GitHub Actions Integration

Use the official setup-asc action to automate App Store Connect workflows in GitHub Actions

Official Action

The rudrankriyam/setup-asc action provides:

Automatic version detection and caching
Support for all platforms (macOS, Linux, Windows)
Matrix build support for multiple app configurations
Integration with GitHub Secrets for credential management

Repository: github.com/rudrankriyam/setup-asc

Quick Start

Basic Workflow

.github/workflows/testflight.yml

name: Deploy to TestFlight

on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: macos-latest
    
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Setup App Store Connect CLI
        uses: rudrankriyam/setup-asc@v1
        with:
          version: latest
      
      - name: Verify installation
        run: asc --version
      
      - name: Upload to TestFlight
        env:
          ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
          ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
          ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
        run: |
          asc builds upload \
            --app "${{ secrets.APP_ID }}" \
            --ipa "MyApp.ipa"

Setup Action Configuration

Inputs

Input	Description	Required	Default
`version`	Version to install (`latest`, `1.2.3`, etc.)	No	`latest`
`token`	GitHub token for API rate limiting	No	`${{ github.token }}`

Example: Pin to Specific Version

- uses: rudrankriyam/setup-asc@v1
  with:
    version: '1.0.0'

Complete Workflows

TestFlight Distribution

.github/workflows/testflight-release.yml

name: TestFlight Release

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  build-and-deploy:
    runs-on: macos-latest
    timeout-minutes: 30
    
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Setup Xcode
        uses: maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode@v1
        with:
          xcode-version: latest-stable
      
      - name: Setup App Store Connect CLI
        uses: rudrankriyam/setup-asc@v1
        with:
          version: latest
      
      - name: Build IPA
        run: |
          xcodebuild -workspace MyApp.xcworkspace \
            -scheme MyApp \
            -configuration Release \
            -archivePath build/MyApp.xcarchive \
            archive
          
          xcodebuild -exportArchive \
            -archivePath build/MyApp.xcarchive \
            -exportPath build \
            -exportOptionsPlist ExportOptions.plist
      
      - name: Upload to TestFlight
        env:
          ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
          ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
          ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
          ASC_APP_ID: ${{ secrets.APP_ID }}
        run: |
          asc builds upload \
            --app "$ASC_APP_ID" \
            --ipa build/MyApp.ipa
      
      - name: Wait for processing
        env:
          ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
          ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
          ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
          ASC_APP_ID: ${{ secrets.APP_ID }}
        run: |
          # Wait for build to process (simplified example)
          sleep 120
          
          # Get latest build
          BUILD_ID=$(asc builds list \
            --app "$ASC_APP_ID" \
            --output json \
            --limit 1 | jq -r '.[0].id')
          
          # Add to external testers
          asc builds add-groups \
            --build-id "$BUILD_ID" \
            --group "External Testers"

App Store Submission

.github/workflows/app-store-submit.yml

name: Submit to App Store

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      version:
        description: 'Version to submit'
        required: true
        type: string

jobs:
  submit:
    runs-on: macos-latest
    
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Setup App Store Connect CLI
        uses: rudrankriyam/setup-asc@v1
      
      - name: Validate version
        env:
          ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
          ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
          ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
          ASC_APP_ID: ${{ secrets.APP_ID }}
        run: |
          asc validate \
            --app "$ASC_APP_ID" \
            --version "${{ inputs.version }}"
      
      - name: Publish to the App Store
        env:
          ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
          ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
          ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
          ASC_APP_ID: ${{ secrets.APP_ID }}
        run: |
          asc publish appstore \
            --app "$ASC_APP_ID" \
            --ipa "./build/MyApp.ipa" \
            --version "${{ inputs.version }}" \
            --submit \
            --confirm
      
      - name: Notify on success
        if: success()
        run: |
          echo "::notice::Version ${{ inputs.version }} submitted successfully"

Metadata Sync

.github/workflows/metadata-sync.yml

name: Sync App Metadata

on:
  push:
    paths:
      - 'metadata/**'
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  sync:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Setup App Store Connect CLI
        uses: rudrankriyam/setup-asc@v1
      
