Visual Studio App Center Retirement: Why Sentry is Your Next Step

We knew Visual Studio App Center was retiring, but with an official retirement date of March 31, 2025 and today being *checks calendar* 2025 already, it’s time we choose from our App Center alternatives and start migrating over to other tools. 

Here’s a quick guide with links to other resources that will make the migration a little less painful.

How to successfully migrate from Visual Studio App Center

Visual Studio App Center had five main capabilities that mobile developers relied on: cloud-based builds, device testing, distribution, code push, and analytics & diagnostics. We have some recommendations for new tools to migrate to for each of these capabilities, however it's important that you evaluate what will be the best tools for your team. Feature sets, tool compatibility, APIs and extensions, and even the user experience of each tool can greatly impact the ease of migration.

These are our recommendations for alternatives to each of the App Center capabilities:

• Cloud-based Builds: Users relied on App Center for building iOS and Android apps in the cloud.

  • As an alternative, we recommend Ionic. Ionic can get your Cordova, Capacitor, and React Native apps built into iOS and Android native binaries quickly and without complicated build steps.

• Device Testing: Automated mobile app testing on real mobile devices.

  • Being able to test extensively across multiple real devices is absolutely critical before releasing a new version of your app. We recommend BrowserStack's App Automate as the alternative. App Automate offers the ability to test across multiple environments, debug and fix issues instantly with the support of video recordings and screenshots of test runs, and a simple REST API to quickly upload and avoid duplicates.

• Distribution: Deploy apps to testers and stores directly.

  • SauceLabs' TestFairy is a highly reliable app distribution and beta test management tool that has specific support for migrating off App Center.

• CodePush: Over-the-air updates.

  • Luckily, Microsoft will continue to offer CodePush as a stand-alone service. So if you're already used to that, you might need to just verify you have everything configured correctly. Alternatively, Expo offers EAS Update which is particularly useful for projects using the expo-updates library.

• Analytics & Diagnostics: Crash reporting and user analytics.

  • And, for obvious reasons, we recommend Sentry for crash reporting and performance monitoring (more on that in the next section). But don't take our word for it, hear the folks at Infinite Red recommend us on a recent React Native Radio podcast as their preferred alternative to App Center.

And finally, before you get started with your migration, you should probably create an explicit migration plan that includes:

• Audit Current Usage: Identify which App Center features you actively use. Understanding your current setup helps in choosing a suitable alternative.

• Backup Data: Secure all your data. Regular backups prevent data loss during migration. Use cloud storage or external drives for safety.

• Export Projects: Export existing projects from App Center. Ensure you have access to all files and configurations needed for your new platform.

Document Processes: Create documentation of your current app development workflows. This helps in setting up similar processes on a new platform.

Migration Tip: When creating data backups and exporting them, always ensure that the backups are consistent and complete and verify the integrity of the exported data.

Sentry is the crash reporting alternative to Visual Studio App Center

Sentry is already a standard option for crash reporting, performance monitoring, and error tracking for mobile developers across multiple platforms. In fact, NuGet Trends shows that it has reached nearly twice as many downloads compared to App Center, and there are many reasons why:

1. Cross-Platform Support: Sentry supports a wide range of platforms beyond just mobile (including web, backend, and game development), making it easier to monitor your entire stack with a single solution. This unified cross-platform monitoring means you can get a full view of how your app is performing, from mobile devices to backend services, all in one dashboard.

2. Comprehensive Crash Reporting: Sentry captures rich crash data and stack traces, helping you quickly identify the root cause of errors. Sentry automatically groups similar crashes, prioritizes them based on impact, and provides comprehensive crash reporting with detailed metadata to diagnose and fix issues efficiently.

3. Performance Monitoring: Sentry’s mobile performance monitoring provides end-to-end tracing across your mobile apps and backend, allowing you to track app performance, latency issues, and bottlenecks. It helps developers optimize the user experience by identifying slow transactions or UI delays in real time.

4. Session Replay for Mobile: A standout feature of Sentry is Session Replay for Mobile, which allows you to replay users’ sessions to see exactly how they interacted with your app before a crash or issue occurred. This is invaluable for reproducing issues that are hard to replicate in the development environment, reducing the time spent debugging and improving overall user experience.

