Comparison
AirBuild vs App Center
Microsoft retired Visual Studio App Center on March 31, 2025 — its distribution and CodePush services are gone, leaving only community-run forks. AirBuild covers both halves of App Center's workload: OTA binary distribution with install links, and CodePush-style updates for Flutter and React Native via open protocols.
| Feature | AirBuild | Microsoft App Center |
|---|---|---|
| Actively maintained hosted service | Yes | Retired March 31, 2025 |
| iOS + Android build distribution | Yes | Formerly |
| OTA code updates | Flutter + React Native | Formerly — CodePush was RN-only |
| OTA protocols | Open Shorebird + Expo Updates v1 | Formerly proprietary CodePush |
| Automatic UDID capture | Yes | Formerly |
| Staged rollout percentages | Yes | Formerly |
| Instant rollback | Yes | Formerly |
| REST API + CLI for CI/CD | Yes | Formerly |
| Custom branding on install pages | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable fallback | Not needed — hosted | Community server forks only |
Migrating from App Center?
App Center is retired, so the question is only which replacement fits. AirBuild is a drop-in for both halves of the App Center workflow: upload your IPAs/APKs for link-based distribution as before, and use `airbuild codepush` for the same update-promote-rollback cadence CodePush gave you — now covering Flutter too, on protocols (Shorebird updater, Expo Updates v1) that are open and independently maintained.
Frequently asked questions
Is App Center still available?
No — Microsoft retired Visual Studio App Center on March 31, 2025, including distribution and CodePush. Community forks of the CodePush server exist but are self-hosted and unmaintained upstream.
Does AirBuild's CodePush work like App Center CodePush?
Yes — the same model: publish an update, promote it to a channel at a rollout percentage, and roll back instantly. React Native uses the open Expo Updates v1 protocol, and Flutter uses the open Shorebird updater protocol.
Can I migrate my existing build history?
New uploads start fresh in AirBuild; the CLI makes re-uploading from CI a one-line change, and the REST API can backfill recent builds if you still have the binaries.