Deploying an iOS app to App Store Connect

You can deploy an app to App Store Connect to:

• Invite testers on Testflight.
• Release your app on the App Store.

On Bitrise, you can either simply just upload your binary to App Store Connect or you can also submit it for review.

Deploy to App Store Connect Steps

To deploy the app to App Store Connect, we have two Steps:

• Deploy to App Store Connect
• Deploy to App Store Connect - Application Loader

Deploy to App Store Connect - Application Loader is simple: it simply pushes an .ipa or .pkg binary file to App Store Connect. With this Step, you cannot submit the app for review on the App Store, for example.

With the Deploy to App Store Connect Step, you can:

• Submit your app to the App Store for review.
• You can upload apps of three different platforms (iOS, OS X, AppleTVOS).
• Tell Bitrise whether you want to upload your screenshots and the app’s metadata along with the binary.

Deploying the app to App Store Connect

Keep in mind that every time you want to push an app to App Store Connect, it must have a unique build and version number: increment either or both before deploying.

1. Make sure you have a working connection to your Apple Developer account.

2. Generate an IPA file on your own machine at least once.

3. Upload all necessary code signing files to Bitrise.

   To deploy an app to App Store Connect, you need a Distribution type certificate and an App Store type provisioning profile.

4. Make sure the Xcode Archive & Export for iOS Step is in your Workflow.

5. Set the Automatic code signing input to the Apple service connection you want to use for code signing. The available options are:

   • off if you don’t use automatic code signing, or if you exclusively use Step inputs for Apple service authentication.
   • api-key if you use API key authorization.
   • apple-id if you use Apple ID authorization.

6. Set the Distribution method input of the Step to app-store.

   The Step will store the path of the exported .ipa file in the $BITRISE_IPA_PATH Environment Variable.

7. Add the Deploy to App Store Connect Step to your Workflow.

8. Fill the required inputs.

   • Either the app’s Apple ID or its Bundle ID is a required input. One of the two must be provided.
   • If you set the Submit for Review to yes, the Step will wait for your submission to be processed on App Store Connect and then submit the given version of the app for review.
   • The default value of the Skip App Version Update input is No. Change it only if you incremented the app version number in another way.
   • If you use an App Store Connect account that is linked to multiple teams, provide either a Team ID or a Team name!

9. Start a build.

If all goes well, your app will be submitted to App Store and you can distribute it via Testflight or via the App Store!