ASC Submission Health

VerifiedCaution

Preflight App Store submissions, submit builds, and monitor review status with asc. Use when shipping or troubleshooting review submissions.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevOpsIntermediate
7/28/2026
Claude CodeCodex
#app-store#ios#release#submission#cli

Recommended for

Automated summary

This skill guides an agent through using the `asc` CLI to preflight, submit, and monitor the health of an App Store submission before and during review.

Strengths

  • A nine-step pre-submission checklist covering build status, encryption, content rights, metadata, localizations, screenshots and privacy
  • Concrete, copy-pasteable `asc` commands per check with explicit expected values
  • Clearly separates what the public API can verify from what must be confirmed manually (App Privacy) and offers `asc web privacy` commands as a fallback
  • Handles frequently forgotten cases: encryption exemption declarations and the mandatory content rights declaration

Limitations

  • Assumes the `asc` CLI is installed and authenticated with APP_ID, VERSION_ID and BUILD_ID already resolved
  • App Privacy publish state cannot be verified through the public API; it depends on `asc web privacy` commands the doc itself calls experimental
  • The supplied document is cut off mid-section on IAPs/subscriptions, so that guidance is incomplete
When to use it

Use it right before submitting an iOS build for App Store review, or to diagnose a stuck or rejected submission.

When not to use it

Do not use it for Android/Google Play releases, or for writing the app's code or UI.

Security analysis

Caution
Quality score82/100

This is a straightforward operational runbook for the `asc` App Store Connect CLI. It never pipes remote content to a shell, never reads or transmits credentials, and uses only documented subcommands with `--confirm` on destructive actions. The residual risk is ordinary operational risk: it drives network calls that mutate real submission, privacy, and encryption-declaration state, and it recommends an experimental web-session auth path. That warrants a caution label rather than safe, but nothing here looks malicious.

Findings
  • •All commands mutate live App Store Connect production state (`asc submit create/cancel`, `asc web privacy apply/publish`, content-rights edit) using real developer credentials; a mistaken ID or flag affects a real submission, though `--confirm` gates the destructive ones.
  • •Section 8 relies on experimental `asc web privacy ...` commands that use a web session (browser cookie auth) rather than the public API, which is a less-standard credential path than the documented App Store Connect API.
  • •`asc encryption declarations exempt-declare --plist ./Info.plist` patches a local plist and instructs a rebuild/re-upload; it is a legitimate workflow but modifies build artifacts in place.
  • •No obfuscation, no curl|sh, no secret/token exfiltration, no `rm -rf`, no safety-disabling instructions; every command is a named `asc` subcommand.
How this analysis is made

Examples

Full preflight before submit
Run the full App Store pre-submission checklist with asc for app 1234567890, version 1.2.3, platform IOS — verify build processing state, encryption, content rights, metadata and localizations, then tell me what still blocks submission.
Debug a failed submission
My App Store submission was rejected at preflight. Use asc to inspect the build and version, find which required declaration or metadata is missing, and show me the exact commands to fix it.
Encryption exemption
asc builds info says usesNonExemptEncryption is true for build 987654321, but my app only uses standard HTTPS. Walk me through declaring the exemption and re-uploading.

name: asc-submission-health description: Preflight App Store submissions, submit builds, and monitor review status with asc. Use when shipping or troubleshooting review submissions.

asc submission health

Use this skill to reduce review submission failures and monitor status.

Preconditions

  • Auth configured and app/version/build IDs resolved.
  • Build is processed (not in processing state).
  • All required metadata is complete.

Pre-submission Checklist

1. Verify Build Status

asc builds info --build-id "BUILD_ID"

Check:

  • processingState is VALID
  • usesNonExemptEncryption - if true, requires encryption declaration

2. Encryption Compliance

If usesNonExemptEncryption: true:

# If the app should be exempt, patch the local plist helper, rebuild, and re-upload
asc encryption declarations exempt-declare --plist "./Info.plist"

# List existing declarations
asc encryption declarations list --app "APP_ID"

# Create declaration if needed
asc encryption declarations create \
  --app "APP_ID" \
  --app-description "Uses standard HTTPS/TLS" \
  --contains-proprietary-cryptography=false \
  --contains-third-party-cryptography=true \
  --available-on-french-store=true

# Assign to build
asc encryption declarations assign-builds \
  --id "DECLARATION_ID" \
  --build "BUILD_ID"

If the app truly uses only exempt transport encryption, prefer asc encryption declarations exempt-declare --plist "./Info.plist" and rebuild instead of creating a declaration that does not match the binary.

