How to Push Your App to App Store Connect

In this article, we will discuss how you can build your app for the App Store. You will follow a process called Archiving, which creates a file in Xcode that users can download to their phones and use your app! After you archive your app, we will show how to push that archive to App Store Connect, Apple’s portal for distributing and managing your apps.

Set a Destination

First, you will need to create a new App in App Store Connect. You’ll use App Store Connect more in the next article, but for now you will need it to make sure the build we are going to push has a destination.

Log in with your Apple ID and select “My Apps”. To create a new app, tap the “+” button to create a New App (not a New App Bundle), and fill in the relevant information. Make sure to use the right Bundle ID!

Archive a Build

Now that your certificate and profile are configured, you are ready to build your App for distribution! Apple allows you to create the file that serves as a downloadable app, an .ipa file, directly from Xcode. Building an .ipa file is slightly different than running the App in your Simulator or on a device, as you will need to “Archive” the build. To do this, you will need to first select the “Any iOS Device” option in the devices selector:

Then, click “Product” along the top menu and select the “Archive” option:

Push Your App

After your archive completes, the Organizer window will open, with your app’s archive available — you will be able to find the archive you are looking for by looking at the “Creation Date” and “Version information”. With your archive selected, tap the “Distribute App” button:

This will begin the task of uploading your app to App Store Connect! You will have to make selections in the next few screens.

First, select the “App Store Connect” method of distribution and click next:

Then, select the “Upload” destination and click next:

In the next window, you can select or deselect the “App Store Connect distribution options”. It is recommended that you select both options, bitcode and symbols, as they can be quite helpful:

• Your app’s bitcode is a file that Apple can use to re-build your App for future iOS changes.
• Your App’s symbols allow you to get reports on performance and crashes while testing. After deciding, click next:

At this step, if you see a screen asking you to re-sign your app, select the “Automatically manage signing” option and click next. You will need to create a new certificate for your App, the distribution certificate. Luckily, as with the development certificate, Xcode can do that for you:

Tap upload and watch as Apple processes your archived app and then transfers its information to App Store Connect!

Wrap up

Congratulations! You have pushed your App to App Store Connect, which means you can choose the means by which you will distribute it! In the next article, we will show you the two ways that Apple provides to show people your app: TestFlight, and the App Store.