5. Cost-Effective and Scalable: Sentry offers transparent pricing based on actual usage. You won’t have to worry about surprise charges as your app scales, especially with unlimited team members on certain plans. Whether you’re working with a small indie team or a large enterprise, Sentry’s pricing and scalability ensure it’s a good fit for any business size.

We provide a straightforward setup that supports all the key features you were using with App Center—crash reporting, performance monitoring, and user feedback—so you can transition seamlessly without disruption to your workflows. Our powerful grouping of errors and detailed reporting ensures continuity in monitoring, even if you’re starting fresh. 

Docs

Session Replay For Mobile

Get started with Session Replay for Mobile, now generally available.

Get started

Get started with Sentry for mobile developers

No matter which mobile framework you’re working with, Sentry provides seamless integrations and detailed guides for getting started. Below are the basic steps for integrating Sentry with the major mobile frameworks:

React Native

Setup

Add the Sentry React Native SDK via npm or yarn, and follow the instructions to integrate with both iOS and Android.

Install

npx @sentry/wizard@latest -i reactNative

Configure

import * as Sentry from "@sentry/react-native";

Sentry.init({
  dsn: "YOUR_DSN_HERE",
  tracesSampleRate: 1.0,
  profilesSampleRate: 1.0,
  replaysSessionSampleRate: 1.0,
  replaysOnErrorSampleRate: 1.0,
  integrations: [Sentry.mobileReplayIntegration()],
});

Verify

throw new Error("My first Sentry error!");

Docs and Related Content

• Sentry React Native Docs

• Sentry React Native GitHub Repository

• How to install the Sentry React Native SDK in 60 seconds

• Debugging React Native Apps End-to-End: AMA with Experts from Meta and Sentry

• Smarter Tools and Best Practices for Mobile Debugging: A Hands-On Workshop

Tip 

Make sure to set up Source Maps in your bundler for better stack traces and debugging.

Android

Setup

To get started with Android, install the Sentry SDK to your project through the wizard and configure it for crash reporting.

Install

npx @sentry/wizard@latest -i android

Configure

<application>
  <meta-data 
    android:name="io.sentry.dsn" 
    android:value="YOUR_DSN_HERE" 
  />
  <meta-data 
    android:name="io.sentry.traces.sample-rate" 
    android:value="1.0" 
  />
  <meta-data
    android:name="io.sentry.traces.profiling.sample-rate"
    android:value="1.0"
  />
  <meta-data
    android:name="io.sentry.traces.profiling.enable-app-start"
    android:value="true"
  />
  <meta-data 
    android:name="io.sentry.session-replay.on-error-sample-rate" 
    android:value="1.0" 
  />
  <meta-data 
    android:name="io.sentry.session-replay.session-sample-rate" 
    android:value="1.0" 
  />
</application>

Verify

try {
  throw Exception("This is a test.")
} catch (e: Exception) {
  Sentry.captureException(e)
}

Docs and Related Content

• Sentry Android Docs

• Sentry Java GitHub Repository

• Get started with JetPack Compose

• How to detect, fix, and prevent ANRs

Tip

Configure Custom Context and Custom Tags to gather application-specific data that would give you better insights to leverage when debugging critical customer flows. 

iOS

Setup

The iOS SDK integrates easily through CocoaPods or Swift Package Manager. Follow the steps to capture crashes and performance data.

Install

brew install getsentry/tools/sentry-wizard && sentry-wizard -i ios

Configure

import Sentry

func application(_ application: UIApplication,
    didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {

    SentrySDK.start { options in
       options.dsn = "YOUR_DSN_HERE"
       options.debug = true
       options.tracesSampleRate = 1.0
	     options.profilesSampleRate = 1.0
    	 options.enableAppLaunchProfiling = true
	     options.sessionReplay.onErrorSampleRate = 1.0
       options.sessionReplay.sessionSampleRate = 0.1
    }

    return true
}

Verify

import Sentry

do {
    try aMethodThatMightFail()
} catch {
    SentrySDK.capture(error: error)
}

Docs and Related Content

• Sentry iOS Docs

• Sentry iOS GitHub Repository

• Smarter Tools and Best Practices for Mobile Debugging: A Hands-On Workshop

Tip

Leverage Breadcrumbs for better tracing of events leading up to crashes.

.NET MAUI

Setup

For .NET developers, Sentry provides SDKs for MAUI applications, enabling seamless crash reporting on both iOS and Android.