3. Content Rights Declaration

Required for all App Store submissions:

# Check current status
asc apps content-rights view --app "APP_ID"

# Set it for most apps
asc apps content-rights edit --app "APP_ID" --uses-third-party-content=false

Valid values:

  • DOES_NOT_USE_THIRD_PARTY_CONTENT
  • USES_THIRD_PARTY_CONTENT

4. Version Metadata

# Check version details
asc versions view --version-id "VERSION_ID" --include-build

# Verify copyright is set
asc versions update --version-id "VERSION_ID" --copyright "2026 Your Company"

5. Localizations Complete

# List version localizations
asc localizations list --version "VERSION_ID"

# Check required fields: description, keywords, whatsNew, supportUrl

6. Screenshots Present

Each locale needs screenshots for the target platform.

7. App Info Localizations (Privacy Policy)

# List app info IDs (if multiple exist)
asc apps info list --app "APP_ID"

# Check privacy policy URL
asc localizations list --app "APP_ID" --type app-info --app-info "APP_INFO_ID"

8. App Privacy readiness advisory

asc can warn about App Privacy readiness, but the public App Store Connect API cannot verify whether App Privacy is fully published. Before final submission:

asc submit preflight --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS
asc validate --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS

Prefer the version string form for top-level readiness checks in this skill so it stays aligned with asc submit preflight. Lower-level commands later in this guide still use VERSION_ID where the API requires it.

If either command reports an App Privacy advisory, the public API cannot verify publish state. Use the web-session privacy workflow if you rely on those endpoints:

asc web privacy pull --app "APP_ID" --out "./privacy.json"
asc web privacy plan --app "APP_ID" --file "./privacy.json"
asc web privacy apply --app "APP_ID" --file "./privacy.json"
asc web privacy publish --app "APP_ID" --confirm

If you do not want to use the experimental asc web privacy ... commands, confirm App Privacy manually in App Store Connect:

https://appstoreconnect.apple.com/apps/APP_ID/appPrivacy

9. Digital goods readiness (IAPs / subscriptions)

If the app sells subscriptions or in-app purchases, validate those separately before submit:

asc validate iap --app "APP_ID" --output table
asc validate subscriptions --app "APP_ID" --output table

In current asc, asc validate subscriptions expands MISSING_METADATA into a per-subscription diagnostics matrix. Use it to identify missing review screenshots, promotional images, pricing or availability coverage gaps, offer readiness, and app/build evidence before retrying submit or first-review attach.

Use --output json --pretty when you want exact territory gaps in machine-readable form.

Submit

Using Review Submissions API (Recommended)

# Create submission
asc review submissions-create --app "APP_ID" --platform IOS

# Add version to submission
asc review items-add \
  --submission "SUBMISSION_ID" \
  --item-type appStoreVersions \
  --item-id "VERSION_ID"

# Submit for review
asc review submissions-submit --id "SUBMISSION_ID" --confirm

Using Submit Command

asc submit preflight --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS
asc submit create --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --build "BUILD_ID" --confirm

Use --platform when multiple platforms exist.

Monitor

# Check submission status
asc submit status --id "SUBMISSION_ID"
asc submit status --version-id "VERSION_ID"

# List all submissions
asc review submissions-list --app "APP_ID" --paginate

Cancel / Retry

# Cancel submission
asc submit cancel --id "SUBMISSION_ID" --confirm

# Or via review API
asc review submissions-cancel --id "SUBMISSION_ID" --confirm

Fix issues, then re-submit.

Common Submission Errors

"Version is not in valid state"

Check:

  1. Build is attached and VALID
  2. Encryption declaration approved (or exempt)
  3. Content rights declaration set
  4. All localizations complete
  5. Screenshots present for all locales
  6. App Privacy has been reviewed and published in App Store Connect

"Export compliance must be approved"

The build has usesNonExemptEncryption: true. Either:

  • Upload export compliance documentation
  • Or rebuild with ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption = NO in Info.plist

"Multiple app infos found"

Use --app-info flag with the correct app info ID:

asc apps info list --app "APP_ID"

Notes

  • asc submit create uses the new reviewSubmissions API automatically.
  • asc submit preflight can return non-blocking advisories; review them before submitting.
  • App Privacy publish state is not verifiable via the public API.
  • Prefer asc apps content-rights view/edit over ad-hoc app JSON inspection.
  • asc validate subscriptions now provides much richer per-subscription diagnostics for MISSING_METADATA cases.
  • If you use ASC web-session flows, asc web privacy pull|plan|apply|publish is the CLI path for App Privacy.
  • If you avoid the experimental web-session commands, confirm App Privacy manually in App Store Connect.
  • Use --output table when you want human-readable status.
  • macOS submissions follow the same process but use --platform MAC_OS.

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll/download' --output '.skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.

The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.

3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/asc-submission-health' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll' '.claude/skills/asc-submission-health'

Codex
test -f '.skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.agents/skills' && test ! -e '.agents/skills/asc-submission-health' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll' '.agents/skills/asc-submission-health'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation
openskills install './.skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll'

openskills read 'asc-submission-health-ms47vqll'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/asc-submission-health-ms47vqll/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

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