Codex · App Store Connect

Localize your App Store listing with Codex

Ask Codex to take your listing into German, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese. It writes the copy; MetaRun checks the 30-character name and subtitle, the 100-character keyword field, and stages each language as its own before and after.

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Setup checked October 2026 against Codex MCP docs, non-interactive mode

01 · Uplink

Connect Codex once

01 · Add the server

Codex sees that MetaRun offers sign-in and starts it straight away, in your browser. Pick read-only or read and change.

codex mcp add metarun --url https://metarun.dev/api/mcp

02 · Sign in again later

If the sign-in expires or you disconnected it in MetaRun's settings. --no-browser prints the link instead, for SSH sessions.

codex mcp login metarun

03 · Or edit ~/.codex/config.toml

The Codex CLI, the IDE extension and Codex in the ChatGPT desktop app read the same file, so one entry covers all three.

[mcp_servers.metarun]
url = "https://metarun.dev/api/mcp"

Prefer a personal access token (scripts, CI)?

Add the server with a token

Mint a personal access token in MetaRun under Settings, MCP. It's shown once and can be revoked any time. Codex reads it from the environment variable you name.

export METARUN_TOKEN="mr_pat_..."
codex mcp add metarun --url https://metarun.dev/api/mcp --bearer-token-env-var METARUN_TOKEN

Or in config.toml

[mcp_servers.metarun]
url = "https://metarun.dev/api/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "METARUN_TOKEN"

02 · Briefing

What Codex handles here

An App Store listing is two sets of text per language. Name, subtitle and the privacy URL live on App Information. Description, keywords, What's New, promotional text and the support URL live on the version. Adding a language in App Store Connect means filling both, in the right places, inside limits that are counted differently per field.

Codex handles the writing. MetaRun reads every language that exists, checks each field's limit before staging, adds languages that don't exist yet, and keeps a coverage map so a half-done job is visible.

03 · Preflight

Before you start

An editable version, so the version's text can change.
App Information open for edits if you're changing name or subtitle; apple_get_listing_editability says whether it is.
A list of target languages, or ask Codex which ones your storefronts index.

04 · Execution

How it runs

01
Read the listing as it is
Codex reads both text surfaces for every existing language, plus Apple's list of supported languages.
02
Write within the limits
Name and subtitle get 30 characters each, keywords 100, the description 4,000. The agent writes; MetaRun refuses anything over a limit at preview, with the count.
03
Stage per language
Each language becomes one or two previews (App Information and the version). New languages are created by the apply, no separate add step.
04
Close the gaps
Listing coverage shows which fields are still empty in which languages, so Codex can finish the job instead of reporting it done early.

05 · Session

An example session in Codex

Localize com.example.app's listing into German, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese. Keep the name, translate subtitle, description and keywords.

apple_list_supported_localesGerman, Japanese and Portuguese (Brazil) are supported and not on the listing yet.
apple_preview_set_app_info_localizationPreview: add German. Name 22 of 30 characters, subtitle 29 of 30.
apple_preview_set_version_localizationPreview: German description and keywords, 97 of 100 characters.
Codex asks before running apple_apply_set_app_info_localization. You read the preview above and approve.
apple_apply_set_app_info_localizationGerman added. Apple created its other localization rows.
Codex asks before running apple_apply_set_version_localization. You read the preview above and approve.
apple_apply_set_version_localizationApplied.
apple_get_listing_coverageGerman complete. Japanese and Portuguese (Brazil) still to do.

Illustrative: your apps, versions and numbers will differ. The tool names and their order are real.

06 · Tools

The MetaRun tools Codex calls

Tool	What it does
apple_list_supported_localesread	Every listing language Apple supports, with its code.
apple_list_app_metadataread	Name, subtitle and privacy URLs per language.
apple_list_version_localizationsread	Description, keywords, What's New and promotional text per language.
apple_preview_set_app_info_localizationpreview + apply	Stage name and subtitle for a language, adding the language if needed.
apple_preview_set_version_localizationpreview + apply	Stage description, keywords and the rest of the version text.
apple_get_listing_coverageread	What's filled and what's empty, per language and field.
aso_cross_locale_planread	Which extra languages each storefront indexes, and the keyword room they add.
aso_lint_metadataread	Rulebook check on the copy before it's staged.

