcode's Organizer to App Store Connect.