      - name: Update app description
        env:
          ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
          ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
          ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
          ASC_APP_ID: ${{ secrets.APP_ID }}
        run: |
          # Update en-US description
          asc apps info edit \
            --app "$ASC_APP_ID" \
            --locale en-US \
            --description "$(cat metadata/en-US/description.txt)"
      
      - name: Upload screenshots
        env:
          ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
          ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
          ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
          ASC_APP_ID: ${{ secrets.APP_ID }}
        run: |
          # Upload iPhone 6.7" screenshots
          for screenshot in metadata/en-US/screenshots/iphone67/*.png; do
            asc screenshots upload \
              --version-localization "$VERSION_LOCALIZATION_ID" \
              --device-type "IPHONE_65" \
              --path "$screenshot"
          done

Crash Monitoring

.github/workflows/crash-monitor.yml

name: Monitor Crashes

on:
  schedule:
    # Run daily at 9 AM UTC
    - cron: '0 9 * * *'
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  monitor:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    
    steps:
      - name: Setup App Store Connect CLI
        uses: rudrankriyam/setup-asc@v1
      
      - name: Fetch recent crashes
        env:
          ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
          ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
          ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
          ASC_APP_ID: ${{ secrets.APP_ID }}
        run: |
          asc testflight crashes list \
            --app "$ASC_APP_ID" \
            --sort -createdDate \
            --limit 10 \
            --output json > crashes.json
      
      - name: Upload crash report
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: crash-report-${{ github.run_number }}
          path: crashes.json
      
      - name: Check for critical crashes
        run: |
          CRASH_COUNT=$(jq 'length' crashes.json)
          echo "Found $CRASH_COUNT recent crashes"
          
          if [ "$CRASH_COUNT" -gt 5 ]; then
            echo "::warning::High crash count detected: $CRASH_COUNT"
          fi

Matrix Builds

Multiple Apps

.github/workflows/multi-app-deploy.yml

name: Deploy Multiple Apps

on:
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: macos-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        app:
          - name: MyApp
            id: 123456789
            scheme: MyApp
          - name: MyAppPro
            id: 987654321
            scheme: MyAppPro
    
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Setup App Store Connect CLI
        uses: rudrankriyam/setup-asc@v1
      
      - name: Build ${{ matrix.app.name }}
        run: |
          xcodebuild -scheme ${{ matrix.app.scheme }} \
            -archivePath build/${{ matrix.app.name }}.xcarchive \
            archive
          
          xcodebuild -exportArchive \
            -archivePath build/${{ matrix.app.name }}.xcarchive \
            -exportPath build \
            -exportOptionsPlist ExportOptions.plist
      
      - name: Upload ${{ matrix.app.name }}
        env:
          ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
          ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
          ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
        run: |
          asc builds upload \
            --app "${{ matrix.app.id }}" \
            --ipa build/${{ matrix.app.name }}.ipa

Authentication Setup

GitHub Secrets Configuration

Navigate to your repository Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions
Click New repository secret
Add the following secrets:

Secret Name	Value
`ASC_KEY_ID`	Your App Store Connect Key ID
`ASC_ISSUER_ID`	Your App Store Connect Issuer ID
`ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64`	Base64-encoded `.p8` private key
`APP_ID`	Your app’s ID (optional, for convenience)

Base64 Encoding Private Key

# macOS/Linux
base64 -i AuthKey_ABC123.p8 | pbcopy

# Alternative (output to file)
base64 -i AuthKey_ABC123.p8 > key.txt

Using Private Key File (Alternative)

If you prefer not to use base64 encoding:

steps:
  - name: Write private key
    run: |
      echo "${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY }}" > /tmp/AuthKey.p8
      chmod 600 /tmp/AuthKey.p8
  
  - name: Run asc command
    env:
      ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
      ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
      ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH: /tmp/AuthKey.p8
    run: asc apps list
  
  - name: Cleanup
    if: always()
    run: rm -f /tmp/AuthKey.p8

Environment Variables

Set default environment variables for all jobs:

env:
  ASC_DEFAULT_OUTPUT: json
  ASC_TIMEOUT: 2m
  ASC_UPLOAD_TIMEOUT: 10m

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: macos-latest
    env:
      ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
      ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
      ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
    # ...

