Capawesome CLI 4.5.0 Release

Version 4.5.0 of the Capawesome CLI is here, and it's packed with new features that have been added since the 4.0.0 release. The highlights include full command line management of signing certificates and app store destinations, a streamlined build workflow, and interactive prompts that make the CLI easier to use than ever.

Certificate Management

You can now create, list, update, and delete signing certificates directly from the command line. Whether you're working with Android keystores, iOS certificates, or Web PEM files for Live Updates, everything can be managed without ever opening the Cloud Console. This is especially useful when setting up new apps or rotating certificates as part of your CI/CD pipeline.

For example, to create a new iOS production certificate along with its provisioning profile:

npx @capawesome/cli apps:certificates:create \
  --app-id your-app-id \
  --name "Production Certificate" \
  --platform ios \
  --type production \
  --file /path/to/certificate.p12 \
  --password your-password \
  --provisioning-profile /path/to/profile.mobileprovision

You can also list all certificates for an app to verify your setup or check expiration details:

npx @capawesome/cli apps:certificates:list \
  --app-id your-app-id

The full set of commands includes apps:certificates:create, apps:certificates:delete, apps:certificates:get, apps:certificates:list, and apps:certificates:update. See the Signing Certificates documentation for more details on the different certificate types.

Since these commands work entirely from the command line, they're also a great fit for AI agents that can set up your signing certificates automatically — no manual interaction with the Cloud Console required.

Destination Management

Similar to certificates, you can now manage app store submission destinations entirely from the CLI. Destinations define where your native builds get submitted — whether that's the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Once configured, builds can be automatically submitted to the right store and track after a successful build.

To create a new Google Play destination with a service account key:

npx @capawesome/cli apps:destinations:create \
  --app-id your-app-id \
  --name "Google Play Production" \
  --platform android \
  --android-package-name com.example.app \
  --google-play-track production \
  --google-service-account-key-file /path/to/service-account.json

You can also list all configured destinations to review your submission targets:

npx @capawesome/cli apps:destinations:list \
  --app-id your-app-id

The available commands are apps:destinations:create, apps:destinations:delete, apps:destinations:get, apps:destinations:list, and apps:destinations:update. Check out the Destinations documentation for platform-specific setup guides.

Just like with certificates, these commands open the door for AI agents to fully configure your app store submission pipeline without any human interaction.

Streamlined Build Workflow

The apps:builds:create command now accepts --channel and --destination options, allowing you to build and deploy in a single step. Previously, you had to create a build first and then manually trigger a deployment as a separate step.

For web builds, you can now specify a live update channel to deploy to right after the build completes:

npx @capawesome/cli apps:builds:create \
  --app-id your-app-id \
  --platform web \
  --git-ref main \
  --channel production

For native builds, you can specify a destination to automatically submit the build to the app store:

npx @capawesome/cli apps:builds:create \
  --app-id your-app-id \
  --platform ios \
  --type app-store \
  --git-ref main \
  --destination "App Store Production"

This is especially useful in CI/CD pipelines where you want to keep your build scripts concise.

Interactive Prompts

Starting with v4.2.0, the CLI now prompts you to log in automatically when you run any authenticated command without an active session. No more getting an unhelpful error message — the CLI just asks for your credentials right away. This small quality-of-life improvement removes a common friction point, especially for developers who switch between multiple projects or machines.

Device Channel Management

Sometimes you need direct control over which Live Update channel a specific device uses — whether you're debugging an issue on a test device, delivering a targeted hotfix to a customer, or simply validating a new release before it goes live. With forced channel assignments, added in v4.4.0, you can override the SDK-selected channel on any device directly from the CLI:

• apps:devices:forcechannel: Force a specific device to use a particular channel
• apps:devices:unforcechannel: Remove the forced channel to return to normal SDK behavior

npx @capawesome/cli apps:devices:forcechannel \
  --app-id your-app-id \
  --device-id device-id \
  --channel staging

When a channel is forced, the channel configured by the Live Update SDK is completely bypassed — no app code changes or new builds required. Everything is controlled server-side through Capawesome Cloud. Read our dedicated blog post on Forced Channel Assignments for more details.

Other Improvements

Here are some additional changes across v4.1.0–v4.5.0:

• Set native versions (v4.1.0): The new apps:liveupdates:setnativeversions command lets you configure which native app versions are compatible with a live update channel.
• Multipart upload progress (v4.3.0): Large bundle uploads now show part-level progress, so you can see exactly how far along the upload is.
• Dev version detection (v4.5.0): The update checker now detects development versions and notifies you accordingly.
• Bug fixes: Fixed certificate selection for web builds, improved signing key file handling, OpenSSL 3.x compatibility, and more.

Upgrading

To upgrade to the latest version, run:

npm install -g @capawesome/cli@latest

Try Capawesome Cloud

If you haven't tried Capawesome Cloud yet, now is a great time to get started. Manage your builds, live updates, and app store submissions — all from the command line.

Try Capawesome Cloud Free

Final Thoughts

Capawesome CLI 4.5.0 rounds out the v4.x series with full command line coverage for certificates and destinations, making it possible to automate your entire build and deployment pipeline without touching the Cloud Console. Combined with interactive prompts and the streamlined build workflow, the CLI is now more powerful and easier to use than ever.

For more details on the 4.0.0 release and its breaking changes, check out the Capawesome CLI 4.0.0 Release blog post. If you have any questions, feel free to join the Capawesome Discord server. And don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on the latest releases.