Skip to content

Publishing on App Store Connect (iOS)

KMPShip includes a preconfigured Fastlane setup for automating your iOS app deployment to App Store Connect. To use it, you’ll need to complete a few initial configuration steps, such as creating your app in App Store Connect and generating an API key for authentication.

Step 1: Create an API key for App Store Connect

Fastlane uses this API key to authenticate and submit builds.

  1. In App Store Connect, go to Users and Access.
  2. Open the Keys tab.
  3. Click Generate API Key.
  4. Provide a name (e.g., ci-upload-key) and select the role App Manager.
  5. Click Generate, then download the .p8 file.
  6. Note the Issuer ID, Key ID, and keep the .p8 file safe — you’ll need these for CI/CD.
  7. Base64 encode the .p8 key file: 
    base64 -i AuthKey_XXXXXX.p8 | pbcopy
  8. Add the following repository secrets in GitHub:
    • APP_STORE_API_KEY_BASE64: the base64 string of your .p8 file
    • APP_STORE_ISSUER_ID: the Issuer ID from App Store Connect
    • APP_STORE_KEY_ID: the Key ID from App Store Connect

These secrets will be used by the GitHub Actions workflow to authenticate with App Store Connect and publish your updates.

Step 2: Create a Distribution certificate

To sign and ship iOS builds, you need an Apple Distribution certificate.

  1. Open Apple Developer Portal.
  2. Go to Certificates, then click the + icon.
  3. Select Apple Distribution and click Continue.
  4. Follow the instructions to upload a Certificate Signing Request (CSR). You can create a CSR using Keychain Access on macOS:
    • Open Keychain Access
    • Go to Certificate Assistant > Request a Certificate from a Certificate Authority
    • Save the CSR to disk
  5. After uploading the CSR, download the generated .cer certificate.
  6. Double-click the .cer file to install it into your Keychain.
  7. Export the certificate along with the private key as a .p12 file:
    • In Keychain Access, right-click the certificate > Export > choose .p12
  8. Base64 encode the .p12 file: 
    base64 -i YourCertificate.p12 | pbcopy
  9. Add the following repository secrets in GitHub:
    • IOS_APP_CERTIFICATE_P12_B64: the base64 string of your .p12 file
    • IOS_APP_CERTIFICATE_P12_PASSWORD: the password used when exporting the .p12

Step 3: Create provisioning profiles

Provisioning profiles link your distribution certificate to your app ID and enable app signing.

  1. Go to the Apple Developer Portal.
  2. Click the + icon to create a new provisioning profile.
  3. Choose App Store as the distribution method and click Continue.
  4. Select the App ID that matches your project’s bundle identifier.
  5. Choose the distribution certificate you created earlier.
  6. Name the profile (e.g., MyApp_AppStore_Profile) and click Generate.
  7. Download the .mobileprovision file.
  8. Base64 encode the file: 
    base64 -i MyApp_AppStore_Profile.mobileprovision | pbcopy
  9. Add it as a GitHub secret:
    • IOS_PROVISIONING_PROFILE_B64: the base64 string of your .mobileprovision file
    • IOS_PROVISIONING_PROFILE_NAME: the name of your provisioning profile (e.g., iosApp)

Step 5: Configure CI/CD

Configure Xcode version

  1. Go to your GitHub repository settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → Variables tab.
  2. Create a new repository variable:
  3. XCODE_VERSION: 16.2 (or the version you are using)

Publish from your machine (Optional)

You can use Fastlane to publish locally:

cd iosApp
fastlane release

Aoo Store Connect setup complete

You have successfully set up the automated publishing process for your app to the App Store Connect. You can now push updates directly from your CI/CD pipeline or manually from your local machine.