Xcode · App Store Connect

Create subscriptions and in-app purchases from Xcode

Describe the products you want, and Xcode creates them in App Store Connect: the subscription group, each subscription with its copy in every language, prices for every storefront, and the review screenshot Apple wants before the first submission.

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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

Setting up a subscription by hand takes a group, a reference name, a product id you can never reuse, a duration, a display name and description per language, a price schedule, availability, and a review screenshot. In-app purchases need most of the same.

Xcode can do the whole chain through MetaRun. Creates return the new product's id, so the next preview (copy, price, availability) can name it immediately.

03 · Preflight

Before you start

Product ids you're happy to keep forever: Apple never frees one.
Durations and prices for each plan.
A screenshot of your paywall for App Review.

04 · Execution

How it runs

01
Plan the products
Xcode reads what exists, then proposes groups, product ids and durations. Product ids are permanent, so it's worth getting them right before the first apply.
02
Create, then chain
Each create returns the new id. Copy, prices and availability are staged against it in the same session.
03
Price it
Prices can come from the pricing engine (PPP, Big Mac, Spotify) or a single base price that Apple equalizes.
04
Ready it for review
The review screenshot is uploaded from an https URL, like app screenshots, so the subscription can go out with the next version.

05 · Session

An example session in Xcode

Compare our StoreKit configuration file with App Store Connect and list the differences.

apple_list_subscription_groupsNo subscription groups yet.
apple_preview_create_subscription_groupPreview: group Pro.
Xcode asks before running apple_apply_create_subscription_group. You read the preview above and approve.
apple_apply_create_subscription_groupCreated. The group id comes back for the next step.
apple_preview_create_subscriptionPreview: com.example.app.pro.yearly, one year. Product id not used before.
Xcode asks before running apple_apply_create_subscription. You read the preview above and approve.
apple_apply_create_subscriptionCreated. The subscription id comes back.
apple_preview_set_subscription_localizationPreview: English display name and a 48-character description.

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_subscription_groupsread	Existing groups and their subscriptions.
apple_preview_create_subscription_grouppreview + apply	A new group with its reference name.
apple_preview_create_subscriptionpreview + apply	A subscription in a group, with product id and duration. Checks for duplicate product ids first.
apple_preview_set_subscription_localizationpreview + apply	Display name and description per language.
apple_preview_set_subscription_pricepreview + apply	Prices for every storefront.
apple_preview_set_subscription_availabilitypreview + apply	Which storefronts sell it.
apple_preview_upload_subscription_review_screenshotpreview + apply	The screenshot App Review needs before the first submission.
apple_preview_create_iappreview + apply	A consumable, non-consumable or non-renewing subscription purchase. Product ids are checked for duplicates.
apple_preview_set_iap_localizationpreview + apply	Display name and description per language for an IAP.

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

Product ids can never be reused

Once a product id exists, Apple won't accept it again, even after the product is deleted. The create preview checks the app's products for a duplicate before anything is sent.

Short descriptions

A subscription's description is capped at 55 characters, an in-app purchase's at 45. MetaRun checks before staging.

Copy belongs to a version since API 4.4.1

Subscription, IAP and group copy now belongs to a metadata version. MetaRun writes to the editable one and never opens a new version on its own.

Family Sharing is a one-way switch

Turning Family Sharing on for a product is permanent. The preview says so, and turning it off is blocked.

08 · Comms

What to ask Xcode

Ask Xcode: Compare our StoreKit configuration file with App Store Connect and list the differences.
Ask Xcode: Create the subscriptions from the StoreKit file, with the same durations.
Ask Xcode: Make the yearly plan available everywhere except the storefronts we exclude in the app.

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 read my StoreKit configuration file?

If it can read your project, yes. Xcode reads the file; MetaRun creates and prices the products in App Store Connect. That keeps the two in sync without copying ids by hand.

What if I pick a product id I've used before?

The create preview checks the app's existing products and blocks a duplicate. Apple never frees a product id, even after deletion.

Can it set up free trials too?

Yes, as introductory offers. See the offers page for intro offers, offer codes and win-back offers.

Does the subscription go live immediately?

No. New subscriptions go out with a version submission, like in App Store Connect. MetaRun's readiness sweep checks they have what review needs.

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 "subscriptions and iaps" 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.

More with Xcode

Xcode

Price by country

Reprice an app, IAP or subscription across 175 storefronts with PPP or Big Mac indexes.

Open

Xcode

Offers and offer codes

Free trials, promotional offers, offer codes and win-back offers, set up by asking.

Open

Xcode

Submit for review

Attach the build, clear export compliance, run the readiness sweep, submit.