| name | axiom-shipping |
| description | Use when preparing ANY app for submission, handling App Store rejections, writing appeals, or managing App Store Connect. Covers submission checklists, rejection troubleshooting, metadata requirements, privacy manifests, age ratings, export compliance. |
| license | MIT |
Shipping & App Store
You MUST use this skill when preparing to submit ANY app, handling App Store rejections, or working on release workflow.
Not on Claude Code? Where this router says "Launch some-auditor agent", read that auditor's file in this suite and follow it inline — the same procedure, needing only file search and read.
Homed in another suite: axiom-integration/skills/iap-auditor.md, axiom-security/skills/security-privacy-scanner.md.
Agents that need Bash — builds, tests, simulators, crash symbolication — stay Claude Code-only; there is no inline equivalent for those.
When to Use
Use this skill when you encounter:
- Preparing an app for App Store submission
- App Store rejection (any guideline)
- Metadata requirements (screenshots, descriptions, keywords)
- Privacy manifest and nutrition label questions
- Age rating and content classification
- Export compliance and encryption declarations
- EU DSA trader status
- Account deletion or Sign in with Apple requirements
- Build upload and processing issues
- App Review appeals
- WWDC25/WWDC26 App Store Connect changes
- First-time submission workflow
Quick Reference
| Symptom / Task | Reference |
|---|
| How do I submit my app? | See skills/app-store-submission.md |
| Pre-flight checklist | See skills/app-store-submission.md |
| First-time submission | See skills/app-store-submission.md |
| Encryption compliance | See skills/app-store-submission.md |
| Accessibility Nutrition Labels | See skills/app-store-submission.md |
| Metadata field requirements | See skills/app-store-ref.md |
Product Page Header, Asset Library, search visuals OS27 | See skills/app-store-ref.md (Part 11) |
Retention Messaging (subscription cancellation flow) OS27 | See skills/app-store-ref.md (Part 11) |
Group / volume subscription selling (ABM, ASM, volume pricing) OS27 | See skills/app-store-ref.md (Part 11) |
| Guideline number lookup | See skills/app-store-ref.md |
| Privacy manifest schema | See skills/app-store-ref.md |
| Age rating tiers | See skills/app-store-ref.md |
| EU DSA compliance | See skills/app-store-ref.md |
| WWDC25/WWDC26 ASC changes | See skills/app-store-ref.md |
| App was rejected | See skills/app-store-diag.md |
| Guideline 2.1/4.2/4.3 rejection | See skills/app-store-diag.md |
| Writing an appeal | See skills/app-store-diag.md |
| Repeated rejections | See skills/app-store-diag.md |
| App Review Guidelines reference | See skills/app-review-guidelines.md |
| Expert review checklist | See skills/expert-review-checklist.md |
Routing Logic
1. Pre-Submission Preparation → app-store-submission
Triggers:
- "How do I submit my app?"
- "What do I need before submitting?"
- Preparing for first submission
- Pre-flight checklist needed
- Screenshot requirements
- Metadata completeness check
- Encryption compliance questions
- Accessibility Nutrition Labels
- Privacy manifest requirements for submission
Why app-store-submission: Discipline skill with 8 anti-patterns, decision trees, and pressure scenarios. Prevents the mistakes that cause 90% of rejections.
Reference: skills/app-store-submission.md
2. Metadata, Guidelines, and API Reference → app-store-ref
Triggers:
- "What fields are required in App Store Connect?"
- "What's the max length for app description?"
- Specific guideline number lookup
- Privacy manifest schema details
- Age rating tiers and questionnaire
- IAP submission metadata
- EU DSA compliance details
- Build upload methods
- WWDC25 and WWDC26 changes to App Store Connect
Why app-store-ref: 11-part reference covering every metadata field, guideline, and compliance requirement with exact specifications.
