GitHub
Keep an app in a GitHub repository. Work on it locally in your own editor, push, and come back to Studio to run, change and publish it. Studio and the repository stay in step both ways:
- Every change made in Studio is a commit. Saves in the editor, publishing settings, store listings, uploads and each agent turn are committed to the branch you chose.
- A push updates Studio. When you push to that branch, Studio takes the new files within seconds.
Studio connects to repositories that already exist; create the repository on GitHub first. Each app is connected to one repository, branch and folder.
GitHub sync is part of the Creator plan. On Explorer, its Free trial link opens the plans, where you can start a free 7-day Creator trial with 500 bonus credits. See Plans.
Before you start
Studio reaches GitHub through the Flet Studio GitHub App:
- Connect your GitHub account. If you signed in to Studio with GitHub, this is already done. Otherwise, Manage › GitHub › Connect GitHub asks GitHub to authorize Studio once.
- Install the Flet Studio app on your account or organization, and choose the repositories it may use. Add an account or organization on GitHub in Manage › GitHub opens GitHub's installation page and brings you back.
Studio lists only repositories you can push to yourself. An installation on an organization doesn't let anyone in Studio use a repository they couldn't push to on GitHub.
Connect a repository
Open the app, then Manage › GitHub, and choose:
- Account: where the Flet Studio app is installed;
- Repository;
- Branch: the default branch is chosen for you;
- Folder: the repository's root, or a folder in it (a monorepo with several
apps). Folders that hold a Flet app (a
pyproject.toml) are marked.
Then choose which files to keep. Connecting makes the folder and Studio the same; after that, changes go both ways.
- Studio's files: the app's files are committed to the folder in one commit. The folder's other files are deleted in that commit (the branch's history keeps them). Files outside the folder aren't touched. An empty repository works too.
- The repository's files: the app's files in Studio are replaced with the folder's. Studio keeps the app's current files as a version first, so you can restore them.
When only one side has files, that side is chosen for you. The folder doesn't need to hold a Flet app: you can connect any folder and let Studio or the agent add the rest.
Public and private apps
A public app can only sync with a public repository, or the repository's private code would be visible to everyone. A private app (Creator plan) can use a public or a private one. When you pick a private repository for a public app, Make app private right there makes the app private and lets you connect. If a connected repository is made private on GitHub, a public app stops syncing until you make it private or disconnect the repository.
How changes are committed
Studio commits to the branch as you work. Each commit names what changed:
| Change in Studio | Commit message |
|---|---|
| Saves in the editor | Edit src/main.py. Saves a few seconds apart become one commit. |
| An agent turn | What the agent did, e.g. Add a dark mode toggle to the app bar, with your request in the message body. A turn is always one commit. |
| Publishing settings | The setting, e.g. iOS: set App ID to dev.flet.todo |
| Store listings | Google Play listing: add Phone screenshots (en-US) |
| Uploads, renames, deletes | Add assets/logo.png, Rename …, Delete … |
Commits are made under your name. If your GitHub account is connected, your GitHub no-reply address is used, so they're linked to your GitHub profile.
Studio only adds commits on top of the branch. It never force-pushes or rewrites history.
When you push
A push to the connected branch updates Studio: changed files are replaced, new ones added, deleted ones removed. If the app is open, the editor and preview reload and Studio says which commit arrived.
GitHub wins. If a push arrives while Studio has changes it hasn't committed yet:
- if they're to other files than the push's, both are kept: Studio commits its changes on top of the push;
- if they're to the same files, Studio's changes are replaced by the push, and Studio tells you which files.
To avoid surprises, push and then wait a moment before editing the same files in Studio, or the other way round.
Versions
For a connected app, the Versions pane shows the branch's commits that touch the app's folder, newest first. The commit Studio's files are at is ticked. Each commit links to GitHub.
Restore makes the app's files what they were at that commit, as a new commit on the branch. The history stays as it is.
Publishing
Builds and store uploads use the app's files in Studio, which are the branch's. A run's details show the commit it built (Run information › GitHub commit).
What isn't synced
- Symbolic links and submodules.
- Files larger than your plan's file size limit.
- Git LFS files: their pointer files are synced, not the files themselves.
- Empty folders: Git doesn't keep them.
Files outside the app's folder are never touched.
Disconnect
Manage › GitHub › Disconnect stops committing and following pushes. The app keeps its files, and the repository stays as it is.
Troubleshooting
Manage › GitHub shows whether the app is in sync. When Studio can't sync, it says why. Fix the cause, then use Sync now. Common causes:
- The Flet Studio app was uninstalled, or the repository was removed from its access: install it again or give it the repository on GitHub.
- The repository was deleted, archived or made private (for a public app).
- The branch was deleted: disconnect, then connect to another branch.
If a push doesn't show up in Studio, Sync now looks for it. Studio also looks whenever you open the app.