Celia Integral Coach App Development (AI Coach)

Valentine Cheluchi

Completed work

AI Agent Designer

iOS Developer

Conversational Bot

Botpress

Firebase

Fitness & Wellness

Celia Integral Coach (Flutter , iOS, and android)

Production Flutter app for The Fit—chat-based AI nutrition/fitness guidance with image upload, Firebase auth (email/Google/Apple), and Botpress backend. Android is built locally; iOS is built via Codemagic (no Mac required).

Tech stack

Flutter (Material 3)

Firebase: Auth, Firestore, Storage

Botpress: chat API

Codemagic: iOS CI/CD (simulator .app and signed .ipa)

Flutter

Project structure (high-level)

lib/
  main.dart
  services/        # firebase_service.dart (init), API clients
  repositories/    # auth/chat/history data access
  providers/       # app state (provider)
  ui/              # screens and widgets (auth, chat, history)
android/           # Gradle, signing, google-services.json
ios/               # Xcode project, Info.plist, GoogleService-Info.plist

Prerequisites

Flutter SDK 3.x (Dart >= 3.0)

Android Studio or Android SDK + device/emulator

Firebase project with iOS and Android apps created

For iOS device/TestFlight: Apple Developer Program account and App Store Connect access

Quick start

Install deps

flutter pub get

Firebase config files (download from Firebase Console → Project settings → Your apps)

Android: place android/app/google-services.json

iOS: place ios/Runner/GoogleService-Info.plist

Run on Android (debug)

flutter run -d <android-device-id>

iOS via Codemagic (simulator or signed device build). See “iOS builds with Codemagic” below.

Firebase initialization notes

The app initializes with bundled configs by default. See lib/services/firebase_service.dart.

On iOS simulators (e.g., Appetize) you may optionally pass Firebase options via --dart-define if the plist isn’t bundled:

flutter build ios --simulator \
  --dart-define=FIREBASE_API_KEY=... \
  --dart-define=FIREBASE_IOS_APP_ID=... \
  --dart-define=FIREBASE_MESSAGING_SENDER_ID=... \
  --dart-define=FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID=... \
  --dart-define=FIREBASE_STORAGE_BUCKET=...

Android setup

App ID and versioning

App ID: eu.thefit.celia (see android/app/build.gradle.kts)

Version is read from pubspec.yaml (e.g., version: 1.1.4+17)

Signing (release)

Create key.properties at project root (same level as android/):

storeFile=<absolute-or-relative-path-to-release-jks>
storePassword=<password>
keyAlias=<alias>
keyPassword=<password>

Ensure the path points to your release keystore (e.g., a legacy or existing Play signing upload key).

Build AAB for Play Console:

flutter build appbundle --release

Firebase and Google Sign-In

Add your release SHA-1 and SHA-256 in Firebase → Project settings → Android app.

Download and replace android/app/google-services.json after updating fingerprints.

iOS setup (no Mac required)

Bundle ID and device support

Bundle ID: eu.thefit.celia

iPhone-only: TARGETED_DEVICE_FAMILY = 1 and UIRequiresFullScreen = true; iPad orientations removed in Info.plist.

Privacy purpose strings (Info.plist)

Clear, review-friendly text (already added):

Camera: “Celia uses the camera so you can take a food photo to analyze calories and upload it in chat.”

Photo Library: “Celia needs photo library access so you can choose an existing meal image to upload for calorie analysis.”

Photo Library Add: “Celia may save processed images (e.g., analysis snapshots) back to your library when you choose to download them.”

Microphone: “Celia uses the microphone only when you record video with sound for upload; audio is not recorded otherwise.”

Sign in with Apple

Enabled via Firebase’s native Apple provider on iOS.

Entitlement com.apple.developer.applesignin is configured in Runner.entitlements.

iOS builds with Codemagic

You can build two kinds of artifacts:

Simulator .app (unsigned) for Appetize/browser preview

Signed .ipa for TestFlight or real-device testing services

Minimal simulator workflow:

workflows:
  ios-simulator:
    name: iOS Simulator (unsigned)
    environment:
      flutter: stable
    scripts:
      - name: Pub get
        script: flutter pub get
      - name: Build simulator app
        script: flutter build ios --simulator
    artifacts:
      - build/ios/iphonesimulator/*.app

Minimal signed device build:

workflows:
  ios-device:
    name: iOS Device (signed .ipa)
    environment:
      flutter: stable
      ios_signing:
        distribution_type: app_store
        bundle_identifier: eu.thefit.celia
    scripts:
      - name: Pub get
        script: flutter pub get
      - name: Build IPA
        script: flutter build ipa --release --build-number=$BUILD_NUMBER
    artifacts:
      - build/ios/ipa/*.ipa

Codemagic signing prerequisites:

App Store Connect API key or uploaded P12 + provisioning profile

Team ID and automatic code signing enabled in Codemagic

Environment variables

Some optional variables can be injected at build time:

IMGBB_API_KEY (used by image upload feature)

FIREBASE_* values as shown above (only needed if not bundling plist for sims)

Pass with --dart-define=KEY=VALUE or configure in Codemagic UI as secure variables.

Release checklists

App Store Connect (iOS)

App Information complete (name, subtitle, primary category)

Screenshots for required sizes (iPhone only, iPad not required since app is iPhone-only)

App Privacy questionnaire complete

Export compliance answered (standard encryption → ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption=false)

Content rights, age rating

TestFlight notes and demo credentials if sign-in required

Google Play Console (Android)

AAB signed with the correct key (matches Play-registered certificate)

Store listing, content rating, privacy policy URL

App content declarations

Troubleshooting

Firebase not initialized (iOS sim): ensure GoogleService-Info.plist is in ios/Runner/ or pass --dart-define Firebase options.

Apple Sign-In fails on hosted simulators: expected limitation (Keychain/Apple ID); works on TestFlight or real devices.

“Wrong key” on Play upload: verify your release keystore and that key.properties points to the correct JKS used by Play.

Duplicate quick-reply buttons: already de-duplicated in repository/provider/UI logic.

Version mismatch (UI vs store): bump version: in pubspec.yaml and/or pass --build-number in CI.

Security and keys

Config files (google-services.json, GoogleService-Info.plist) contain API keys that must be RESTRICTED in Google Cloud/Firebase. They are not secrets but should be scoped to your app IDs and platforms.

Avoid committing private keystores or P12 passwords. Use environment variables and CI key stores where possible.

Commands (reference)

# Android release AAB
flutter build appbundle --release

# iOS simulator .app (for Appetize)
flutter build ios --simulator

# iOS signed .ipa (Codemagic or local macOS)
flutter build ipa --release --build-number=$BUILD_NUMBER

License

Like this project

Completed work

Posted Oct 8, 2025

Developed a chat-based AI nutrition/fitness app for The Fit using Botpress, Flutter, and Firebase. Celia is an AI fitness agent.

Likes

Views

Timeline

Feb 4, 2025 - Oct 5, 2025

Clients

The Fit