axiom-app-store-connect-ref

name	axiom-app-store-connect-ref
description	Reference for App Store Connect crash analysis, TestFlight feedback, metrics dashboards, and data export workflows
license	MIT
metadata	{"version":"1.0.0"}

App Store Connect Reference

Overview

App Store Connect (ASC) provides crash reports, TestFlight feedback, and performance metrics for your apps. This reference covers how to navigate ASC to find and export crash data for analysis.

ASC vs Xcode Organizer

Task	Best Tool
Quick crash triage during development	Xcode Organizer
Team-wide crash visibility	App Store Connect
TestFlight feedback with screenshots	App Store Connect
Historical metrics and trends	App Store Connect
Downloading crash logs for analysis	Either (ASC has better export)
Symbolication	Xcode Organizer

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Navigating to Crash Data

Path to Crashes

App Store Connect
└── My Apps
    └── [Your App]
        └── Analytics
            └── Crashes

Direct URL pattern: https://appstoreconnect.apple.com/analytics/app/[APP_ID]/crashes

Crashes Dashboard Sections

1. Filters bar — Platform, Version, Date Range, Compare
2. Crash-Free Users graph — Daily percentage trend line
3. Crash Count by Version — Bar chart comparing versions
4. Top Crash Signatures — Ranked by share percentage, shows exception type and function name

Key Metrics Explained

Metric	What It Means
Crash-Free Users	Percentage of daily active users who didn't experience a crash
Crash Count	Total number of crash reports received
Crash Rate	Crashes per 1,000 sessions
Affected Devices	Number of unique devices that crashed
Crash Signature	Grouped crashes with same stack trace

Filtering Options

Filter	Use Case
Platform	iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS
Version	Drill into specific app versions
Date Range	Last 7/30/90 days or custom range
Compare	Compare crash rates between versions
Device	Filter by iPhone model, iPad, etc.
OS Version	Find OS-specific crashes

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Viewing Individual Crash Reports

Crash Signature Detail

Each crash signature shows:

• Header — Exception type and affected device/crash share counts, first seen date
• Exception Information — Type (e.g., EXC_BAD_ACCESS), codes, address
• Crashed Thread — Stack frames with binary, function, and offset
• Distribution — Breakdown by iOS version and device model

Downloading Crash Logs

1. Click on a crash signature
2. Look for Download Logs button (top right)
3. Select format:
   • .ips (JSON format, iOS 15+)
   • .crash (text format, legacy)
4. Use crash-analyzer agent to parse: /axiom:analyze-crash

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TestFlight Feedback

Path to Feedback

App Store Connect
└── My Apps
    └── [Your App]
        └── TestFlight
            └── Feedback

Feedback Entry Contents

Each feedback submission includes:

Field	Description
Screenshot	What the tester saw (often most valuable)
Comment	Tester's description of the issue
App Version	Exact TestFlight build number
Device Model	iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad Air, etc.
OS Version	iOS 17.2.1, etc.
Battery Level	Low battery can affect behavior
Available Disk	Low disk can cause write failures
Network Type	WiFi vs Cellular
Locale	Language and region settings
Timestamp	When submitted

Feedback Filtering

Filter	Use Case
Build	Focus on specific TestFlight builds
Date	Recent feedback first
Has Screenshot	Find visual issues quickly

Limitation: No Reply

TestFlight feedback is one-way. You cannot respond to testers through ASC. For follow-up:

• Contact through TestFlight group email
• Add in-app feedback mechanism
• Include your email in TestFlight notes

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Metrics Dashboard

Path to Metrics

App Store Connect
└── My Apps
    └── [Your App]
        └── Analytics
            └── Metrics

Available Metrics Categories

Category	What It Shows
Crashes	Crash-free users, crash count, top signatures
Hang Rate	Main thread hangs > 250ms
Disk Writes	Excessive disk I/O patterns
Launch Time	App startup performance
Memory	Peak memory usage, terminations
Battery	Energy usage during foreground/background
Scrolling	Scroll hitch rate

Terminations (Non-Crash Kills)

The Metrics dashboard shows terminations that don't produce crash reports:

Termination Type	Cause
Memory Limit	Jetsam killed app for memory pressure
CPU Limit (Background)	Exceeded background CPU quota
Launch Timeout	App took too long to launch
Background Task Timeout	Background task exceeded time limit

Comparing Versions

Use the Compare filter to see:

• Did crash rate improve or regress?
• Which version introduced a spike?
• Performance trends over releases

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Exporting Data

Manual Export

1. Navigate to Crashes or Metrics
2. Use date range filter to select period
3. Click Export (if available) or download individual crash logs

