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: $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: $axiom-app-store-ref

3. Rejection Troubleshooting → app-store-diag

Triggers:

"My app was rejected"
"Guideline 2.1 rejection"
"Binary was rejected"
Guideline 4.2 or 4.3 rejection (app too simple, web wrapper, spam, duplicate)
Guideline 1.x rejection (objectionable content, UGC moderation, Kids category)
How to respond to a rejection
Writing an appeal
Understanding rejection messages
Third or repeated rejection
Resolution Center communication

Why app-store-diag: 9 diagnostic patterns mapping rejection types to root causes and fixes, including subjective rejections (4.2/4.3, 1.x). Includes appeal writing guidance and crisis scenario for repeated rejections.

Invoke: $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

6. Screenshot Validation → screenshot-validator (Agent)

Triggers:

"Check my App Store screenshots"
"Are my screenshots the right dimensions?"
"Validate screenshots before submission"
"Review my marketing screenshots"
Screenshot content or dimension questions

Why screenshot-validator: Multimodal agent that visually inspects each screenshot for placeholder text, wrong dimensions, debug artifacts, broken UI, and competitor references. Catches issues that manual review misses.

Invoke: Launch screenshot-validator agent or /axiom:audit screenshots

7. Programmatic ASC Access → asc-mcp

Triggers:

"Automate App Store Connect"
"Submit build programmatically"
"Manage TestFlight from Claude"
"Respond to reviews via API"
"Set up asc-mcp"
"Distribute to TestFlight groups via MCP"
"Create a new version without opening ASC"

Why asc-mcp: Workflow-focused skill teaching Claude to use asc-mcp MCP tools for release pipelines, TestFlight distribution, review management, and feedback triage — all without leaving Claude Code.

Invoke: $axiom-asc-mcp

8. Post-Submission Monitoring → app-store-connect-ref

Triggers:

"How do I view crash data in App Store Connect?"
"Where are my TestFlight crash reports?"
"How do I read ASC metrics dashboards?"
Post-release crash investigation
Downloading crash logs from ASC

Why app-store-connect-ref: ASC navigation for crash dashboards, TestFlight feedback, performance metrics, and data export workflows.

Invoke: $axiom-app-store-connect-ref

Decision Tree

digraph shipping {
    "Shipping question?" [shape=diamond];
    "Rejected?" [shape=diamond];
    "Post-submission monitoring?" [shape=diamond];
    "Automate via MCP?" [shape=diamond];
    "Screenshot review?" [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)"];
    "app-store-connect-ref" [shape=box, label="app-store-connect-ref\n(ASC dashboards/metrics)"];
    "security-privacy-scanner" [shape=box, label="security-privacy-scanner\n(Agent)"];
    "iap-auditor" [shape=box, label="iap-auditor\n(Agent)"];
    "screenshot-validator" [shape=box, label="screenshot-validator\n(Agent)"];
    "asc-mcp" [shape=box, label="asc-mcp\n(MCP tool workflows)"];

    "Shipping question?" -> "Rejected?" [label="yes, about to submit or general"];
    "Rejected?" -> "app-store-diag" [label="yes, app was rejected"];
    "Rejected?" -> "Post-submission monitoring?" [label="no"];
    "Post-submission monitoring?" -> "app-store-connect-ref" [label="yes, crash data/metrics/TestFlight"];
    "Post-submission monitoring?" -> "Automate via MCP?" [label="no"];
    "Automate via MCP?" -> "asc-mcp" [label="yes, programmatic ASC access"];
    "Automate via MCP?" -> "Screenshot review?" [label="no"];
    "Screenshot review?" -> "screenshot-validator" [label="yes, validate screenshots"];
    "Screenshot review?" -> "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
Post-submission crash data/metrics/TestFlight? → app-store-connect-ref
Automate ASC via MCP tools? → asc-mcp
Validate screenshots? → screenshot-validator (Agent)
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.
"I'll just eyeball the screenshots myself"	Human review misses dimension mismatches (even 1px off = rejection), subtle placeholder text, and debug indicators. A single missed issue costs 24-48 hours in resubmission. screenshot-validator catches it in 2 minutes.
"I'll just do it in the ASC web dashboard"	If asc-mcp is configured, MCP tools are faster for bulk operations — distributing builds, responding to reviews, creating versions. asc-mcp has the workflow.

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: $axiom-app-store-submission

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

User: "My app was rejected for Guideline 4.2 minimum functionality" → Invoke: $axiom-app-store-diag

User: "Rejected for being a web wrapper / duplicate app" → Invoke: $axiom-app-store-diag

User: "Rejection for user-generated content without moderation" → Invoke: $axiom-app-store-diag

User: "Kids category compliance rejection" → Invoke: $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: "Check my App Store screenshots in ~/Screenshots" → Invoke: screenshot-validator agent

User: "Are my screenshots the right dimensions?" → Invoke: screenshot-validator agent

User: "How do I find crash data in App Store Connect?" → Invoke: $axiom-app-store-connect-ref

User: "Where are my TestFlight crash reports in ASC?" → Invoke: $axiom-app-store-connect-ref

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

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

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

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

User: "Submit this build to App Store programmatically" → Invoke: $axiom-asc-mcp

User: "Set up asc-mcp for App Store Connect" → Invoke: $axiom-asc-mcp

User: "Distribute build 42 to my beta testers via MCP" → Invoke: $axiom-asc-mcp

User: "Respond to negative App Store reviews from Claude" → Invoke: $axiom-asc-mcp