How to Publish an App on the App Store: A Step-by-Step Guide

The short answer

To publish an app on the App Store you join the Apple Developer Program, create an app record in App Store Connect with your app’s bundle ID, archive and upload a build from Xcode, test it in TestFlight, fill in the store listing, privacy details, age rating and price, then submit it for review. Apple says most submissions are reviewed within a day or two. Once approved, you release it manually, automatically, or on a date you choose.

Finishing an app and getting it onto the App Store are two different jobs. The second one is mostly forms, settings and waiting, and it goes much faster when you do the steps in the order Apple’s tools expect.

Here is that order in ten steps. Each one links to the Apple page it’s based on; if a button on your screen has a slightly different name, follow the current interface.

Step 1: Join the Apple Developer Program

Publishing needs a paid Apple Developer Program membership. Apple lists it at 99 USD per membership year, with prices that may vary by region; some nonprofits, schools and government entities can request a fee waiver. For the full cost to publish an app, see How much does it cost to publish an app on the App Store?.

Enroll as an individual and your legal name is the seller name on the App Store. Enroll as an organization and you’ll need a legal entity with a D-U-N-S Number and a public website. Our guide to enrolling in the Apple Developer Program covers both paths in detail.

Step 2: Register the bundle ID and create the app record

The bundle ID is your app’s unique identifier, in reverse-domain style such as com.example.myapp. It is set on the app target in Xcode and has to match an explicit App ID registered under Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles in your developer account. (Apple’s steps to register an App ID). App Store Connect uses it to match every build you upload to your app, so pick it carefully.

Next, create the app record in App Store Connect before your first upload.

1. In Apps, click + and choose New App.
2. Pick the platform (iPhone and iPad apps are iOS), then enter the name, primary language, bundle ID and an internal SKU.
3. Choose Full Access or Limited Access for your team and click Create.

(If you skip this, Xcode asks for the details during your first upload.) If New App is missing, check that the Account Holder has signed the latest agreement and that your role is Account Holder, Admin or App Manager. If App Store Connect is new to you, our beginner’s guide to App Store Connect explains each section.

Step 3: Archive and upload your build

Before you archive, set the version (what customers see, such as 1.0) and the build number (an internal counter that must increase with each upload). Apple’s current requirements say apps uploaded to App Store Connect must be built with Xcode 26 or later using the iOS 26 SDK, and iOS apps must target iOS 13 or later.

1. Archive

   In Xcode, choose a scheme and a run destination, then Product > Archive. The archive opens in the Organizer.

2. Validate

   Select the archive and click Validate App for a quick automated check before you upload.

3. Distribute

   Click Distribute App and choose TestFlight & App Store. Xcode signs the app, uploads it with symbols and can manage the build number for you.

Apple also lists Transporter, altool, Xcode Cloud and the App Store Connect API in its upload documentation. Either way, the build is processed before it appears in App Store Connect, and Apple emails you when it’s done.

Apps that use encryption, including the encryption built into the OS, must answer export compliance questions; an Info.plist setting saves you repeating them for every build.

Step 4: Test it with TestFlight

Processed builds show up in the TestFlight tab. According to Apple’s TestFlight overview:

• Up to 100 internal testers: App Store Connect users on your team.
• Up to 10,000 external testers, invited by email or public link. The first build for external testers goes through a TestFlight review.
• Each build can be tested for up to 90 days.
• Testers use the free TestFlight app and can send feedback with screenshots.

Take this step seriously. Apple’s App Review page says that, on average, over 40% of unresolved issues relate to guideline 2.1, App Completeness: crashes, placeholder content and incomplete information. Test on real devices, keep your back end running, and remove every placeholder.

Step 5: Write the listing and add screenshots

Back on the version page, fill in what customers will read: subtitle, description, keywords, support URL and, for later versions, What’s New. Choose a primary category under App Information. Guideline 2.3 asks that metadata accurately reflect the app’s core experience: describe what it does today, not the roadmap.

Screenshots are required. Apple’s screenshot specifications allow one to ten per device size, in JPEG or PNG, with at least one for iPhone and, if the app supports iPad, at least one for the 13-inch iPad display. Show the app in use, not a splash or login screen. For a faster way to make a polished set, see how we generate App Store screenshots.

Finally, fill in App Review Information. Only the reviewer sees it: a contact who can respond, a working demo account if the app needs a sign-in, and notes for anything hard to find or reproduce. Apple says leaving this out can delay review or cause the app not to pass.

Step 6: Privacy, age rating and other questions

App Privacy

Under App Privacy, you answer whether you or your third-party partners collect data from the app and, if so, which types and how they’re used. Your answers become the privacy section of your product page, often called the privacy nutrition label. Apple’s privacy help says this includes third-party code you integrate, and that keeping it accurate is your responsibility.

Every app also needs a privacy policy URL. Apple says the policy should identify what data the app collects and how it is used, confirm that third parties protect shared data equally, and explain retention, deletion and how users can revoke consent.

Age rating

In App Information, click Set Up Age Ratings and answer the questionnaire honestly. Apple calculates the rating from your answers; you can override it to a higher rating, or choose Made for Kids (which can’t be undone after approval) if the rating allows. See Apple’s age rating help.

