appstore-release

name

appstore-release

description

Ship an iOS app (built with EAS/Expo) to App Store review end-to-end via the App Store Connect API — credentials, build attach, metadata, screenshots, pricing, age rating, content rights, review info, subscriptions, and the review submission. Use when the user says "publish/submit my app", "send it to App Review", "ship the iOS app", "fill out App Store Connect", "upload metadata/screenshots", or "automate App Store Connect". Parametric: works for any app given an ASC API key + app id + a config file.

App Store Release

Drive an entire iOS App Store submission from the App Store Connect API. Design goal: the user provides credentials + a config.json once, then the agent does everything that is automatable and only interrupts the user for the handful of things Apple genuinely does not expose via API. Do not ask the user to re-confirm things that are already in the config or have sensible defaults.

Operating principle (read this first)

1. Config-driven, not prompt-driven. All app content lives in config.json. Run commands; don't interview the user.
2. Only two things are UI-only (Apple has no API): App Privacy data-collection and first-time subscription attach + submit. The tooling detects and surfaces these with exact clicks. Everything else is scripted.
3. Ask the user only when: config is missing a required field (tell them exactly which), a business decision isn't in config (subscription price, release timing), or before the single irreversible action (final submit). Otherwise proceed.
4. Idempotent: every command is safe to re-run. node cli.mjs release can be run repeatedly.

Architecture (SOLID, so you can extend it)

scripts/
  cli.mjs                 single entrypoint / dispatcher (node cli.mjs <command>)
  lib/                    injected services, one responsibility each
    env.mjs               parse+validate env (creds, app id)
    jwt.mjs               ES256 token provider
    client.mjs            AscClient — auth + HTTP + uniform errors
    discovery.mjs         locate ASC resources by natural key (no hardcoded ids)
    assets.mjs            reserve→upload→commit binary uploader
    config.mjs            load + validate config, list what's missing
    log.mjs               structured results + machine-readable summary
    context.mjs           composition root (dependency injection)
  commands/               one file per task; uniform contract (see _contract.md)

Add a capability = add a commands/x.mjs (meta + run(ctx)) and register it in cli.mjs.

Setup (one time) — see references/setup.md

1. ASC API key (App Manager): download AuthKey_XXXX.p8, note Key ID + Issuer ID.
2. App record exists in ASC (bundle id registered). ASC_APP_ID = numeric id from the app's ASC URL.
3. EAS project configured, eas login done.
4. Fill config.json from references/config-template.json. Validate anytime: any command prints exactly which fields are missing.

Environment

export ASC_KEY_ID=... ASC_ISSUER_ID=... ASC_P8_PATH=/abs/AuthKey_XXXX.p8   # gitignore the .p8
export ASC_APP_ID=1234567890
export APPSTORE_CONFIG=/abs/config.json
cd scripts   # then: node cli.mjs <command>

Runbook

1. Orient

node cli.mjs status          # full read-only overview
node cli.mjs check           # readiness + the UI-only steps still pending

2. Build the binary (EAS)

• If eas build fails with stale credentials ("provisioning profile expired / no certificate with serial…"):

  node cli.mjs credentials     # fresh dist cert + profile → credentials.json
  

  then set "credentialsSource":"local" on the eas.json production profile.
• Build + submit the binary (export EXPO_ASC_API_KEY_PATH/KEY_ID/ISSUER_ID + EXPO_APPLE_TEAM_ID + EXPO_APPLE_TEAM_TYPE for non-interactive):

  eas build -p ios --profile production --non-interactive --no-wait
  eas submit -p ios --profile production --id <buildId>
  

  Wait until the build is VALID (node cli.mjs status).

3. Fill the entire listing in one shot

node cli.mjs release         # attach build → metadata → pricing → content-rights →
                             # age-rating → category → review-info → screenshots →
                             # subscription → check

release runs the whole pipeline (idempotent) and ends with check, which prints the remaining UI-only steps. Screenshots must exist first (config.screenshots.dir) — see references/screenshots.md to generate them.

4. The two UI-only steps (hand off with exact clicks)

check lists these when they apply:

1. App Privacy → Data Collection: declare the data types matching the app's privacy manifest, then Publish. ⚠️ If the binary ships NSUserTrackingUsageDescription but you declare no tracking, Publish is blocked → remove the key, rebuild (references/gotchas.md).
2. First-time subscription: version page → In-App Purchases and Subscriptions → Select → → Save → Add for Review → Submit. (The API can't attach a first subscription.)

5. Submit

node cli.mjs check                 # confirm nothing's missing
node cli.mjs submit --submit       # app-only / updates (no first-time IAP)

For a first-time subscription, the user submits in the UI (step 4.2). Verify with status: version + subscription both WAITING_FOR_REVIEW.

Rejections

On rejection the version becomes editable again (REJECTED/METADATA_REJECTED/DEVELOPER_REJECTED). Read the resolution-center message, fix (metadata via release, or rebuild for binary issues), resubmit.

References

• references/setup.md — key creation, app record, EAS, secrets hygiene.
• references/gotchas.md — every real pitfall (read before the first run).
• references/screenshots.md — generating exact-size PNGs (HTML → headless Chrome).
• references/config-template.json — per-app config (validated by lib/config.mjs).