Shipping & App Store Router

You MUST use this skill when preparing to submit ANY app, handling App Store rejections, or working on release workflow.

When to Use

Use this router when you encounter:

Preparing an app for App Store submission
App Store rejection (any guideline)
Metadata requirements (screenshots, descriptions, keywords)
Privacy manifest and nutrition label questions
Age rating and content classification
Export compliance and encryption declarations
EU DSA trader status
Account deletion or Sign in with Apple requirements
Build upload and processing issues
App Review appeals
WWDC25 App Store Connect changes
First-time submission workflow

Routing Logic

1. Pre-Submission Preparation → app-store-submission

Triggers:

"How do I submit my app?"
"What do I need before submitting?"
Preparing for first submission
Pre-flight checklist needed
Screenshot requirements
Metadata completeness check
Encryption compliance questions
Accessibility Nutrition Labels
Privacy manifest requirements for submission

Why app-store-submission: Discipline skill with 8 anti-patterns, decision trees, and pressure scenarios. Prevents the mistakes that cause 90% of rejections.

Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-submission

2. Metadata, Guidelines, and API Reference → app-store-ref

Triggers:

"What fields are required in App Store Connect?"
"What's the max length for app description?"
Specific guideline number lookup
Privacy manifest schema details
Age rating tiers and questionnaire
IAP submission metadata
EU DSA compliance details
Build upload methods
WWDC25 changes to App Store Connect

Why app-store-ref: 10-part reference covering every metadata field, guideline, and compliance requirement with exact specifications.

Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-ref

3. Rejection Troubleshooting → app-store-diag

Triggers:

"My app was rejected"
"Guideline 2.1 rejection"
"Binary was rejected"
How to respond to a rejection
Writing an appeal
Understanding rejection messages
Third or repeated rejection
Resolution Center communication

Why app-store-diag: 7 diagnostic patterns mapping rejection types to root causes and fixes. Includes appeal writing guidance and crisis scenario for repeated rejections.

Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-diag

4. Privacy & Security Compliance → security-privacy-scanner (Agent)

Triggers:

"Scan my code for privacy issues before submission"
Hardcoded API keys or secrets
Missing privacy manifest
Required Reason API declarations
ATS violations

Why security-privacy-scanner: Autonomous agent that scans for security vulnerabilities and privacy compliance issues that cause rejections.

Invoke: Launch security-privacy-scanner agent or /axiom:audit security

5. IAP Review Issues → iap-auditor (Agent)

Triggers:

IAP rejected or not working
Missing transaction.finish()
Missing restore purchases
Subscription tracking issues

Why iap-auditor: Scans IAP code for the patterns that cause StoreKit rejections.

Invoke: Launch iap-auditor agent

Decision Tree

digraph shipping {
    "Shipping question?" [shape=diamond];
    "Rejected?" [shape=diamond];
    "Need specific specs?" [shape=diamond];
    "IAP issue?" [shape=diamond];
    "Want code scan?" [shape=diamond];

    "app-store-submission" [shape=box, label="app-store-submission\n(pre-flight checklist)"];
    "app-store-ref" [shape=box, label="app-store-ref\n(metadata/guideline specs)"];
    "app-store-diag" [shape=box, label="app-store-diag\n(rejection troubleshooting)"];
    "security-privacy-scanner" [shape=box, label="security-privacy-scanner\n(Agent)"];
    "iap-auditor" [shape=box, label="iap-auditor\n(Agent)"];

    "Shipping question?" -> "Rejected?" [label="yes, about to submit or general"];
    "Rejected?" -> "app-store-diag" [label="yes, app was rejected"];
    "Rejected?" -> "Need specific specs?" [label="no"];
    "Need specific specs?" -> "app-store-ref" [label="yes, looking up field/guideline"];
    "Need specific specs?" -> "IAP issue?" [label="no"];
    "IAP issue?" -> "iap-auditor" [label="yes"];
    "IAP issue?" -> "Want code scan?" [label="no"];
    "Want code scan?" -> "security-privacy-scanner" [label="yes, scan for privacy/security"];
    "Want code scan?" -> "app-store-submission" [label="no, general prep"];
}

Simplified:

App was rejected? → app-store-diag
Need specific metadata/guideline specs? → app-store-ref
IAP submission issue? → iap-auditor (Agent)
Want pre-submission code scan? → security-privacy-scanner (Agent)
General submission preparation? → app-store-submission

Anti-Rationalization

Thought	Reality
"I'll just submit and see what happens"	40% of rejections are Guideline 2.1 (completeness). app-store-submission catches them in 10 min.
"I've submitted apps before, I know the process"	Requirements change yearly. Privacy manifests, age rating tiers, EU DSA, Accessibility Nutrition Labels are all new since 2024.
"The rejection is wrong, I'll just resubmit"	Resubmitting without changes wastes 24-48 hours per cycle. app-store-diag finds the root cause.
"Privacy manifests are only for big apps"	Every app using Required Reason APIs needs a manifest since May 2024. Missing = automatic rejection.
"I'll add the metadata later"	Missing metadata blocks submission entirely. app-store-ref has the complete field list.
"It's just a bug fix, I don't need a full checklist"	Bug fix updates still need What's New text, correct screenshots, and valid build. app-store-submission covers it.

When NOT to Use (Conflict Resolution)

Do NOT use axiom-shipping for these — use the correct router instead:

Issue	Correct Router	Why NOT axiom-shipping
Build fails before archiving	ios-build	Environment/build issue, not submission
SwiftData migration crash	ios-data	Schema issue, not App Store
Privacy manifest coding (writing the file)	ios-build	security-privacy-scanner handles code scanning
StoreKit 2 implementation (writing IAP code)	ios-integration	in-app-purchases / storekit-ref covers implementation
Performance issues found during testing	ios-performance	Profiling issue, not submission
Accessibility implementation	ios-accessibility	Code-level accessibility, not App Store labels

axiom-shipping is for the submission workflow, not code implementation:

Preparing metadata and compliance → axiom-shipping
Writing the actual code → domain-specific router (ios-build, ios-data, etc.)
App was rejected → axiom-shipping
Code changes to fix rejection → domain-specific router, then back to axiom-shipping to verify

Example Invocations

User: "How do I submit my app to the App Store?" → Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-submission

User: "My app was rejected for Guideline 2.1" → Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-diag

User: "What screenshots do I need?" → Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-ref

User: "What fields are required in App Store Connect?" → Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-ref

User: "How do I fill out the age rating questionnaire?" → Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-ref

User: "Do I need an encryption compliance declaration?" → Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-submission

User: "My app keeps getting rejected, what do I do?" → Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-diag

User: "How do I appeal an App Store rejection?" → Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-diag

User: "Scan my code for App Store compliance issues" → Invoke: security-privacy-scanner agent

User: "Check my IAP implementation before submission" → Invoke: iap-auditor agent

User: "What's new in App Store Connect for 2025?" → Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-ref

User: "I need to set up DSA trader status for the EU" → Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-ref

User: "What are Accessibility Nutrition Labels?" → Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-submission

User: "This is my first app submission ever" → Invoke: /skill axiom-app-store-submission