Step 7: Set pricing and availability

Under Monetization > Pricing and Availability, pick a price, or free, for a base country or region. Apple then sets comparable prices on the other storefronts and adjusts them for taxes and exchange rates unless you set your own. Apple’s publishing overview says you also need a tax category, and that by default the app is available in all App Store countries and regions. You can narrow that list or set up a pre-order.

Step 8: Submit for review

Apple’s submission steps involve two buttons, and the second is the one people forget:

1. In the version’s Build section, add the build you tested. Only one build can be attached to a version.
2. Choose a release option (see step 10).
3. Click Add for Review. The status becomes Ready for Review, but nothing has been sent yet.
4. Open Draft Submissions or the App Review section, check the items and click Submit for Review.

On review time, Apple’s App Review page says App Review works around the clock, typically reviewing at least 50% of submissions in less than 24 hours and 90% in less than 48 hours. That’s typical, not promised: an incomplete submission can take longer. For a critical bug fix or a launch tied to an event, you can request an expedited review.

Step 9: If Apple rejects the app

A rejection isn’t the end. Apple sends a message naming the guideline involved, and the submission shows Unresolved Issues. You handle it in the app’s App Review section, the successor to what developers called the Resolution Center.

• If the reviewer needs information, reply to App Review in the thread with screenshots or documents attached.
• If the problem is in the listing, fix the metadata. Apple says you can resubmit the same build.
• If the problem is in the app, fix it, upload a new build, attach it and resubmit to App Review.
• If you think the reviewer misunderstood the app, you can file an appeal with the App Review Board, one per submission.

Keep replies short, polite and concrete: what you changed, where to find it, and the steps to see it.

A real example: Irohas Photo, a film lab with three locations in Australia, shipped its app Canistr with AirBuild. Version 1.0 was rejected under guideline 5.1.1(v), which requires that people who can create an account can also delete it in the app. It was rejected before lunch; AirBuild fixed the issue and resubmitted it after lunch. From brief to App Store took six weeks. Read the Irohas story.

Another example: Foxwick, a pixel action game, went from a one-line idea to the App Store with AirBuild; read how it was made.

Step 10: Choose how it goes live

Apple’s release options are set per version:

After release it can take up to 24 hours to appear on the App Store. For updates, you can also turn on phased release: over seven days the update reaches 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 50% and then 100% of users with automatic updates turned on. You can pause for up to 30 days in total.

Where AirBuild fits in

AirBuild is an AI team that builds native iOS apps from a conversation, and its App Store agent takes on most of steps 4 to 10: TestFlight invites and build delivery; preparing the build, metadata, screenshots and review notes; submitting and tracking the review. When Apple raises an issue, it replies through App Store Connect, routes the fix to the right agent and resubmits.

Some things stay with you: the app is published under your own Apple Developer account, you decide what it does and costs, and Apple reviews every submission and makes the final decision. Our pricing page lists which plans include App Review automation.

You do not need your own Mac for any of this. AirBuild’s AI team builds the app on a Mac or in the cloud and sends it to your iPhone through TestFlight. You still need an Apple Developer Program membership, because the app is published under your own account.

Frequently asked questions

How do I publish an iOS app to the App Store?

The same way as any iPhone app: follow the ten steps above, from joining the Apple Developer Program to choosing when the approved app goes live.

How much does it cost to publish an app on the App Store?

An Apple Developer Program membership, which Apple lists at 99 USD per membership year; prices may vary by region. Some nonprofits, educational institutions and government entities can request a fee waiver. There is no separate fee to submit an app for review.

How long does App Store review take?

Apple says App Review typically reviews at least 50% of submissions in less than 24 hours and 90% in less than 48 hours. That isn’t a guarantee, and incomplete submissions can take longer. After release, it can take up to 24 hours for the app to appear on the App Store. For what each status means and what to check when a review runs long, see how long App Store review takes.

Do I need a Mac to publish an iPhone app?

Apple’s upload tools are Xcode, Transporter and altool, which run on a Mac, plus Xcode Cloud and the App Store Connect API. Apps must currently be built with Xcode 26 or later. A cloud build service still uploads to your own App Store Connect account. With AirBuild you do not need your own Mac: its AI team builds the app on a Mac or in the cloud, sends it to your iPhone through TestFlight, and its App Store agent submits it for review.

What should I do if Apple rejects my app?

Open your app’s App Review section in App Store Connect (formerly the Resolution Center) and read the guideline Apple cites. Reply with the information the reviewer needs, or fix the app and resubmit. For metadata-only issues, Apple says you can resubmit the same build. If you think the reviewer misunderstood the app, you can file one appeal per submission.

Can I choose when my app goes live?

Yes. Release it manually after approval, automatically as soon as it’s approved, or automatically no earlier than a date you set. Updates can also use a seven-day phased release.

Can AirBuild publish my app for me?

AirBuild’s App Store agent prepares the build, metadata, screenshots and review notes, submits the app, tracks the review, replies to App Review, and fixes and resubmits when Apple raises an issue. The app is published under your own Apple Developer account, and Apple makes the final decision.