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title Analyze App Bundle Size
impact HIGH
tags app-size, ruler, emerge-tools, thinning

Skill: Analyze App Bundle Size

Measure iOS and Android app download/install sizes using Ruler, App Store Connect, and Emerge Tools.

Quick Command

# Android (Ruler)
cd android && ./gradlew analyzeReleaseBundle

# iOS (Xcode export with thinning)
cd ios && xcodebuild -exportArchive \
  -archivePath MyApp.xcarchive \
  -exportPath ./export \
  -exportOptionsPlist ExportOptions.plist
# Check: App Thinning Size Report.txt

When to Use

  • App download size is too large
  • Users complain about storage usage
  • App approaching store limits
  • Comparing releases for size regression

Note: This skill involves interpreting visual size reports (Ruler, Emerge Tools X-Ray). AI agents cannot yet process screenshots autonomously. Use this as a guide while reviewing the reports manually, or await MCP-based visual feedback integration (see roadmap).

Key Metrics

Metric Description User Impact
Download Size Compressed, transferred over network Download time, data usage
Install Size Uncompressed, on device storage Storage space

Google finding: Every 6 MB increase reduces installs by 1%.

Android: Ruler (Spotify)

Setup

Add to android/build.gradle:

buildscript {
    dependencies {
        classpath("com.spotify.ruler:ruler-gradle-plugin:2.0.0-beta-3")
    }
}

Add to android/app/build.gradle:

apply plugin: "com.spotify.ruler"

ruler {
    abi.set("arm64-v8a")  // Target architecture
    locale.set("en")
    screenDensity.set(480)
    sdkVersion.set(34)
}

Analyze

cd android
./gradlew analyzeReleaseBundle

Opens HTML report with:

  • Download size
  • Install size
  • Component breakdown (biggest → smallest)

CI Size Validation

ruler {
    verification {
        downloadSizeThreshold = 20 * 1024 * 1024  // 20 MB
        installSizeThreshold = 50 * 1024 * 1024   // 50 MB
    }
}

Build fails if thresholds exceeded.

iOS: Xcode App Thinning

Via App Store Connect (Most Accurate)

After uploading to TestFlight:

  1. Open App Store Connect
  2. Go to your build
  3. View size table by device variant

Note: TestFlight builds include debug data, App Store builds slightly larger due to DRM.

Via Xcode Export

  1. Archive app: Product → Archive
  2. In Organizer, click Distribute App
  3. Select Custom
  4. Choose App Thinning: All compatible device variants

Or in ExportOptions.plist:

<key>thinning</key>
<string>&lt;thin-for-all-variants&gt;</string>

Output

Creates folder with:

  • Universal IPA: All variants combined
  • Thinned IPAs: One per device variant
  • App Thinning Size Report.txt:
Variant: SampleApp-<UUID>.ipa
App + On Demand Resources size: 3.5 MB compressed, 10.6 MB uncompressed
App size: 3.5 MB compressed, 10.6 MB uncompressed
  • Compressed = Download size
  • Uncompressed = Install size

Emerge Tools (Cross-Platform)

Third-party service with visual analysis.

Upload

Upload IPA, APK, or AAB through their web interface or CI integration.

Features

Emerge Tools X-Ray for iOS

  • X-Ray: Treemap visualization (like source-map-explorer for binaries)
    • Shows Frameworks (hermes.framework), Mach-O sections (TEXT, DATA), etc.
    • Color-coded: Binaries, Localizations, Fonts, Asset Catalogs, Videos, CoreML Models
    • Visible components: main.jsbundle (JS code), RCT modules, DYLD sections
  • Breakdown: Component-by-component size
  • Insights: Automated suggestions (use with caution)

Caution: Some suggestions may not apply to React Native (e.g., "remove Hermes").

Size Comparison

Tool Platform Accuracy CI Integration
Ruler Android High Yes (Gradle)
App Store Connect iOS Highest No
Xcode Export iOS High Yes (xcodebuild)
Emerge Tools Both High Yes (API)

Typical React Native App Sizes

Component Approximate Size
Hermes engine ~2-3 MB
React Native core ~3-5 MB
JavaScript bundle 1-10 MB
Assets (images, etc.) Varies

Baseline empty app: ~6-10 MB download

Optimization Impact Example

Optimization Size Reduction
Enable R8 (Android) ~30%
Remove unused polyfills 400+ KB
Asset catalog (iOS) 10-50% of assets
Tree shaking 10-15%

Quick Commands

# Android release bundle size
cd android && ./gradlew bundleRelease
# Check: android/app/build/outputs/bundle/release/

# iOS archive
cd ios && xcodebuild -workspace ios/MyApp.xcworkspace \
  -scheme MyApp \
  -configuration Release \
  -archivePath MyApp.xcarchive \
  archive

# Export with thinning report
cd ios && xcodebuild -exportArchive \
  -archivePath MyApp.xcarchive \
  -exportPath ./export \
  -exportOptionsPlist ExportOptions.plist

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