Why Windmill?
Unparalleled user experience
Windmill provides a native macOS app optimised for performance and to be lightweight. Exactly what you would expect from an app built for purpose.
Zero maintenance cost
No scripts to maintain. No time spent debugging.
No need to have a stakeholder or a dedicated team.
Make use of the hardware on your premises
Windmill spans across your development and dedicated Mac hardware already purchased within your organisation, used by developers and owned by your engineering team. Why pay the extra cost to lease infrastructure on the cloud for continuous delivery alone?
You set the limits and availability of your hardware
Windmill makes the best use of your hardware without any constraints.
Run an infinite number of builds, every second, any time during the day.
Security
Since Windmill runs on hardware under your control, your developer certificate, provisioning profiles and private key stay with you in the keychain.
Privacy
You remain anonymous while using Windmill.
Windmill uses your Apple credentials to secure your Windmill account and create a seamless experience across your devices.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who is Windmill best suited for?
- A small, medium business in the same office space doing native iOS development, a team of developers and the individual.
- While a developer uses Windmill on their Mac, as an organisation you use Windmill to monitor the “master” branch on a dedicated Mac and manage your application’s delivery. To get a better understanding on how to make the most of Windmill, you can read the Introducing Workflow blog post.
- I work in a team of developers. Should we all use Windmill?
- Yes. Each of you should be running an instance of Windmill.
- You should be using Windmill to monitor the branch you are currently working on. On every commit, Windmill will checkout, build and test your code to prevent any regressions. You should also use it to monitor the “master” branch to additionally export, archive and distribute every time you merge.
- Where do I keep Windmill running?
- As an individual, on the Mac where you do your development.
- I am using a cloud continuous integration service. Can I also use Windmill?
- Yes.
- Windmill is focused on software delivery. It provides a tighter integration with Xcode and is built with security and privacy in mind. It is meant to be used locally, alongside Xcode, to get faster feedback and have more control over your codebase and Apple account. Take it for a spin. Windmill on the Mac is free.
- I am using a continuous integration service. Can I replace it with Windmill?
- Maybe.
- Windmill is not designed to continuously integrate dependencies or monitor every branch in your project’s repository.
- Does Windmill support scripts?
- No.
- Does Windmill support Carthage?
- Yes, you must have a Carthage installation.
- If you have decided not to keep the source code of the dependencies under source control, you must run “carthage bootstrap –platform iOS” the first time you add your project on Windmill. You are also responsible for updating any dependencies whenever they change. See the Windmill Help menu (⌘?) for instructions.
- Does Windmill support CocoaPods?
- Yes, you must have a CocoaPods installation.
- If you have decided not to keep the Pods directory under source control, you must run “pod install” the first time you add your project on Windmill. You are also responsible for updating any dependencies whenever they change. See the Windmill Help menu (⌘?) for detailed instructions. Alternatively, you can opt in to “keep the Pods directory under source control”.
- Does Windmill support git submodules?
- Yes.
- What are Previews?
- Previews are features that are not quite there yet. Do not rely on them working as expected. Having said that, do use them and please send your feedback. You can enable Previews under Preferences. (⌘,)
- Who is behind Windmill?
- qnoid
- iOS Automation - The Current State of Affairs
- Where can I contact you?
- You can reach me via email.