Item: Codemagic
Rating: 10
Author: Mario Carlos G. González Beamond

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It's our default CI/CD for Flutter applications, and it remediates the need to have Mac computers to prepare most of our deployments. It also makes it easy to push multiple testing options of features and simplify the deployment to the App stores, either together or one at a time for different testing. The main drive for us is to avoid buying Mac computers just to facilitate the Compilation of the app; there are team members in charge of looking at iOS or Mac-specific code for the proyects, but they are focused on programing while we have another team that supports the CD process and it is unnecessary for them to also have Macs just to be able to push to stores. It really solves this problem fantastically. We used to have the first version which included two seats, and it helps a lot. However, given the pandemic and also the functionality provided, we were able to reduce our CD staff to 1 person for the mean time, and Codemagic is definatelly able to handle the workload through our current staff. So I do recomend the team license, but those experimenting on Free, you will be able to scale up easily.

Pros and Cons

Flutter Apps
Deploy to appstores
Build test apps
Easy to scale up once ready
Has extra seats and team settings, through paid options, to support the prior.

One more seat available for free accounts, for the first year or trial.
Improved and simplified secrets management to avoid security leaks.

Most Important Features

Build flutter apps for any supportes platform
Easy to sync with app stores
Fleixibility and free minutes
Easy scalability options and pricing

Return on Investment

Reduce steps and time to deploy flutter apps
Cost of build
Invest in other areas of the architectural process to enhance the products built.

Alternatives Considered

Jira Software

The steps to get Codemagic up and running are nothing compared to implementing a Jira solution and after using the CI/CD options it has enabled. For larger organizations that already have Jira, you might gain in the long run from features like automatic issue tracking and focused CI to remediate and test the apps. But if you are looking for true AGILE development, where you have teams that focus on value and need the CD process done easily, then Codemagic is a much better solution for emerging projects and companies to start.

Key Insights

Do you think Codemagic delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Codemagic's feature set?

Yes

Did Codemagic live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Codemagic go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Codemagic again?

Yes

Other Software Used

ClickUp, GitHub, Microsoft Visual Studio Code

Likelihood to Recommend

For companies currently investing in Flutter app deployment, the CD/CI automation that Codemagic brings to the table is a game-changer. Its decision-making process needs to consider all the architecture in place and in a common scenario with other programming frameworks, the initial investments can seem high. In this sense, Flutter will reduce programming staff needs as you can attack multiple target environments and platforms easily, and at the same time the effort to get it working on app stores is now improved thanks to the focus Codemagic gave to support the FLutter community in targeting this solution to ease the process. If you invest in Flutter, you have to invest in Codemagic.

Support Rating

I have used the Slack channel without any problems, and I have gained a lot of feedback from using this tool. I have also been invited to provide reviews for the app before but in an "informal" manner, and using their own channels via Slack.

Codemagic Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Codemagic is a life and time saver

Overall Satisfaction with Codemagic