App Store Connect API

For automated export, use the App Store Connect API:

# Get crash diagnostic insights
GET /v1/apps/{id}/perfPowerMetrics

# Authentication requires API key from ASC
# Users and Access → Keys → App Store Connect API

API capabilities:

Endpoint	Data
perfPowerMetrics	Performance and power metrics
diagnosticSignatures	Crash signature aggregates
diagnosticLogs	Individual crash logs
betaTesters	TestFlight tester info
betaFeedback	TestFlight feedback entries

MCP-Powered Access

If asc-mcp is configured, you can access ASC data programmatically from Claude Code:

Manual ASC Action	asc-mcp Tool
View crash metrics	metrics_app_perf, metrics_build_diagnostics
Download crash logs	metrics_get_diagnostic_logs
List TestFlight testers	builds_get_beta_testers
View app reviews	reviews_list, reviews_stats
Respond to reviews	reviews_create_response
Check build status	builds_get_processing_state
Export sales data	analytics_sales_report (requires vendor_number)

Setup and workflows: $axiom-asc-mcp

Xcode Cloud Integration

If using Xcode Cloud, crash data integrates with CI/CD:

• View crashes per workflow run
• Compare crash rates between branches
• Automated alerts on crash spikes

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Best Practices

Daily Monitoring

1. Check crash-free users percentage
2. Review any new crash signatures
3. Monitor for version-to-version regressions

Crash Triage Priority

Priority	Criteria
P0 - Critical	>1% of users affected, data loss risk
P1 - High	>0.5% affected, user-facing impact
P2 - Medium	<0.5% affected, workaround exists
P3 - Low	Rare, edge case, no impact

Correlating with Releases

After each release:

1. Wait 24-48 hours for crash data to populate
2. Compare crash-free rate to previous version
3. Investigate any new top crash signatures
4. Check TestFlight feedback for user reports

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Common Questions

Why don't I see crashes in ASC?

Cause	Fix
Too recent	Wait 24 hours for processing
No users yet	Need active installs to report
User opted out	Requires device analytics sharing
Build not distributed	Must be TestFlight or App Store

Why are crashes unsymbolicated?

ASC crashes should auto-symbolicate if you uploaded dSYMs during distribution. dSYM files contain the debug symbols that map memory addresses back to function names and line numbers.

Verify dSYMs were uploaded:

1. Xcode → Window → Organizer → Archives → select build
2. Right-click → "Show in Finder" → right-click .xcarchive → "Show Package Contents"
3. Check dSYMs/ folder contains .dSYM bundles

Manual symbolication workflow:

# 1. Download .ips file from ASC (Crashes → signature → Download Logs)

# 2. Find the binary UUID from the crash report
grep --after-context=2 "Binary Images" crash.ips
# Look for: 0x100000000 - 0x100ffffff MyApp arm64 <UUID>

# 3. Locate matching dSYM on your machine
mdfind "com_apple_xcode_dsym_uuids == <UUID>"

# 4. Symbolicate an address
atos -arch arm64 -o MyApp.app.dSYM/Contents/Resources/DWARF/MyApp \
     -l 0x100000000 0x100045abc
# Output: -[UserManager currentUser] (UserManager.m:42)

Common symbolication failures:

Symptom	Cause	Fix
All addresses unsymbolicated	dSYMs not uploaded	Re-upload from Xcode Organizer
Only your code unsymbolicated	dSYM UUID mismatch	Rebuild from same commit
System frameworks unsymbolicated	Normal for device-specific	Use atos with device support files
Bitcode builds unsymbolicated	Apple recompiled binary	Download dSYMs from ASC: Xcode → Organizer → Download Debug Symbols

See crash-analyzer agent for automated parsing: /axiom:analyze-crash

ASC vs Organizer: Which stack trace is better?

Both show the same data, but:

• Organizer integrates with Xcode projects (click to jump to code)
• ASC better for team-wide visibility and historical trends

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Field Diagnostics with MetricKit

For device-level crash diagnostics, hang call stacks, and custom telemetry beyond ASC's aggregated dashboards, see axiom-metrickit-ref.

Key difference: ASC shows aggregated trends for team visibility. MetricKit provides per-device diagnostics you can correlate with your own telemetry.

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Related

Skills: axiom-testflight-triage (Xcode Organizer workflows), axiom-asc-mcp (programmatic ASC access via MCP)

Agents: crash-analyzer (automated crash log parsing)

Commands: /axiom:analyze-crash

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Resources

WWDC: 2020-10076, 2020-10078, 2021-10203, 2021-10258

Docs: /app-store-connect/api, /xcode/diagnosing-issues-using-crash-reports-and-device-logs