Install & verify dependencies

Last updated 2026-10-07

Install the pinned gems and confirm that fastlane and the plugin load.

Need Ruby or Bundler first?

Bundler2.4 – 4.x

Pins the exact fastlane version through Gemfile.lock.

gem install bundler

Verify: bundle --version

Step 1: Install

From the project root:

my-app — zsh

~/my-app $ bundle config set path vendor/bundle
~/my-app $ bundle install
Fetching gem metadata from https://rubygems.org/.........
Resolving dependencies...
Fetching fastlane 2.240.1
Installing fastlane 2.240.1
Fetching fastlane-plugin-firebase_app_distribution 1.0.0
Installing fastlane-plugin-firebase_app_distribution 1.0.0
Bundle complete! 12 Gemfile dependencies, 108 gems now installed.
Bundled gems are installed into `./vendor/bundle`

bundle install creates Gemfile.lock. Commit it.

This installs fastlane, its dependencies, and the Firebase App Distribution plugin with its dependencies. The optional bundle config set path vendor/bundle keeps the gems inside the project instead of the global gem directory.

Step 2: Always use bundle exec

Warning: from now on, never run plain fastlane … for this project. Always run bundle exec fastlane …. A plain fastlane may pick up a different global version.

Project

Gemfile

Gemfile.lock

exact fastlane version

same environment locally and in CI

my-app — zsh

~/my-app $ bundle exec fastlane --version
fastlane installation at path:
./vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/fastlane-2.240.1/bin/fastlane
-----------------------------
[✔] 🚀
fastlane 2.240.1

Step 3: Check that the Firebase plugin loads

my-app — zsh

~/my-app $ bundle exec fastlane action firebase_app_distribution
Loading documentation for firebase_app_distribution:
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                    firebase_app_distribution                     |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Release your beta builds with Firebase App Distribution          |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| app                      | Your app's Firebase App ID            |
| android_artifact_type    | Android artifact type. Set to 'APK'   |
|                          | or 'AAB'. Defaults to 'APK'           |
| groups                   | Group aliases used for distribution   |
| ...                      | ...                                   |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+

You should see the action's parameters, not “Could not find action”.

Checkpoint
Ruby
Bundler
fastlane
Plugin

Step 4: Commit the lock file

bundle install creates Gemfile.lock. Commit both Gemfile and Gemfile.lock. Do not commit vendor/bundle.

Official documentation

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