Microsoft's Visual Studio App Center, previously known as HockeyApp, is retiring today after being launched in 2017.
HockeyApp was acquired by Microsoft in 2014 and was instrumental for in-house iOS and Android app distribution before TestFlight and Google Play Console.
App Center evolved from HockeyApp and offered internal app distribution, testing capabilities, automated builds, and deployment to app stores.
Microsoft recommends alternatives like Azure DevOps Pipelines, GitHub Actions, BrowserStack, and TestFlight for different functionalities that App Center provided.
The shutdown aims to consolidate build tools under Azure DevOps Pipelines and GitHub Actions, eliminating Visual Studio App Center.
Buildstash emerges as a successor to App Center, focusing on managing projects from build to release for various software types.
Buildstash offers features like managing build files, internal distribution, collaboration, instant share links, app updates, and controlled sharing.
The platform plans to introduce integrated QA workflows, collaboration on store rollouts, and more to meet the requirements of software teams.
If seeking an alternative to App Center, interested teams can explore Buildstash, which is currently accepting early access sign-ups.
Buildstash aims to provide a comprehensive solution for managing all types of software builds, emphasizing organization, retention policies, and advanced distribution features.