--- title: "Initialize Shorebird" description: "Learn how to add Code Push to an existing Flutter project." --- Note If you are starting a new project, you can use [`shorebird create`](/code-push/create) to generate a new Flutter app with Shorebird. [Initializing Shorebird in an existing Flutter project](https://app.arcade.software/share/5w5LiD8ODdaGhb6554X9) To configure an existing Flutter project to use Shorebird, use `shorebird init` at the root of a Flutter project: ``` shorebird init ``` This does three things: 1. Tells Shorebird to create a unique `app_id` for your app. This `app_id` is how Shorebird identifies your app and knows which updates to send to it. It does not need to be kept secret. 2. Creates a `shorebird.yaml` file in your project’s root directory. `shorebird.yaml` contains the `app_id` mentioned above. 3. Adds the `shorebird.yaml` to the assets section of your `pubspec.yaml` file, ensuring `shorebird.yaml` is bundled with your app’s assets and is available to the Shorebird updater at runtime. You can safely commit these changes; they will have no effect on your app when not using Shorebird. Example output for an app named `shorebird_test`: ``` $ shorebird init ✓ Detecting product flavors (0.6s) ? How should we refer to this app? (shorebird_test) shorebird_test ✓ Shorebird is up-to-date (0.6s) ✓ Flutter install is correct (4.5s) ✓ AndroidManifest.xml files contain INTERNET permission (23ms) No issues detected! 🐦 Shorebird initialized successfully! ✅ A shorebird app has been created. ✅ A "shorebird.yaml" has been created. ✅ The "pubspec.yaml" has been updated to include "shorebird.yaml" as an asset. Reference the following commands to get started: 📦 To create a new release use: "shorebird release". 🚀 To push an update use: "shorebird patch". 👀 To preview a release use: "shorebird preview". For more information about Shorebird, visit https://shorebird.dev ``` Note You can supply a display name directly via the command line by passing the `--display-name` flag: ``` shorebird init --display-name "My App" ``` Note If your account belongs to multiple organizations, `shorebird init` will prompt you to choose one interactively. In non-interactive environments (e.g., CI), you can skip the prompt by passing `--organization-id`: ``` shorebird init --organization-id 42 ``` Run `shorebird account orgs` to list your organization IDs. The generated `shorebird.yaml` should look similar to: ``` # This file is used to configure the Shorebird updater used by your application. # Learn more at https://shorebird.dev # This file should be checked into version control. # This is the unique identifier assigned to your app. # It is used by your app to request the correct patches from Shorebird servers. app_id: 8c846e87-1461-4b09-8708-170d78331aca ``` If your application contains flavors, `shorebird init` will create an app per flavor and `shorebird.yaml` will include all flavors and their corresponding `app_ids`: ``` # This file is used to configure the Shorebird updater used by your application. # Learn more at https://shorebird.dev # This file should be checked into version control. # This is the unique identifier assigned to your app. # It is used by your app to request the correct patches from Shorebird servers. app_id: 864ab1b0-ba78-4b15-990a-a63cec35a41b flavors: development: 864ab1b0-ba78-4b15-990a-a63cec35a41b production: 6b6e6631-4fbe-4645-8d9d-d5247656d975 ``` Note The `app_id` is a required field in every `shorebird.yaml`. In the case of flavors, `app_id` will default to the first flavor and will be overwritten at build time to the corresponding flavor’s `app_id`. Disabling automatic updates By default, Shorebird checks for and downloads patches automatically in the background at app launch. To disable this and control updates programmatically (e.g., show a prompt before updating), add `auto_update: false` to `shorebird.yaml`: ``` app_id: 8c846e87-1461-4b09-8708-170d78331aca auto_update: false ``` You can then use [package:shorebird\_code\_push](https://pub.dev/packages/shorebird_code_push) to check for updates and trigger them at a time of your choosing. See [Update Strategies](/code-push/update-strategies) for examples. Note Shorebird Code Push requires the internet permission to be added to your `AndroidManifest.xml` file (located in `android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml`). This is required for the app to be able to communicate with the Shorebird servers to download patches. `shorebird init` will add this permission if it is not already present. ``` ... ``` Tip If you already have a `shorebird.yaml` and would like to re-initialize your project, use `shorebird init --force`. This will overwrite your existing `shorebird.yaml` and create a new app/app\_id. Existing apps will not be affected by re-initializing Shorebird. ## What’s next [Section titled “What’s next”](#whats-next) [Create a Release](/code-push/release)Build and submit your app to Shorebird. [Preview Locally](/code-push/preview)Test your release on a local device before publishing.