Introducing App Sharing and Testing: Your Path to Google Play Store and App Store
You’ve just built a mobile app in Manus. The logic is sound, the interface is clean, and you’re ready for the most critical step: getting it into the hands of real users. But this is where the real friction begins. The path from a finished app to a shareable, testable build is often a maze of packaging requirements, platform-specific configurations, and documentation that seems designed for seasoned mobile developers, not for product builders who want to move fast.
This is the challenge we’ve heard from you: the creative work is done, but the logistical work of sharing it is a bottleneck. You’re forced to switch from a creator mindset to a release engineer, spending hours or even days navigating the complexities of Google Play and the Apple App Store just to get a test version out the door. The feedback loop is slow, and the momentum is lost.
Today, we’re introducing a better way. With App Sharing and Testing in Manus, we’re closing the gap between development and feedback, turning a complex, multi-day process into a streamlined, guided workflow.
What the Feature Does
App Sharing and Testing is not a “publish to app store” button. Instead, it’s a powerful feature designed to do something far more important in the early stages of your app’s life: get it into a live, testable environment on a real device, with minimal friction. It automates the tedious, technical steps of packaging and uploading your app, so you can focus on what truly matters: gathering feedback and iterating on your product.
For Android, Manus packages your app into the required AAB format, preparing it for upload to the Google Play Console. For iOS, it goes a step further, integrating directly with Apple’s TestFlight service. Manus handles the creation of the app in your developer account, the packaging of the build, and the upload to App Store Connect, triggering the TestFlight review process automatically.
Key Capabilities
•Automated App Packaging: Manus prepares your app in the correct format for both Google Play (AAB) and the Apple App Store (iOS build), eliminating the need for you to manage complex build configurations.
•Direct TestFlight Integration: For iOS apps, Manus uploads your build directly to App Store Connect and initiates the TestFlight process, sending an invitation to your developer email automatically. This removes several manual steps from the process.
•Guided Testing Workflows: The feature provides clear, step-by-step guidance on how to invite internal and external testers for your iOS app through TestFlight, simplifying the process of getting your app to a wider audience for feedback.
Why It Matters
This feature is about speed and focus. By abstracting away the most painful parts of the app sharing process, we’re enabling you to:
•Accelerate Your Feedback Loop: Get your app into the hands of testers in minutes, not days, allowing you to gather insights and iterate faster.
•Reduce Technical Overhead: Stay focused on building a great app, not on the intricate and often frustrating details of app packaging and distribution for testing.
•Demystify the Path to Launch: While this feature is for testing, not direct publishing, it provides a clear and guided on-ramp to the app store submission process, handling the initial, and often most complex, steps for you.
How to Use It
Getting your app ready for testing is now a straightforward process:
1.For Android: In your Manus workspace, navigate to Publish to Google Play. Manus will package your app in the required AAB format. From there, you can follow the provided link to your Google Play Console to upload the build and manage your testing and release process.
2.For iOS: First, ensure you have an Apple Developer account. Then, in Manus, go to Publish, select the iOS tab, and click Create app. Follow the on-screen instructions to let Manus create, package, and upload your app to App Store Connect.
3.Invite Testers (iOS): Once Apple has processed your build, you’ll receive an email from TestFlight. You can install the app on your own device and use App Store Connect to invite other internal or external testers to try it out.
Availability
App Sharing and Testing is available to all Manus users with the Develop Apps capability.
Common Questions
Q: Does this feature publish my app directly to the App Store or Google Play?
A: No. This feature prepares and uploads your app for testing in a controlled environment. Publishing your app to be live on the App Store or Google Play is a separate process that you control through your respective developer accounts.
Q: Do I need a developer account to use this feature?
A: Yes, for sharing an iOS app, an Apple Developer account is required. To publish an Android app on Google Play, you will need a Google Play Developer account.
A Vision for Seamless Creation
We believe the journey from an idea to a real-world application should be as seamless as possible. App Sharing and Testing is a significant step toward that vision, empowering you to build, test, and iterate on your mobile apps with greater speed and confidence. This is just the beginning.