Reference: skills/app-store-ref.md
3. Rejection Troubleshooting → app-store-diag
Triggers:
- "My app was rejected"
- "Guideline 2.1 rejection"
- "Binary was rejected"
- Guideline 4.2 or 4.3 rejection (app too simple, web wrapper, spam, duplicate)
- Guideline 1.x rejection (objectionable content, UGC moderation, Kids category)
- How to respond to a rejection
- Writing an appeal
- Understanding rejection messages
- Third or repeated rejection
- Resolution Center communication
Why app-store-diag: 9 diagnostic patterns mapping rejection types to root causes and fixes, including subjective rejections (4.2/4.3, 1.x). Includes appeal writing guidance and crisis scenario for repeated rejections.
Reference: skills/app-store-diag.md
4. Privacy & Security Compliance → security-privacy-scanner (Agent)
Triggers:
- "Scan my code for privacy issues before submission"
- Hardcoded API keys or secrets
- Missing privacy manifest
- Required Reason API declarations
- ATS violations
Why security-privacy-scanner: Autonomous agent that scans for security vulnerabilities and privacy compliance issues that cause rejections.
Invoke: Launch security-privacy-scanner agent or /axiom:audit security
5. IAP Review Issues → iap-auditor (Agent)
Triggers:
- IAP rejected or not working
- Missing transaction.finish()
- Missing restore purchases
- Subscription tracking issues
Why iap-auditor: Scans IAP code for the patterns that cause StoreKit rejections.
Invoke: Launch iap-auditor agent
6. Screenshot Validation → screenshot-validator (Agent)
Triggers:
- "Check my App Store screenshots"
- "Are my screenshots the right dimensions?"
- "Validate screenshots before submission"
- "Review my marketing screenshots"
- Screenshot content or dimension questions
Why screenshot-validator: Multimodal agent that visually inspects each screenshot for placeholder text, wrong dimensions, debug artifacts, broken UI, and competitor references. Catches issues that manual review misses.
Invoke: Launch screenshot-validator agent or /axiom:audit screenshots
7. Programmatic ASC Access → asc-mcp
Triggers:
- "Automate App Store Connect"
- "Submit build programmatically"
- "Manage TestFlight from Claude"
- "Respond to reviews via API"
- "Set up asc-mcp"
- "Distribute to TestFlight groups via MCP"
- "Create a new version without opening ASC"
Why asc-mcp: Workflow-focused skill teaching Claude to use asc-mcp MCP tools for release pipelines, TestFlight distribution, review management, and feedback triage — all without leaving Claude Code.
Reference: skills/asc-mcp.md
8. Post-Submission Monitoring → app-store-connect-ref
Triggers:
- "How do I view crash data in App Store Connect?"
- "Where are my TestFlight crash reports?"
- "How do I read ASC metrics dashboards?"
- Post-release crash investigation
- Downloading crash logs from ASC
Why app-store-connect-ref: ASC navigation for crash dashboards, TestFlight feedback, performance metrics, and data export workflows.
Reference: skills/app-store-connect-ref.md
9. Beta Crash Triage → testflight-triage
Triggers:
- Beta tester reports a crash
- Crash appears in Organizer or App Store Connect
- Crash logs need symbolication
- Post-release crash investigation (single file or Organizer)
Why testflight-triage: Systematic crash triage from symbolication through root cause analysis. Uses xcsym as the first step (parse → discover dSYMs → symbolicate → categorize with pattern_tag → emit structured JSON).
Reference: skills/testflight-triage.md. For the xcsym subcommand/exit-code reference, see axiom-tools (skills/xcsym-ref.md). For the one-call agent workflow, /axiom:analyze-crash.
10a. Production Corpus Triage → production-triage / triage-analyzer
Triggers:
- "Triage my Sentry crashes"
- "What are the top crash families in production?"
- "Show me which issues to fix first from App Store Connect"
- Multiple grouped issues from an aggregator (Sentry, ASC) — dozens of issues, not a single file
- "Which of these crashes are real bugs vs noise?"
- Corpus-level hang triage ("Are my ANR reports real blocks?")
Why production-triage: Corpus-level triage requires fetching from an aggregator, classifying each issue, noise-flagging suspension false-positives, and clustering into root-cause families. testflight-triage covers the Organizer path — single files and the local on-disk .xccrashpoint corpus; production-triage covers the aggregator path (Sentry / ASC grouped issues).
