Does publishing the app actually take my source code and upload to cloud. More specifically, my source code remains on my machine or it gets uploaded to some cloud server. If so, then is there any possibility, that my source code remains on my development machine and builds can be available in my expo dashboard.
Any clarification related to this is much appreciated…
Thanks in advance to everyone in community for clarifying my query…
Using EAS Build uploads your code to the cloud, but secured under your account, and only for the purposes of building your iOS or Android app binary with the JavaScript code embedded inside of it.
EAS Update/ Classic updates publishes a minified version of your code to the could, which can be downloaded by anyone running your app, so it is “public” in that sense (you need a specific URL, which is embedded in your app, it’s not listed anywhere). This code is equivalent to what can generally be downloaded via the “View Source” feature on a website, which on a modern website is often minified/ obscured, so it’s not particularly human-readable.
The published update code file is also equivalent to what is embedded in your app when you build. So, even if you do not use updates, someone can technically download your app binary, open it, and read your (obscured/ minified) JavaScript. To some extent, in order for your users to run your app at all, some variation of the source code has to exist somewhere where that user can run it. But again, that source is always obscured/ minified, so it’s difficult to read.
Your original source code as committed to source control (with formatting/ comments/ etc.) is never uploaded anywhere publicly accessible.
Thank you so much for your time and for such detailed explanation. Can you please help me to understand, Is it also the same if we use --local option in CLI…
Many thanks in advance…!!
With --local option your sources are not uploaded anywhere, just copied somewhere to tmp directory where the buid is run. With this option builds will not show up in the expo dashboard.
Of course anything Keith mentioned about minified js embeded in APK/AAB or send via EAS Update still applies the same regardless if you are using local or cloud builds.
Thanks for your time and helping me to understand about the flow.