Google Firebase App Distribution API
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For Agents
Upload Android and iOS pre-release builds to Firebase App Distribution and distribute them to tester groups so an agent can ship beta builds straight from CI.
Use for: Upload an Android APK to Firebase App Distribution, Distribute the latest iOS build to the QA tester group, Find all testers in the beta group for an Android app, Add a list of email addresses to a tester group
Not supported: Does not publish to the App Store or Google Play production tracks, run automated UI tests, or collect crash analytics — use for pre-release iOS and Android binary distribution to testers only.
The Firebase App Distribution API automates pre-release distribution of iOS and Android binaries to internal testers, QA teams, and beta groups. It exposes operations to upload release binaries, distribute releases to tester groups, manage testers and groups, and track upload long-running operations. Use it to wire up CI pipelines so each merge produces a build automatically delivered to the right tester group without manual TestFlight or Play Console steps.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the Firebase App Distribution API to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the Firebase App Distribution API, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
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Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with Firebase App Distribution API.
Upload an Android APK or iOS IPA as a Firebase App Distribution release
Distribute a specific release to one or more tester groups or individual emails
Add and remove testers in batch from a Firebase App Distribution group
Wait for a release upload long-running operation to complete before notifying testers
Manage tester groups for a Firebase App Distribution app
Use Cases
Patterns agents use Firebase App Distribution API for, with concrete tasks.
★ CI-Driven Beta Build Distribution
Wire a CI pipeline to upload every passing main-branch build to Firebase App Distribution, wait for the upload operation to complete, and distribute the release to a named tester group. The API replaces manual TestFlight or Play internal-track uploads with a deterministic POST /v1/{+app}/releases:upload call followed by POST /v1/{+name}:distribute. Pipeline integration takes a few hours.
Call POST /v1/{+app}/releases:upload with the APK binary, poll the returned operation via GET /v1/{+name}/operations until done, then POST /v1/{+name}:distribute with groupAliases=[qa-team].
Tester Group Lifecycle Management
Keep tester groups in sync with HR systems by batch-adding new joiners and removing leavers via the App Distribution API. POST /v1/{+group}:batchJoin adds testers and POST /v1/{+group}:batchLeave removes them, while DELETE and PATCH on the group resource support full lifecycle changes. This is suited to teams running large internal beta programmes.
Call POST /v1/{+group}:batchJoin on the group projects/PROJECT/groups/qa-team with emails for the latest joiners list and confirm via GET /v1/{+name} that the group size has increased accordingly.
Release Cancellation and Operation Monitoring
When a build is uploaded but discovered to be defective before distribution, the App Distribution API supports cancelling the in-flight long-running operation via POST /v1/{+name}:cancel and listing recent operations via GET /v1/{+name}/operations. This avoids shipping a broken binary to testers and gives platform teams a record of upload activity.
Call POST /v1/{+name}:cancel on the in-flight upload operation for an Android app and verify by GET /v1/{+name}/operations that its state has moved to CANCELLED.
Agent-Driven Beta Releases via Jentic
An AI agent connected through Jentic can ship a beta build in response to a one-line release request from a developer. Jentic exposes the 18 App Distribution endpoints, the agent loads upload, distribute, and operation polling calls, and OAuth 2.0 credentials remain in the Jentic vault. The agent can also notify the right tester group based on the release notes.
Through Jentic, search for distribute a release to firebase testers, load the releases.distribute operation, and execute it with name=projects/PROJECT/apps/APP/releases/REL and groupAliases=[beta].
Key Endpoints
18 endpoints — the firebase app distribution api automates pre-release distribution of ios and android binaries to internal testers, qa teams, and beta groups.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
POST
/v1/{+app}/releases:upload
Upload an APK or IPA as a Firebase App Distribution release
POST
/v1/{+name}:distribute
Distribute a release to tester groups
POST
/v1/{+group}:batchJoin
Batch-add testers to a group
POST
/v1/{+group}:batchLeave
Batch-remove testers from a group
POST
/v1/{+name}:wait
Wait for a long-running operation to complete
POST
/v1/{+name}:cancel
Cancel a long-running operation
POST
/v1/{+app}/releases:upload
Upload an APK or IPA as a Firebase App Distribution release
POST
/v1/{+name}:distribute
Distribute a release to tester groups
POST
/v1/{+group}:batchJoin
Batch-add testers to a group
POST
/v1/{+group}:batchLeave
Batch-remove testers from a group
POST
/v1/{+name}:wait
Wait for a long-running operation to complete
POST
/v1/{+name}:cancel
Cancel a long-running operation
Why Jentic?
Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.
Credential isolation
Service-account OAuth credentials for App Distribution sit inside the Jentic vault. Agents and CI integrations get a scoped access token with the cloud-platform scope at execution time and never see the JSON key file.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search Jentic with intents like distribute a release to firebase testers and Jentic returns the upload and distribute operations along with their payload and tester-group input schemas.
Time to first call
Direct integration with App Distribution: 1-3 days for OAuth, upload polling, and tester-group sync. Through Jentic: under 1 hour for the management calls; binary upload still uses the standard multipart endpoint.
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
FAQs
Specific to using Firebase App Distribution API through Jentic.
What authentication does the Firebase App Distribution API use?
The API uses Google OAuth 2.0 with the cloud-platform or firebase scope, typically from a service account configured in CI. Through Jentic, OAuth credentials are stored encrypted in the vault and a scoped access token is supplied per request without exposing the service-account key.
Can I distribute a release to a specific tester group with the Firebase App Distribution API?
Yes. POST /v1/{+name}:distribute on a release resource accepts groupAliases and testerEmails arrays so you can target named groups, individual testers, or both at once. Testers receive an email with install instructions for the new build.
What are the rate limits for the Firebase App Distribution API?
Google applies the standard googleapis.com per-project quota for management endpoints. Release uploads return long-running operations and should be polled with exponential backoff rather than tight loops; very large APK and IPA payloads may take several minutes to process.
How do I upload a beta APK through Jentic?
Run pip install jentic, search for upload an apk to firebase app distribution, load the releases.upload operation, and execute it with the binary payload and the parent app resource name. Sign up at https://app.jentic.com/sign-up.
Does the Firebase App Distribution API support cancelling an in-flight upload?
Yes. POST /v1/{+name}:cancel on the long-running operation returned by an upload or distribute call moves the operation to a CANCELLED state, allowing pipelines to abort distribution of a build that fails post-upload smoke tests.
Is the Firebase App Distribution API free?
Firebase App Distribution is included with Firebase at no extra charge for typical pre-release usage. Standard Firebase project quotas apply, and binary storage falls under the Firebase project's storage usage.
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