App Store Connect Guide: The Basics for First-Time Developers

Quick answer: App Store Connect is Apple's web portal for everything after your code is written. You use it to create the app record, upload builds, run TestFlight betas, enter metadata and screenshots for each language, set pricing, answer privacy and age rating questions, submit for review, and track sales and analytics. Access comes with Apple Developer Program membership.

App Store Connect lives at appstoreconnect.apple.com and uses the same Apple Account as your developer membership. Before you can ship anything, check four things:

• An active Apple Developer Program membership. Individual or organization. The Account Holder is the person who renews it and accepts legal agreements.
• Accepted agreements. Free apps work under the standard developer agreement. To sell apps or in-app purchases, the Account Holder must accept the Paid Apps agreement and complete tax and banking details in the Business section.
• A bundle ID. Register it in Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles, or let Xcode create it with automatic signing.
• A privacy policy URL. Every app needs one, even if it collects no data.

If something is greyed out or you cannot create an app, the cause is usually a pending agreement or a role without enough permissions.

The home screen links to a handful of sections. Here is what each one is for.

There is also an App Store Connect app for iPhone and iPad. It is handy for checking review status, replying to reviews and watching sales, but you will do most setup on the web.

1. Open Apps and click the plus button, then New App.
2. Choose the platforms (iOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS).
3. Enter the name customers will see. It must be unique on the App Store and is limited to 30 characters.
4. Pick the primary language. This is the fallback when a customer's language has no localization.
5. Select the bundle ID that matches your Xcode project. It cannot be changed after you upload a build.
6. Enter an SKU, an internal reference only you see, such as notes-ios-2026.
7. Choose user access if you want to limit which teammates can see the app.

Your app now has a record with an empty first version, usually 1.0. Next, upload a build from Xcode or with fastlane. It will appear under TestFlight first, covered in our TestFlight guide.

The most confusing part for new developers is that metadata lives in different places, and some of it can only change with a new version.

Localizations sit at the top right of these pages. Add a language and you get a separate name, subtitle, keywords, description, promotional text and screenshot set for it. Anything you leave out falls back to the primary language. Our keywords field guide explains how to use the 100 characters well in each language.

Separate pages cover Pricing and Availability, App Privacy (your privacy nutrition label, see App Store privacy labels) and the age rating questionnaire, explained in our age rating guide.

On each version page you upload screenshots per device size. The short version of the current rules: an iPhone app needs a 6.3-inch set (for example 1206 × 2622), plus a 6.9-inch or 6.5-inch set, and an iPad 13-inch set if the app runs on iPad. Smaller sizes are scaled from the larger ones. Full tables live on our App Store screenshot sizes guide.

The Media Manager, opened from "View All Sizes in Media Manager", shows every size slot. Use it when you want a different design for a smaller device instead of the scaled version, or to check what each slot will show.

Upload problems usually come down to three things: wrong pixel dimensions, an alpha channel in a PNG, or the wrong slot. Run your files through the free screenshot size checker before uploading to see which slot each image fits and whether it has transparency.

Inside each app record you will find tabs and sidebar items beyond the version page:

• TestFlight: builds, tester groups, public links and feedback.
• Ratings and Reviews: read reviews by country and reply to them. Replies are public, so keep them short and helpful.
• In-App Purchases and Subscriptions: product IDs, prices, introductory offers and review screenshots.
• Product Page Optimization: test up to three alternative sets of icon, screenshots or previews against your original page.
• Custom Product Pages: extra versions of your product page with their own screenshots and URLs for specific campaigns.
• In-App Events: timed events that can appear on your product page and in search.
• Featuring nominations: tell Apple's editors about a launch or update.

App Analytics is where you learn whether your page works: impressions, product page views and the conversion rate between them. See App Store Connect analytics for which numbers to watch.

Invite teammates instead of sharing your login. Each user gets one or more roles.

Exact permissions change from time to time, so check Apple's roles reference before giving someone access to finance or submissions.

When the build has been tested and the metadata is complete, go back to the version page and:

1. Select the build to submit.
2. Fill in App Review Information: contact details, a demo account if the app needs login, and notes that explain anything unusual.
3. Choose a version release option: release automatically after approval, release manually, or schedule a date.
4. Click Add for Review, then submit.

Your app moves to Waiting for Review and then In Review. Before you click submit, run through the complete App Store submission checklist.