Release flow (TestFlight and App Store)

Use this skill when you need to get a new build into TestFlight or submit to the App Store.

Preconditions

• Ensure credentials are set (asc auth login or ASC_* env vars).
• Use a new build number for each upload.
• Prefer ASC_APP_ID or pass --app explicitly.
• Build must have encryption compliance resolved (see asc-submission-health skill).

iOS Release

Preferred end-to-end commands

• TestFlight:
  • asc publish testflight --app <APP_ID> --ipa <PATH> --group <GROUP_ID>[,<GROUP_ID>]
  • Optional: --wait, --notify, --platform, --poll-interval, --timeout
• App Store:
  • asc publish appstore --app <APP_ID> --ipa <PATH> --version <VERSION>
  • Optional: --wait, --submit --confirm, --platform, --poll-interval, --timeout

Manual sequence (when you need more control)

1. Upload the build:
   • asc builds upload --app <APP_ID> --ipa <PATH>
2. Find the build ID if needed:
   • asc builds latest --app <APP_ID> [--version <VERSION>] [--platform <PLATFORM>]
3. TestFlight distribution:
   • asc builds add-groups --build <BUILD_ID> --group <GROUP_ID>[,<GROUP_ID>]
4. App Store attach + submit:
   • asc versions attach-build --version-id <VERSION_ID> --build <BUILD_ID>
   • asc submit create --app <APP_ID> --version <VERSION> --build <BUILD_ID> --confirm
5. Check or cancel submission:
   • asc submit status --id <SUBMISSION_ID> or --version-id <VERSION_ID>
   • asc submit cancel --id <SUBMISSION_ID> --confirm

macOS Release

macOS apps are distributed as .pkg files, not .ipa.

Build and Export

See asc-xcode-build skill for full build/archive/export workflow.

Upload PKG

Use xcrun altool (asc doesn’t yet support .pkg uploads directly):

# Ensure API key is in ~/.appstoreconnect/private_keys/
xcrun altool --upload-app \
  -f "/path/to/YourApp.pkg" \
  --type macos \
  --apiKey "$ASC_KEY_ID" \
  --apiIssuer "$ASC_ISSUER_ID"

Attach and Submit

Same as iOS, but use --platform MAC_OS:

# Wait for build to process
asc builds list --app <APP_ID> --platform MAC_OS --limit 5

# Attach to version
asc versions attach-build --version-id <VERSION_ID> --build <BUILD_ID>

# Create submission
asc review submissions-create --app <APP_ID> --platform MAC_OS

# Add version item
asc review items-add \
  --submission <SUBMISSION_ID> \
  --item-type appStoreVersions \
  --item-id <VERSION_ID>

# Submit
asc review submissions-submit --id <SUBMISSION_ID> --confirm

visionOS / tvOS Release

Same as iOS flow, use appropriate --platform:

• VISION_OS
• TV_OS

Multi-Platform Release

When releasing the same version across platforms:

1. Upload each platform’s build separately
2. Create version for each platform if not exists
3. Attach builds to respective versions
4. Submit each platform separately (or together via reviewSubmissions API)

Pre-submission Checklist

Before submitting, verify:

• Build status is VALID (not processing)
• Encryption compliance resolved
• Content rights declaration set
• Copyright field populated
• All localizations complete
• Screenshots present

See asc-submission-health skill for detailed preflight checks.

Notes

• Always use --help to verify flags for the exact command.
• Use --output table / --output markdown for human-readable output; default is JSON.
• macOS builds require ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption in Info.plist to avoid encryption issues.