Reference: skills/production-triage.md (fetch + NormalizedReport schema + flag-never-hide rule). Agent: triage-analyzer or /axiom:triage sentry / /axiom:triage asc.
10. Distribution Signing Issues → code-signing / code-signing-diag
Triggers:
- ITMS-90035 Invalid Signature on upload
- ITMS-90161 Invalid Provisioning Profile
- "No signing certificate found" when archiving
- Certificate expired before submission
- Archive succeeds but export/upload fails
- Profile doesn't match bundle ID
- Entitlement mismatch on upload
Why code-signing: Distribution signing errors are the #1 cause of upload failures. Diagnosing with CLI tools takes 5 minutes. code-signing-diag has 6 decision trees mapping ITMS errors to root causes.
Reference: See axiom-security (skills/code-signing-diag.md) (troubleshooting) or See axiom-security (skills/code-signing.md) (setup)
11. App Clips → app-clips
Triggers:
- Adding an App Clip target, or choosing an invocation method
- "What's the App Clip size limit?" / build exceeds maximum size
- Associated domains / AASA for App Clip links
- App Store Connect default and advanced launch experiences
- Handing App Clip data off to the full app on upgrade
- "My App Clip link does nothing"
Why app-clips: App Clips ship embedded in the full app and live under tight size (10/15/100 MB), entitlement, and capability limits. The discipline covers the size tiers, entitlements, AASA, and data handoff; the reference has the tables.
Reference: skills/app-clips.md, skills/app-clips-ref.md
Decision Tree
digraph shipping {
"Shipping question?" [shape=diamond];
"Rejected?" [shape=diamond];
"Post-submission monitoring?" [shape=diamond];
"Beta crash triage?" [shape=diamond];
"Automate via MCP?" [shape=diamond];
"Screenshot review?" [shape=diamond];
"Need specific specs?" [shape=diamond];
"IAP issue?" [shape=diamond];
"Want code scan?" [shape=diamond];
"Signing error?" [shape=diamond];
"skills/app-store-submission.md" [shape=box, label="app-store-submission\n(pre-flight checklist)"];
"skills/app-store-ref.md" [shape=box, label="app-store-ref\n(metadata/guideline specs)"];
"skills/app-store-diag.md" [shape=box, label="app-store-diag\n(rejection troubleshooting)"];
"skills/app-store-connect-ref.md" [shape=box, label="app-store-connect-ref\n(ASC dashboards/metrics)"];
"skills/testflight-triage.md" [shape=box, label="testflight-triage\n(beta crash triage)"];
"security-privacy-scanner" [shape=box, label="security-privacy-scanner\n(Agent)"];
"iap-auditor" [shape=box, label="iap-auditor\n(Agent)"];
"screenshot-validator" [shape=box, label="screenshot-validator\n(Agent)"];
"skills/asc-mcp.md" [shape=box, label="asc-mcp\n(MCP tool workflows)"];
"axiom-security/code-signing" [shape=box, label="axiom-security\n(distribution signing)"];
"Shipping question?" -> "Rejected?" [label="yes, about to submit or general"];
"Rejected?" -> "skills/app-store-diag.md" [label="yes, app was rejected"];
"Rejected?" -> "Post-submission monitoring?" [label="no"];
"Post-submission monitoring?" -> "skills/app-store-connect-ref.md" [label="yes, crash data/metrics"];
"Post-submission monitoring?" -> "Beta crash triage?" [label="no"];
"Beta crash triage?" -> "skills/testflight-triage.md" [label="yes, beta crash/symbolication"];
"Beta crash triage?" -> "Automate via MCP?" [label="no"];
"Automate via MCP?" -> "skills/asc-mcp.md" [label="yes, programmatic ASC access"];
"Automate via MCP?" -> "Screenshot review?" [label="no"];
"Screenshot review?" -> "screenshot-validator" [label="yes, validate screenshots"];
"Screenshot review?" -> "Need specific specs?" [label="no"];
"Need specific specs?" -> "skills/app-store-ref.md" [label="yes, looking up field/guideline"];
"Need specific specs?" -> "IAP issue?" [label="no"];
"IAP issue?" -> "iap-auditor" [label="yes"];
"IAP issue?" -> "Want code scan?" [label="no"];
"Want code scan?" -> "Signing error?" [label="no"];
"Want code scan?" -> "security-privacy-scanner" [label="yes, scan for privacy/security"];