Each preview has an apply twin (the same name with apply instead of preview) that only runs with the confirm token from a fresh preview, and refuses if App Store Connect changed in between. MetaRun tools save to your MetaRun workspace only (studio projects, tracked keywords), never to Apple.

07 · Apple rules

What Apple enforces, and how MetaRun handles it

Two surfaces, two edit windows

Name and subtitle sit on App Information; the rest sits on the version. Apple locks each at different times, and apple_get_listing_editability says which is open right now.

Storefronts index more than one language

The US storefront indexes nine extra listing languages besides English (U.S.). Each adds a 30-character name, 30-character subtitle and 100-character keyword field Apple searches in that storefront, which aso_cross_locale_plan maps out.

Keywords are 100 characters, commas included

Spaces after commas waste characters, and words already in your name or subtitle are indexed anyway. The lint flags both.

A new language fills its own blanks

Adding a language makes Apple create that language's other localization rows. MetaRun keys the confirm token on the language rather than Apple's row id, so the second half of your change doesn't fail as drift.

08 · Comms

What to ask Codex

Ask Codex: Localize com.example.app's listing into German, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese. Keep the name, translate subtitle, description and keywords.
Ask Codex: Read Localizable.xcstrings for the terms we already use in-app and keep the listing consistent with them.
Ask Codex: Show me the coverage map. Which languages are missing keywords?

09 · Unattended

Run it from a script with Codex

codex exec runs one request without an interactive session and with its approval policy set to never. MetaRun's reads and previews still run, because they're marked read-only; anything that would ask is refused.

Read-only check, safe to schedule

codex exec "Report the listing coverage for com.example.app: every language and which fields are empty. Read only."

Applies are refused in codex exec by design. Don't set MetaRun's approval mode to approve just to make them pass; keep App Store changes in an interactive session.

10 · Safety

How Codex asks before a change

Codex decides per tool from the hints MetaRun sends with each one. In its default mode it runs tools marked read-only, which covers MetaRun's reads and previews, and asks before the rest, which covers every apply. You can change that per server with default_tools_approval_mode, or per tool with tools.<name>.approval_mode in config.toml; keep the apply tools on prompt.

Apple key stays on MetaRun, encryptedPreview before every writeRecorded, revertible from history

11 · FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How many languages can Codex add?

Any of the languages Apple supports for listings. apple_list_supported_locales returns the current list with codes, and each language is staged as its own change.

Does MetaRun translate, or does Codex?

Codex writes the translations. MetaRun makes them land correctly: the right field, the right surface, inside Apple's limits, with a preview per language.

Can it localize keywords, not just translate them?

Yes, and it should. Direct translations of keywords often miss what people search for. Pair it with aso_suggest_keywords, which reads App Store autocomplete in that storefront.

What if I don't like one language?

Skip it at approval, or ask Codex to redo it. After applying, every change is in your history and can be reverted from there.

How do I connect Codex to App Store Connect?

Run codex mcp add metarun --url https://metarun.dev/api/mcp; Codex detects MetaRun's sign-in and opens it in your browser. After that, ask for "localize your listing" in plain words and Codex picks the MetaRun tools.

Does Codex see my App Store Connect key?

No. Your App Store Connect API key stays envelope-encrypted on MetaRun's servers and is decrypted per request. Codex holds a MetaRun token that you can revoke in Settings at any time.

More with Codex

Codex

Release notes

Write What's New from your changelog and stage it in every language.

Open

Codex

ASO keywords

Find keywords from App Store autocomplete, track ranks, and lint your metadata.

Open

Codex

Screenshots

Design, caption, translate and upload App Store screenshots from a prompt.