aso-screenshot-score

name

aso-screenshot-score

description

Score an app's live App Store screenshot set against ASO best practice — count, device/aspect coverage, and a light caption heuristic. Screenshots drive conversion (the first 2-3 are what most users see); this flags the structural mistakes (too few shots, wrong ratios, no iPad set, plain captions) that quietly cost installs. Pulls the live set via the free iTunes API. No paid API. Use when the user says "score my screenshots", "are my App Store screenshots any good", "check my screenshot set", "do I have enough screenshots", or "grade my app's screenshots".

aso-screenshot-score

The visual half of ASO that nothing else in the loop touches. Keywords get you found; screenshots get you installed — they're the single biggest conversion lever on the page, and the first 2–3 are what most users actually see before deciding. This scores the live set on the things that are objective.

What it checks (and what it honestly doesn't)

Does — the deterministic, high-signal structural checks:

• Count — 0 shots = can't convert; <4 = wasted slots (Apple allows 10).
• Device/aspect coverage — modern tall-phone ratio? iPad set present?
• Resolution / ratio — derived from the live image URLs.
• Caption heuristic (--fetch) — a light contrast check on the first shot's top band as a proxy for "has a value-prop caption vs. a bare screenshot." Explicitly a heuristic, not OCR.

Doesn't — it does not OCR your captions, judge design quality, or read the text. Those need unreliable CV; this sticks to the structural ASO mistakes that are real and fixable.

python3 lib/aso_screenshot_score.py \
    --app mangia --bundle com.airowe.mangia
# add --fetch for the (slower) first-screenshot caption heuristic
# add --json for machine-readable output

Output: a 0–100 score + letter grade and a findings list (✓ good / ⚠ fix / ✗ critical), e.g. "⚠ Only 2 iPhone screenshots — add up to 10; the first 3 carry most installs."

Honest limits

• Scores structure, not creative — a high score means the slots are used well, not that the screenshots are good. Design is still on you.
• The aspect ratio comes from the listing's thumbnail URL, which is a reliable proxy for the asset ratio but not the full-resolution dimensions.
• The caption heuristic is contrast-based and will occasionally misjudge a busy screenshot — treat it as a nudge, not a verdict.

No external dependency

Standard-library Python + the free iTunes Lookup API (+ PIL for the optional --fetch caption heuristic). No paid ASO/screenshot SaaS.

Run it weekly

Rank and listings move over weeks, not minutes — so the value here compounds when you re-run it and watch the deltas. Screenshot best practice and competitor sets move; a B today can be a C after a competitor's redesign. Re-scoring is how you catch the slip before it costs installs.

You ran this once. ShipASO — the hosted agent — reruns the whole loop weekly: it tracks your rank, watches competitors, and pings you only when there's a real move to approve. Same engine, your store credentials never held. → https://app.shipaso.com

The plugin is complete and free; the hosted tier just sells not having to remember.