"Signing error?" -> "axiom-security/code-signing" [label="yes, ITMS/cert/profile error"];
"Signing error?" -> "skills/app-store-submission.md" [label="no, general prep"];
}
Simplified:
- App was rejected? →
skills/app-store-diag.md
- Post-submission crash data/metrics? →
skills/app-store-connect-ref.md
- Beta crash triage/symbolication (Organizer or single file)? →
skills/testflight-triage.md
- Production corpus triage (Sentry/ASC, multiple grouped issues)? →
skills/production-triage.md + triage-analyzer agent
- Automate ASC via MCP tools? →
skills/asc-mcp.md
- Validate screenshots? →
screenshot-validator (Agent)
- Need specific metadata/guideline specs? →
skills/app-store-ref.md
- IAP submission issue? →
iap-auditor (Agent)
- Want pre-submission code scan? →
security-privacy-scanner (Agent)
- ITMS signing/certificate/profile error on upload? → See axiom-security (skills/code-signing-diag.md)
- General submission preparation? →
skills/app-store-submission.md
- App Clip (size tiers, invocation, AASA, data handoff)? →
skills/app-clips.md, skills/app-clips-ref.md
Platform-specific submission
- watchOS 26 SDK requirement, 64-bit, independent-app submission → See axiom-watchos (skills/platform-basics.md)
Anti-Rationalization
| Thought | Reality |
|---|
| "I'll just submit and see what happens" | 40% of rejections are Guideline 2.1 (completeness). app-store-submission catches them in 10 min. |
| "I've submitted apps before, I know the process" | Requirements change yearly. Privacy manifests, age rating tiers, EU DSA, Accessibility Nutrition Labels are all new since 2024. |
| "The rejection is wrong, I'll just resubmit" | Resubmitting without changes wastes 24-48 hours per cycle. app-store-diag finds the root cause. |
| "Privacy manifests are only for big apps" | Every app using Required Reason APIs needs a manifest since May 2024. Missing = automatic rejection. |
| "I'll add the metadata later" | Missing metadata blocks submission entirely. app-store-ref has the complete field list. |
| "It's just a bug fix, I don't need a full checklist" | Bug fix updates still need What's New text, correct screenshots, and valid build. app-store-submission covers it. |
| "I'll just eyeball the screenshots myself" | Human review misses dimension mismatches (even 1px off = rejection), subtle placeholder text, and debug indicators. A single missed issue costs 24-48 hours in resubmission. screenshot-validator catches it in 2 minutes. |
| "I'll just do it in the ASC web dashboard" | If asc-mcp is configured, MCP tools are faster for bulk operations — distributing builds, responding to reviews, creating versions. asc-mcp has the workflow. |
| "Upload failed with ITMS error, let me re-archive" | ITMS signing errors are configuration — wrong cert, expired profile, missing entitlement. Re-archiving with the same config produces the same result. code-signing-diag has the fix. |
| "It's just a model ID swap (Claude 4.6 → 4.7)" | 4.6 → 4.7 removed temperature, top_p, top_k, and prefill from the Messages API. Build succeeds; runtime returns HTTP 400 after submission. Read claude-api (external) and test the live endpoint before uploading. |
| "My App Clip can be 100 MB, so I'll add an App Clip Code too" | The 100 MB tier (iOS 17+) is digital-invocation-only; adding any NFC/QR/App Clip Code drops the limit to 15 MB. See skills/app-clips.md. |
External Resources
Cloud Claude migration (claude-api skill, ships outside Axiom) — mandatory before shipping any Claude model-ID change. Opus 4.7 removed temperature, top_p, top_k, and prefill from the Messages API; code that built successfully on 4.6 returns HTTP 400 at runtime. An App Store update that ships this regression is an expedited-review situation. The claude-api skill automates the migration (model ID swap, sampling-param removal, prefill replacement) and enforces prompt caching from day one. Treat it as part of your pre-flight checklist, not a side reference.
