Xcode · App Store Connect

Read and reply to App Store reviews from Xcode

Ask Xcode what users are complaining about this week. MetaRun pulls the reviews, finds the recurring themes, and every reply Xcode drafts is shown to you before it's posted under your app.

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Setup checked October 2026 against Apple: extending and customizing agents, giving external agents access to Xcode

01 · Uplink

Connect Xcode once

01 · Add the MetaRun plug-in

In Xcode 27, open Settings, Intelligence, Plug-ins. Choose Add Plug-in, then Add from URL, and paste:

https://github.com/metarun/metarun-skills

02 · Or with one click

Opens Xcode's plug-in sheet with the repository filled in.

xcode://agent-plugin-clone?repo=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmetarun%2Fmetarun-skills

03 · Sign in

Install MetaRun from the list, then click Sign in next to it. MetaRun opens in your browser; pick read-only or read and change.

04 · Ask the coding assistant

Claude Agent, Codex and Gemini in Xcode all get MetaRun's tools and its six workflow skills.

Attach build 312 to version 2.4 and tell me what blocks submission.

02 · Briefing

What Xcode handles here

Reviews arrive per storefront, in every language, and App Store Connect shows them one at a time. Answering the ones that matter (the bug report with one star, the feature request that keeps coming back) gets pushed to someday.

For a coding agent this is useful in a second way: the complaint and the code are in the same session. Xcode can read a review about a crash, look at the code path, and draft a reply that says the fix is in 2.4.1.

03 · Preflight

Before you start

An API key with the Admin or Customer Support role, to reply.
A decision on tone, and on what you're willing to promise in public.
For crash complaints: the code or crash logs to check against.

04 · Execution

How it runs

01
Pull and sort
Xcode reads recent reviews and sorts them by what needs an answer: low ratings with specific complaints first.
02
Find the themes
aso_mine_reviews groups complaints and praise without an extra model call, and lists words users use that your listing doesn't.
03
Draft replies
The agent drafts. Each reply is a preview showing the review and the exact text that will appear under it.
04
Post on approval
The apply posts the reply. It's public as soon as Apple processes it, so this is the step to read carefully.

05 · Session

An example session in Xcode

Find reviews that mention crashes on iOS 26 and check them against our crash logs.

apple_list_reviewsThis week's reviews, lowest rating first.
aso_mine_reviewsTop complaint theme: sync on iPad. Top praise: the widget.
apple_preview_respond_to_reviewPreview: the reply, exactly as it will appear under the review.
Xcode asks before running apple_apply_respond_to_review. You read the preview above and approve.
apple_apply_respond_to_reviewPosted. Public once Apple processes it.

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

06 · Tools

The MetaRun tools Xcode calls

Tool	What it does
apple_list_reviewsread	Customer reviews with rating, territory, text and any existing reply.
apple_get_review_summaryread	Apple's AI summary of your reviews, the one shown on the product page.
aso_mine_reviewsread	Praise and complaint themes, plus keywords users use that your listing doesn't.
aso_get_territory_ratingsread	Star ratings per storefront and the worldwide average.
apple_preview_respond_to_reviewpreview + apply	Preview a public reply, or an edit to an existing one.
apple_preview_delete_review_responsepreview + apply	Remove a reply.

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

Replies are public

A developer response appears under the review on the App Store. Each review has one response; replying again replaces it.

The key needs the right role

Responding needs an App Store Connect API key with the Admin or Customer Support role. A key with a narrower role reads reviews but can't reply.

Ratings without text can't be answered

Only written reviews take a response. Star-only ratings show up in averages, not in the review list.

No ratings endpoint in the API

Apple's API has no per-storefront ratings call. MetaRun reads ratings from the public store lookup instead, so the numbers match what shoppers see.

08 · Comms

What to ask Xcode

Ask Xcode: Find reviews that mention crashes on iOS 26 and check them against our crash logs.
Ask Xcode: Draft replies for the crash reports pointing to 2.4.1.
Ask Xcode: What's our average rating per storefront?

09 · Safety

How Xcode asks before a change

Xcode asks before an agent uses a tool it hasn't been allowed. Tools you've allowed are listed in Settings, Intelligence, under Permissions, where you can remove them. Leave MetaRun's apply tools off that list so every App Store change asks first; reads and previews are safe to allow.

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

10 · FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Will Xcode post replies on its own?

No. Each reply is a preview first and the apply needs your approval in Xcode. Replies are public, so this is one to keep on ask.

Can it reply in the reviewer's language?

Yes. Xcode writes the reply; MetaRun posts it under the review in whatever language you approved.

Can I edit or delete a reply later?

Yes. Replying again replaces the existing response, and apple_preview_delete_review_response removes it.

Why can't it see some ratings?

Star-only ratings have no text and no reply option. They count in your averages, which aso_get_territory_ratings reports per storefront.

How do I connect Xcode to App Store Connect?

In Xcode 27, add the plug-in from https://github.com/metarun/metarun-skills (Settings, Intelligence, Plug-ins, Add from URL) and click Sign in next to MetaRun. After that, ask for "reply to reviews" in plain words and Xcode picks the MetaRun tools.

Does Xcode 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. Xcode holds a MetaRun token that you can revoke in Settings at any time.

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