Install

dotnet add package Sentry.Maui -v 5.0.0

Configure

public static MauiApp CreateMauiApp()
{
    var builder = MauiApp.CreateBuilder();
    builder
        .UseMauiApp<App>()

        .UseSentry(options =>
        {
            options.Dsn = "YOUR_DSN_HERE";
            options.Debug = true;
            options.TracesSampleRate = 1.0;
        })

    return builder.Build();
}

Verify

try
{
    throw null;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    SentrySdk.CaptureException(ex);
}

Docs and Related Content

• Sentry .NET MAUI Docs

• Sentry .NET MAUI GitHub Repository

• Error monitoring for .NET MAUI with Sentry On .NET

• AppCenter retirement - Migration guides GitHub Discussion

Tip

Make sure to enable Screenshots so that Sentry can couple them with your errors for a more insightful debugging experience.

.NET Xamarin

Setup

In addition to supporting .NET MAUI applications, Sentry can be integrated with Xamarin applications built for iOS, Android, Tizen, and Windows (as UWP apps).

Install

For Xamarin.Forms:

dotnet add package Sentry.Xamarin.Forms -v 2.1.0

For Xamarin, without Xamarin.Forms:

dotnet add package Sentry.Xamarin -v 2.1.0

Configure

The initialization code below should be placed in the relevant method so the SDK is configured as early as possible. For an example, the start of OnCreate on MainActivity for Android, or the top of the FinishedLaunching on AppDelegate for iOS.

SentryXamarin.Init(options =>
{
    options.AddXamarinFormsIntegration();
    options.Dsn = "YOUR_DSN_HERE";
    options.Debug = true;
    options.TracesSampleRate = 1.0;
});

Verify

The SDK automatically handles AppDomain.UnhandledException and Application.UnhandledException:

throw null;

Docs and Related Content

• Sentry for Xamarin Docs

• Sentry for Xamarin GitHub Repository

• NuGet packages

Flutter

Setup

Use the Sentry Flutter SDK to automatically capture crashes, errors, and performance data in both iOS and Android apps.

Install

dependencies:
  sentry_flutter: ^8.11.2

Configure

import 'package:flutter/widgets.dart';
import 'package:sentry_flutter/sentry_flutter.dart';

Future<void> main() async {
  await SentryFlutter.init(
    (options) {
      options.dsn = 'YOUR_DSN_HERE';
      options.tracesSampleRate = 1.0;
      options.profilesSampleRate = 1.0;
      options.experimental.replay.sessionSampleRate = 1.0;
      options.experimental.replay.onErrorSampleRate = 1.0;
    },
    appRunner: () => runApp(MyApp()),
  );
}

Verify

import 'package:sentry/sentry.dart';

try {
  aMethodThatMightFail();
} catch (exception, stackTrace) {
  await Sentry.captureException(
    exception,
    stackTrace: stackTrace,
  );
}

Docs and Related Content

• Sentry Flutter Docs

• Sentry Dart and Flutter GitHub Repository

Tip

For easy isolation of issues, configure your SDK to tell Sentry about your Releases.

The Next Step for Mobile Developers

As we approach the retirement of Visual Studio App Center in 2025, it’s crucial for mobile developers to start planning their transition to new solutions that will continue to support their crash reporting, performance monitoring, and more. Sentry offers a robust, feature-rich alternative that not only meets but exceeds the capabilities provided by App Center.

With Sentry, you can easily migrate your crash reporting and performance monitoring with seamless integrations for React Native/Expo, .NET MAUI, Flutter, Android, and iOS. Plus, features like Session Replay for Mobile provide an added layer of visibility, helping you identify and resolve issues faster than ever before.

Event

Hands-On Workshop

Smarter Tools and Best Practices for Mobile Debugging with Philipp Hofmann and Simon Grimm.

Check out the workshop

Don’t wait until the last minute—start your migration today, and get ready to provide your users with a more stable and performant app experience. With Sentry’s easy setup, transparent pricing, and powerful tools, you’ll be in a better position to maintain your app’s health and deliver exceptional user experiences long after App Center’s retirement.

Feel free to check out the resources linked throughout this guide to help you with every step of your migration process. The new year is the perfect time to make this transition and set your app up for long-term success!

Head over to Discord where we have a thread going where we are available to help mobile devs looking to get started with Sentry.