App Store Release with asc in GitHub Actions

The developer's mental model:

Signed IPA/PKG (from your build step)
  → asc builds upload --wait        # upload + wait for Apple processing
  → asc builds add-beta-group       # optional: TestFlight distribution
  → asc builds update-beta-notes    # optional: "What's New" text
  → asc versions set-build          # link build to App Store version
  → asc versions check-readiness    # gate: verify all checks pass
  → asc versions submit             # submit for App Store review

See workflow-template.md for complete copy-paste workflows.

Mac App Store Certificate Setup

Before the first CI run, you need APPLE_MAS_CERTIFICATE_P12 and APPLE_MAS_CERTIFICATE_PASSWORD. Run the interactive setup script:

.claude/skills/asc-appstore-release/scripts/setup-mas-certs.sh

The script walks through the full mental model:

Generate CSR
  → asc certificates create MAC_APP_DISTRIBUTION  (automated)
  → Apple portal: Mac Installer Distribution cert  (one browser step)
  → Export both as P12 via Keychain Access
  → Print base64 values ready to paste into GitHub Secrets

Install asc in GitHub Actions

- name: Install asc CLI
  run: |
    brew tap tddworks/tap
    brew install asccli

Or download a specific version directly:

- name: Install asc CLI
  run: |
    VERSION="0.1.3"
    ARCH=$(uname -m | sed 's/x86_64/x86_64/;s/arm64/arm64/')
    curl -sL "https://github.com/tddworks/asc-cli/releases/download/v${VERSION}/asc_${VERSION}_macOS_${ARCH}" \
      -o /usr/local/bin/asc && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/asc

Auth Setup

asc reads credentials from environment variables automatically:

env:
  ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
  ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
  ASC_PRIVATE_KEY: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY }}   # PEM content, NOT a path

Required GitHub Secrets:

Secret	Value
ASC_KEY_ID	App Store Connect API Key ID (e.g. 6X3CMK22CY)
ASC_ISSUER_ID	Issuer ID (UUID format)
ASC_PRIVATE_KEY	Full PEM content of the .p8 file

To get the PEM content from your .p8 file:

cat AuthKey_XXXXXX.p8 | pbcopy   # paste as the secret value

Core Commands

# 1. Upload IPA (auto-detects iOS from .ipa, macOS from .pkg)
asc builds upload \
  --app-id $APP_ID \
  --file MyApp.ipa \
  --version $VERSION \
  --build-number $BUILD_NUMBER \
  --wait                   # blocks until COMPLETE or FAILED

# 2. Get the processed build ID
BUILD_ID=$(asc builds list --app-id $APP_ID --pretty | jq -r '.data[0].id')

# 3. TestFlight: add to beta group
asc builds add-beta-group --build-id $BUILD_ID --beta-group-id $GROUP_ID

# 4. TestFlight: set "What's New" notes
asc builds update-beta-notes \
  --build-id $BUILD_ID \
  --locale en-US \
  --notes "Bug fixes and improvements."

# 5. App Store: link build to version
VERSION_ID=$(asc versions list --app-id $APP_ID --pretty | jq -r '.data[0].id')
asc versions set-build --version-id $VERSION_ID --build-id $BUILD_ID

# 6. App Store: gate — verify all checks pass before submitting
READINESS=$(asc versions check-readiness --version-id $VERSION_ID)
IS_READY=$(echo "$READINESS" | jq -r '.data[0].isReadyToSubmit')
if [ "$IS_READY" != "true" ]; then
  echo "Version is NOT ready to submit:"
  echo "$READINESS" | jq '.data[0] | {stateCheck, buildCheck, pricingCheck}'
  exit 1
fi

# 7. App Store: submit for review
asc versions submit --version-id $VERSION_ID

Finding Your IDs

# App ID (do this once, store as a secret or env var)
asc apps list --pretty | jq -r '.data[] | "\(.name): \(.id)"'

# Beta group ID
asc testflight groups list --app-id $APP_ID --pretty | jq -r '.data[0].id'

# Current version ID (latest editable version)
asc versions list --app-id $APP_ID --pretty | jq -r '.data[0].id'