rorkai/App-Store-Connect-CLI

If you already ship Apple apps through Xcode and the App Store Connect website, asc is worth a look when the repetitive release work — builds, TestFlight, metadata, submissions, signing — has outgrown point-and-click. It is an unofficial tool and states that it is not affiliated with Apple, so treat it as automation glue around Apple's API, not a replacement for it.

The problem

Releasing an Apple app mixes local build output with web-console work: upload builds, manage TestFlight groups, sync metadata, handle signing, and submit versions. Doing that by hand each release is slow and easy to drift out of sync across many apps. asc puts those operations behind one CLI so the same steps can run from a terminal, an IDE, or a CI pipeline. The result is a release process that lives in scripts and config rather than in browser tabs.

What's different

This is a thin, general-purpose CLI over the App Store Connect API rather than a build system. The README presents it as a single binary that covers builds, TestFlight, metadata sync, submissions, signing, analytics, screenshots, and subscriptions. Authentication is set up once via asc auth login, with a separate path for individual API keys that have no issuer ID, and a keychain bypass for CI or headless shells where keychain access is unavailable. Config-backed auth on those machines is the practical detail that makes it usable in pipelines.

The trade-off is that you are scripting Apple's API surface directly. Commands are supported as documented, and deprecation warnings point at a migration path, so scripts will need occasional upkeep as commands evolve. The tool also sends pseudonymous command-level telemetry by default; the README lists what is excluded (arguments, credentials, IDs, paths) and how to disable it. That default is a real decision for a credit-sensitive release environment, not something to gloss over.

Who should try it

Good fit: an iOS or macOS team with a repeatable release cadence that wants TestFlight and submission steps driven from CI, or a developer who prefers terminal workflows over the web console. The CI-oriented keychain bypass is what makes it viable on headless runners. Poor fit: a solo developer releasing occasionally by hand, or anyone looking for a full build pipeline — this automates API calls, not Xcode builds.

Requirements and limitations

You need App Store Connect API credentials generated at Apple's integrations page, with the correct key type and issuer ID. The default auth path relies on the macOS keychain; CI and headless machines must use config-backed auth instead. Released binaries are self-contained and do not require Go, but Windows support depends on a WinGet package that is tracked in a discussion and may not be accepted yet — the signed release binaries are the documented fallback. Releases built with Go 1.27 require macOS 13 Ventura or later, so older Macs must keep an older release or upgrade before updating; see the project's quick start and release page.

Telemetry is on by default. If that is a blocker, disable it with the documented flags or environment variables and review the telemetry reference before wiring the tool into shared CI.

HotRepo's take

HotRepo's only dated observation is 2026-10-27, when the project had 8,061 stars and appeared on the daily GitHub Trending board at rank 8 with +15 stars that day. There is not enough comparable daily history to judge persistence, so treat that observation as a single-day snapshot, not a trend. Before adopting, check whether the WinGet package is actually available and whether your macOS version can run the latest release.