Xcode · App Store Connect

Submit your app for App Review from Xcode

Your build finished processing. Ask Xcode to ship it: MetaRun attaches the build to the version, checks every field App Review will look at, and shows the submission before anything is sent. Resubmitting after a rejection goes through the same submission, the way App Store Connect does it.

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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

Submitting by hand is six screens in App Store Connect: pick the build, answer the encryption question, fill in review contact and demo account details, check that every language has its screenshots and description, press Add for Review, then Submit. Miss one field and the button stays grey with no reason given.

Through MetaRun the agent does the same steps as tool calls. The readiness sweep reads the version, the build, the listing in every language and the review details, and returns one list of blockers before any write. Fix those, preview the submission, approve it, and it is in Apple's queue.

03 · Preflight

Before you start

A version in Prepare for Submission. If there isn't one, apple_preview_create_version makes it.
A processed build for that version, uploaded from Xcode, Xcode Cloud, fastlane or your CI.
An App Store Connect API key in MetaRun with the Admin or App Manager role.

04 · Execution

How it runs

01
Find the version and the build
Xcode lists the app's versions and builds, picks the processed build that matches the version you named, and previews attaching it. A build still processing is reported as such, not attached.
02
Clear what App Review will ask
If the build has no export compliance answer, the agent previews one. If review contact details or the demo account are missing, it previews those too. Each is its own change with its own before and after.
03
Run the readiness sweep
The submit preview reads the version, every language's description and screenshots, What's New on an update, the review details and any submission already in flight. Blockers come back as a list with the tool that fixes each one.
04
Submit with an explicit acknowledge
The apply takes the preview's confirm token plus acknowledge set to true. If anything changed on Apple's side since the preview, the token no longer matches and nothing is sent.

05 · Session

An example session in Xcode

I just archived and uploaded 2.4 (build 312). Once it's processed, attach it to version 2.4 and check what blocks submission.

apple_list_versionsVersion 2.4 is in Prepare for Submission.
apple_list_buildsBuild 312 finished processing a few minutes ago.
apple_preview_set_version_buildPreview: attach build 312 to version 2.4.
Xcode asks before running apple_apply_set_version_build. You read the preview above and approve.
apple_apply_set_version_buildAttached. Recorded in change history.
apple_preview_submit_for_reviewSweep: no blockers. One note: App Privacy answers are entered in App Store Connect.
Xcode asks before running apple_apply_submit_for_review. You read the preview above and approve.
apple_apply_submit_for_reviewSubmitted with acknowledge set to true. Version 2.4 is Waiting for Review.

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_get_listing_editabilityread	Which parts of the listing are locked right now, and why.
apple_list_buildsread	Processed builds for the app, newest first, with their processing state.
apple_preview_set_version_buildpreview + apply	Attach a processed build to the version. Required before submitting.
apple_preview_declare_build_encryptionpreview + apply	Answer export compliance for the build, or reuse an existing declaration.
apple_preview_set_review_detailpreview + apply	Contact details, demo account and notes for the App Review team.
apple_preview_submit_for_reviewpreview + apply	Runs the readiness sweep and previews the submission. Needs an explicit acknowledge to apply.
apple_list_review_submissionsread	Every submission with its state, each item's verdict and who submitted it.
apple_preview_cancel_review_submissionpreview + apply	Withdraw a submission from Apple's queue, naming exactly which one.

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

One submission at a time per platform

Apple lets one app-version submission wait for or sit in review per platform. The sweep blocks a second instead of letting Apple refuse it halfway through.

A rejection resubmits through its own submission

After a rejection Apple keeps the version inside the rejected submission and refuses to add it to a new one. MetaRun marks the item resolved and resubmits that same submission, which is what the Resubmit button in App Store Connect does. Verified against a live app on 11 September 2026: same submission id, item moved from Rejected to Ready for Review.

App Privacy has no API

Apple's App Store Connect API cannot read or write App Privacy answers. On a first submission the sweep warns about it rather than blocking, and apple_build_privacy_answers turns your PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy files into the exact answers to enter by hand.

App Review's message is not in the API either

The rejection reason, the guideline cited and any attachments only exist in App Store Connect. MetaRun returns a direct link to that page and the agent is told not to guess the reason.

What's New only exists after the first release

A first version has no What's New field and the API rejects one. The sweep only requires it on an update.

08 · Comms

What to ask Xcode

Ask Xcode: I just archived and uploaded 2.4 (build 312). Once it's processed, attach it to version 2.4 and check what blocks submission.
Ask Xcode: Our Info.plist sets ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption to NO. Confirm the build's export compliance matches before we submit.
Ask Xcode: Preview submitting 2.4 for review and walk me through the warnings.

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

Can Xcode submit my app for review without asking me?

Not through MetaRun's contract. The submit apply needs a confirm token from a fresh preview plus an explicit acknowledge, and Xcode asks you before it runs the tool unless you have pre-approved that exact tool. Pre-approve reads and previews if you like; keep applies on ask.

What does the readiness sweep check?

The attached build and its processing state, export compliance, review contact and demo account, every language's description, keywords and screenshots, What's New on an update, and whether another submission is already waiting or in review on the same platform.

Does MetaRun upload the build?

No. Xcode, Xcode Cloud, fastlane or any CI uploads the build to App Store Connect as usual. MetaRun picks up from there: attach, answer compliance, submit.

What happens after a rejection?

Ask Xcode for the submission state. You get each item's verdict and a link to App Review's message in App Store Connect, since that message has no API. Once you've fixed and replied, the agent resubmits the same submission.

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 "submit for review" 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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Phased release

Choose how an approved version goes out, then pause, resume or finish a phased rollout.

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Release notes

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

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TestFlight

Hand builds to tester groups, write What to Test, and read crash feedback.