When NOT to Use (Conflict Resolution)
Do NOT use axiom-shipping for these — use the correct skill instead:
| Issue | Correct Skill | Why NOT axiom-shipping |
|---|
| Build fails before archiving | axiom-build | Environment/build issue, not submission |
| SwiftData migration crash | axiom-data | Schema issue, not App Store |
| Privacy manifest coding (writing the file) | axiom-build | security-privacy-scanner handles code scanning |
| StoreKit 2 implementation (writing IAP code) | axiom-integration | in-app-purchases / storekit-ref covers implementation |
| Performance issues found during testing | axiom-performance | Profiling issue, not submission |
| Accessibility implementation | axiom-accessibility | Code-level accessibility, not App Store labels |
axiom-shipping is for the submission workflow, not code implementation:
- Preparing metadata and compliance → axiom-shipping
- Writing the actual code → domain-specific skill (axiom-build, axiom-data, etc.)
- App was rejected → axiom-shipping
- Code changes to fix rejection → domain-specific skill, then back to axiom-shipping to verify
Example Invocations
User: "How do I submit my app to the App Store?"
→ See skills/app-store-submission.md
User: "My app was rejected for Guideline 2.1"
→ See skills/app-store-diag.md
User: "What screenshots do I need?"
→ See skills/app-store-ref.md
User: "What fields are required in App Store Connect?"
→ See skills/app-store-ref.md
User: "How do I fill out the age rating questionnaire?"
→ See skills/app-store-ref.md
User: "Do I need an encryption compliance declaration?"
→ See skills/app-store-submission.md
User: "My app keeps getting rejected, what do I do?"
→ See skills/app-store-diag.md
User: "How do I appeal an App Store rejection?"
→ See skills/app-store-diag.md
User: "My app was rejected for Guideline 4.2 minimum functionality"
→ See skills/app-store-diag.md
User: "Rejected for being a web wrapper / duplicate app"
→ See skills/app-store-diag.md
User: "Rejection for user-generated content without moderation"
→ See skills/app-store-diag.md
User: "Kids category compliance rejection"
→ See skills/app-store-diag.md
User: "Scan my code for App Store compliance issues"
→ Launch security-privacy-scanner agent
User: "Check my IAP implementation before submission"
→ Launch iap-auditor agent
User: "Check my App Store screenshots in ~/Screenshots"
→ Launch screenshot-validator agent
User: "Are my screenshots the right dimensions?"
→ Launch screenshot-validator agent
User: "Triage my Sentry crashes"
→ Launch triage-analyzer agent (or /axiom:triage sentry)
User: "What are the top crash families in production right now?"
→ Launch triage-analyzer agent (or /axiom:triage sentry)
User: "Show me which ASC issues to fix first"
→ Launch triage-analyzer agent (or /axiom:triage asc)
User: "How do I find crash data in App Store Connect?"
→ See skills/app-store-connect-ref.md
User: "Where are my TestFlight crash reports in ASC?"
→ See skills/app-store-connect-ref.md
User: "What's new in App Store Connect this year?"
→ See skills/app-store-ref.md
User: "I need to set up DSA trader status for the EU"
→ See skills/app-store-ref.md
User: "What are Accessibility Nutrition Labels?"
→ See skills/app-store-submission.md
User: "This is my first app submission ever"
→ See skills/app-store-submission.md
User: "Submit this build to App Store programmatically"
→ See skills/asc-mcp.md
User: "Set up asc-mcp for App Store Connect"
→ See skills/asc-mcp.md
User: "Distribute build 42 to my beta testers via MCP"
→ See skills/asc-mcp.md
User: "Respond to negative App Store reviews from Claude"
→ See skills/asc-mcp.md
User: "ITMS-90035 Invalid Signature when uploading"
→ See axiom-security (skills/code-signing-diag.md)
User: "My provisioning profile expired and I can't upload"
→ See axiom-security (skills/code-signing-diag.md)
User: "How do I add an App Clip?" / "What's the App Clip size limit?" / "My App Clip link does nothing"
→ See skills/app-clips.md
