App Store Connect

Nearly everything in App Store Connect can be done through its API, without a browser, in seconds, and repeatably. scripts/asc.mjs wraps the calls a release needs. Use it instead of clicking, and instead of writing one-off scripts per app.

node scripts/asc.mjs                 # prints every command

It reads two things:

• The account key: ~/.appstoreconnect/config.json (keyId, issuerId) and the .p8 in ~/.appstoreconnect/private_keys/. If they are missing, see references/api-key.md; creating a key is an owner step.
• The app's settings: store/asc.json in the app's repo (or --config <file>). Format in references/config.md.

Run it from the app's repository root, calling the script by its absolute path (scripts/asc.mjs here means this skill's folder). apps, bundle-id and review-contact need no settings file. On Windows, Git Bash rewrites an argument that starts with / into a Windows path; the script undoes that for raw, but quoting the path or using PowerShell avoids it.

The two things that need the owner's word, every time

asc.mjs submit sends a version to App Review. asc.mjs release puts an approved version on the store. Both refuse to run without --confirm <version>, and that flag is yours to add only after the owner has said, for this version, to submit or to release. A go-ahead from an earlier version, or "prepare everything", is not it. Owners want to choose the moment, and sometimes change their mind mid-task.

The same guard covers raw: a non-GET call to a submission or release resource is refused without --confirm. Do not look for another way around it.

Everything else the script does can be undone or overwritten and never reaches the public by itself, with one exception: on an app that is already live, promotional text, price and availability change in the store the moment they are saved. asc.mjs text writes promotional text. So for a live app the promotional text is part of what the owner approves before text is run, and price and availability are changed only when asked.

Order of work for a release

asc.mjs apps                         # find the app id (a brand-new app must be created in the web UI by the owner first)
asc.mjs bundle-id com.you.app        # new app: is the bundle identifier registered? (add "<name>" to register it)
asc.mjs review-contact <otherAppId>  # if the account has another app: the contact details and copyright used on it
asc.mjs status                       # what is there now
asc.mjs version                      # create the version, manual release, copyright
asc.mjs info                         # names, subtitles, privacy URL, categories, content rights
asc.mjs text                         # description, keywords, promo text, release notes, support and marketing URLs
asc.mjs shots                        # screenshots from store/screenshots/upload/<locale>/
asc.mjs creative place               # search-results image and header, if made
asc.mjs age                          # age rating answers
asc.mjs price                        # first release only: the price from "price" in asc.json (0 for free)
asc.mjs review                       # contact, demo account, notes
asc.mjs attach store/review/demo.mp4 # the owner's screen recording, if there is one
asc.mjs wait-build 28                # after the EAS upload: wait for Apple's processing
asc.mjs build 28                     # attach it
asc.mjs preflight                    # what is still missing

Each command is safe to run again; it looks at what exists first. Run status after the writes and read it: confirm the text lengths and screenshot counts are what you intended, per locale.

Before running info or text, the listing text must pass ../store-listing/scripts/check-copy.mjs, and the owner must have seen the whole proposal: get approval of the name, subtitle, keywords, category and locales first, then enter them.

Release type. Default to MANUAL. It leaves a gap between approval and release to deploy a backend or pick a launch day.

The first version of a new app has no release notes field, needs a price, and must include the first in-app purchases in the same submission (see ../revenuecat-setup/SKILL.md, step 6).

What the API cannot do

These need the web interface, in a browser the owner has signed in to. Reading or clicking there is a computer-use task; follow ../app-launch/references/computer-use.md (it covers who does the clicking, the sign-in rule, and what the browser agent cannot see).

• Creating the app record.
• Agreements, tax forms and banking.
• EU trader status.
• App privacy answers ("nutrition labels"): draft them from the code, the owner enters them.
• Regulated medical device status.
• App Analytics (impressions, conversion, sources) unless an analytics report request exists.
• Device Preview of creative assets.
• Reading the text of a rejection, and replying to App Review.

One thing sits in between: adding in-app purchases and subscriptions to a version's submission. The API has had a route for it since version 4.4.1 (references/api-notes.md, section 3), but it has not been run here, so the dependable way is still the web interface; either way, read the submission's items back afterwards.

asc.mjs preflight prints this reminder with its result, because a clean API check is not a complete one.

Things worth knowing

references/api-notes.md has the endpoints behind each command and the traps met so far. The short list:

• Name, subtitle, keywords and category go live only with an approved new version. Promotional text is live the moment it is saved.
• An app has two "app infos" while a version is in preparation: the live one and the editable one. The script picks the editable one.
• A locale added in the web UI is pre-filled with the primary language's text. Overwrite every field; do not assume an added locale is empty or translated.
• Locale codes are irregular (it, not it-IT; nl-NL, not nl). The list is in references/config.md.
• Screenshot sets are recognised by pixel size. A size Apple does not accept fails with a clear message before anything is uploaded.
• After shots, screenshots process for a minute or two; status shows COMPLETE when done. While a version is waiting for review, screenshots cannot be changed.
• For anything the script lacks, asc.mjs raw GET "/v1/…" calls the API directly. Read before you write, and prefer adding a command to the script over a one-off. Review details hold the demo account's password; raw hides it in its output, and there is no reason to go looking for it.
• bundle-id with a name and the attach command have not been run against a live account yet (October 2026). Check their result with a read the first time.

Reporting

Report in the owner's terms: which locales now have which text and how many screenshots, which build is attached, the version's state, and what is still missing. Say plainly whether anything was submitted. If a command failed halfway (an upload, a locale), say which parts are done; the commands can be re-run for just the rest (shots de-DE).