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skills/charleswiltgen/axiom/axiom-app-store-connect-ref

axiom-app-store-connect-ref

SKILL.md

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.

When to use 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

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 Layout

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [Filters: Platform ▼] [Version ▼] [Date Range ▼] [Compare ▼]           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                         │
│  Crash-Free Users Graph                                                 │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │  99.5% ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────    │   │
│  │  99.0% ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────    │   │
│  │  98.5% ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────    │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                                                         │
│  Crash Count by Version                                                 │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│  │ v2.1.0  ████████████ 1,234 crashes                                │ │
│  │ v2.0.5  ████████ 892 crashes                                      │ │
│  │ v2.0.4  ███ 156 crashes                                           │ │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│                                                                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Top Crash Signatures                                                   │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│  │ 1. EXC_BAD_ACCESS in UserManager.currentUser.getter    45% share  │ │
│  │ 2. EXC_CRASH in NetworkService.fetchData()             23% share  │ │
│  │ 3. EXC_BREAKPOINT in Array subscript                   12% share  │ │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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

Viewing Individual Crash Reports

Crash Signature Detail View

Click a crash signature to see:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ EXC_BAD_ACCESS in UserManager.currentUser.getter                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Affected: 234 devices • 45% of crashes • First seen: Jan 10            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                         │
│ Exception Information                                                   │
│ ───────────────────                                                     │
│ Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)                                         │
│ Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000010                       │
│                                                                         │
│ Crashed Thread (0)                                                      │
│ ─────────────────                                                       │
│ 0  MyApp         UserManager.currentUser.getter + 45                    │
│ 1  MyApp         ProfileViewController.viewDidLoad() + 123              │
│ 2  UIKitCore     -[UIViewController loadView] + 89                      │
│ 3  UIKitCore     -[UIViewController view] + 27                          │
│                                                                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Distribution                                                            │
│ ───────────────                                                         │
│ iOS 17.2: ████████ 65%                                                  │
│ iOS 17.1: ████ 25%                                                      │
│ iOS 16.4: ██ 10%                                                        │
│                                                                         │
│ iPhone 15 Pro: ████████ 45%                                             │
│ iPhone 14:     ████ 30%                                                 │
│ iPhone 13:     ██ 15%                                                   │
│ Other:         █ 10%                                                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Field Diagnostics with MetricKit

ASC dashboards show aggregated data. For granular, device-level diagnostics, use MetricKit to collect crash reports and performance data programmatically.

Setup

import MetricKit

class MetricsManager: NSObject, MXMetricManagerSubscriber {
    static let shared = MetricsManager()

    func start() {
        MXMetricManager.shared.add(self)
    }

    // Called ~once per day with accumulated metrics
    func didReceive(_ payloads: [MXMetricPayload]) {
        for payload in payloads {
            // Performance metrics
            if let launchTime = payload.applicationLaunchMetrics {
                print("Median launch: \(launchTime.histogrammedTimeToFirstDraw)")
            }
            if let hangRate = payload.applicationResponsivenessMetrics {
                print("Hang rate: \(hangRate.histogrammedApplicationHangTime)")
            }
        }
    }

    // Crash and hang diagnostics (iOS 14+)
    func didReceive(_ payloads: [MXDiagnosticPayload]) {
        for payload in payloads {
            // Crash diagnostics with full stack traces
            if let crashes = payload.crashDiagnostics {
                for crash in crashes {
                    print("Crash: \(crash.callStackTree)")
                    print("Signal: \(crash.signal)")
                    print("Exception: \(crash.exceptionType)")
                }
            }
            // Hang diagnostics (iOS 16+)
            if let hangs = payload.hangDiagnostics {
                for hang in hangs {
                    print("Hang: \(hang.hangDuration) — \(hang.callStackTree)")
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

What MetricKit Provides Beyond ASC

Data ASC Dashboard MetricKit
Crash stack traces Aggregated signatures Per-device, full call stacks
Hang diagnostics Hang rate percentage Individual hang call stacks with duration
CPU/memory metrics Aggregated histograms Per-device histograms
Disk write exceptions Total write count Individual write spike call stacks
Custom data correlation No Combine with your own telemetry
Delivery timing 24-48 hour delay ~once daily on device

When to Use MetricKit vs ASC

  • ASC: Team visibility, historical trends, version comparison, triage
  • MetricKit: Device-specific debugging, correlating crashes with app state, custom dashboards, field diagnostics for non-reproducible issues

Related

Skills: axiom-testflight-triage (Xcode Organizer workflows)

Agents: crash-analyzer (automated crash log parsing)

Commands: /axiom:analyze-crash

Resources

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

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

Weekly Installs
55
Repository
charleswiltgen/axiom
First Seen
Jan 21, 2026
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