Automate iOS Screenshots with fastlane snapshot (Setup Guide)

Quick answer: fastlane snapshot runs your Xcode UI tests on several simulators and languages and saves a screenshot wherever your test calls snapshot("01Home"). Run fastlane snapshot init, add SnapshotHelper.swift to a UI test target, call setupSnapshot(app) before app.launch(), list devices and languages in the Snapfile, then run fastlane snapshot from the terminal.

snapshot automates the boring part of store screenshots: launching the app on every device in every language and capturing the same screens each time. When your UI changes, you re-run one command instead of tapping through 100 screens by hand.

It captures raw screens only. It doesn't add headlines, backgrounds or device frames, and it doesn't decide which screens sell your app. The pieces fit together like this:

snapshot is an alias of the capture_ios_screenshots action, and fastlane's own examples call it as capture_screenshots inside a lane.

Install fastlane first, either with Homebrew (brew install fastlane) or, better for teams, through Bundler with gem "fastlane" in your Gemfile so everyone runs the same version.

Then follow the steps from the fastlane documentation:

1. In Xcode, add a UI Testing Bundle target with File, then New, then Target, if you don't have one.
2. In your project folder, run fastlane snapshot init. It creates a Snapfile and a SnapshotHelper.swift file.
3. Add SnapshotHelper.swift to your UI test target.
4. Create a scheme for the UI test target and tick Shared in Product, Scheme, Manage Schemes. fastlane runs from the command line and needs the shared scheme.
5. In your test class's setUp, create let app = XCUIApplication(), call setupSnapshot(app), then app.launch().
6. Navigate through the app in your tests and call snapshot("01Home"), snapshot("02Search") and so on at each screen you want.

Xcode's Record button can generate the navigation code while you click through the app in the Simulator. Clean it up afterward: replace fragile queries with accessibility identifiers, such as app.buttons["addTask"].tap(), so the tests survive translation and layout changes.

The Snapfile is a small Ruby file in your fastlane folder. The template fastlane snapshot init creates has commented-out examples of the main options. These are the ones most projects use:

Device names must match your installed simulators exactly, so copy them from xcrun simctl list devices. Choose simulators whose screens produce the sizes you need: App Store Connect requires a 6.3-inch iPhone set (1206 × 2622 or 1179 × 2556) and a 6.9-inch or 6.5-inch set for the largest phones, plus iPad 13-inch if your app runs on iPad. In the example above, the iPhone 16 Pro produces 1206 × 2622 and the iPhone 16 Pro Max produces 1320 × 2868. The iPhone size guide lists every accepted resolution.

Run fastlane action snapshot to see every option your installed version supports.

Automated screenshots are only as good as the content on screen. snapshot passes the -FASTLANE_SNAPSHOT YES launch argument, so your app can detect a screenshot run with UserDefaults.standard.bool(forKey: "FASTLANE_SNAPSHOT"). Use it to:

• Load realistic sample content instead of an empty state
• Skip onboarding, login walls and permission prompts
• Disable analytics, ads and rating prompts during the run
• Fix dates, names and numbers so every run looks identical

Localize the demo content as well. A German screenshot with an English to-do list looks unfinished.

For the status bar, override_status_bar(true) handles the classic 9:41 look. To do it by hand on a running simulator, use xcrun simctl status_bar booted override --time 9:41 --batteryState charged --batteryLevel 100 --cellularBars 4, as covered in our clean status bar guide.

From the project folder, run fastlane snapshot, or bundle exec fastlane snapshot if you use Bundler. snapshot boots the simulators, runs your tests in each language and copies the images into the output directory, separated by language and device. File names come from the strings you passed to snapshot(), which is why a numeric prefix like 01, 02, 03 keeps them in gallery order.

When the run finishes, an HTML summary opens showing every screenshot on every device. Scan it for truncated text and empty states before you go further.

To combine steps, define a lane in your Fastfile named screenshots that calls capture_screenshots, then optionally frame_screenshots(white: true), then upload_to_app_store. Run it with fastlane screenshots. If you only want to send images, upload_to_app_store accepts skip_binary_upload: true and skip_metadata: true.

Common problems

Raw UI screenshots show your app but don't explain it. Designed store screenshots usually add a benefit headline, a background and often a device frame, and that's what people judge first in search results. You have three paths:

1. Upload as-is with upload_to_app_store. It's the fastest route, and fine for internal tools or utilities with very clear UIs.
2. Frame and title them with frameit, which adds device frames and text from a Framefile.json. See our fastlane frameit guide.
3. Design them in a screenshot tool, using the captures as source images, then export the store sizes.

Whichever you choose, keep snapshot in the loop. When the UI changes next quarter, you re-run one lane and replace the source screens instead of starting over. Android projects can do the same with fastlane screengrab, and Flutter teams can find their options in Flutter App Store screenshots.