Caching

The setup-asc action automatically caches the asc binary. You can also cache build artifacts:

steps:
  - name: Cache build artifacts
    uses: actions/cache@v4
    with:
      path: |
        build/
        DerivedData/
      key: ${{ runner.os }}-build-${{ hashFiles('**/*.swift') }}
      restore-keys: |
        ${{ runner.os }}-build-

Conditional Workflows

Deploy only on tags

on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+'

Manual approval for production

jobs:
  deploy-staging:
    runs-on: macos-latest
    # ... deploy to TestFlight
  
  deploy-production:
    runs-on: macos-latest
    needs: deploy-staging
    environment: production  # Requires manual approval
    # ... submit to App Store

Troubleshooting

Enable Debug Logging

- name: Upload with debug logging
  env:
    ASC_DEBUG: api
    ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
    ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
    ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
  run: asc builds upload --app "$APP_ID" --ipa MyApp.ipa

Verify Credentials

- name: Test authentication
  env:
    ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
    ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
    ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
  run: |
    echo "Testing App Store Connect authentication..."
    asc apps list --limit 1

Common Issues

Authentication failed

Verify all three secrets are set correctly
Check that private key is properly base64-encoded
Ensure API key has not been revoked in App Store Connect
Verify Key ID and Issuer ID match the API key

Version not found

The setup-asc action failed to find the specified version:

Check releases for available versions
Use latest for the most recent release
Ensure version format is correct (e.g., 1.0.0, not v1.0.0)

Upload timeout

Increase ASC_UPLOAD_TIMEOUT environment variable
Check network connectivity from GitHub runner
Verify IPA file is not corrupted

Rate limiting

Add delays between API calls
Use pagination wisely with --limit
Consider spreading operations across multiple jobs

Best Practices

Use explicit versions

Pin action versions for reproducibility:

uses: rudrankriyam/setup-asc@v1

Set timeouts

Prevent hanging workflows:

jobs:
  deploy:
    timeout-minutes: 30

Separate build and deploy

Use separate jobs for build and deployment:

jobs:
  build:
    # Build IPA
  deploy:
    needs: build
    # Upload to TestFlight

Use environments

Leverage GitHub Environments for approvals:

environment: production

Examples Repository

For more complete examples, see: github.com/rudrankriyam/setup-asc

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Guides

CI/CD Integration

Configuration

Github actions

GitHub Actions Integration

Official Action

Quick Start

Basic Workflow

Setup Action Configuration

Inputs

Example: Pin to Specific Version

Complete Workflows

TestFlight Distribution

App Store Submission

Metadata Sync

Crash Monitoring

Matrix Builds

Multiple Apps

Authentication Setup

GitHub Secrets Configuration

Base64 Encoding Private Key

Using Private Key File (Alternative)

Environment Variables

Caching

Conditional Workflows

Deploy only on tags

Manual approval for production

Troubleshooting

Enable Debug Logging

Verify Credentials

Common Issues

Best Practices

Use explicit versions

Set timeouts

Separate build and deploy

Use environments

Examples Repository

​GitHub Actions Integration

​Official Action

​Quick Start

​Basic Workflow

​Setup Action Configuration

​Inputs

​Example: Pin to Specific Version

​Complete Workflows

​TestFlight Distribution

​App Store Submission

​Metadata Sync

​Crash Monitoring

​Matrix Builds

​Multiple Apps

​Authentication Setup

​GitHub Secrets Configuration

​Base64 Encoding Private Key

​Using Private Key File (Alternative)

​Environment Variables

​Caching

​Conditional Workflows

​Deploy only on tags

​Manual approval for production

​Troubleshooting

​Enable Debug Logging

​Verify Credentials

​Common Issues

​Best Practices

Use explicit versions

Set timeouts

Separate build and deploy

Use environments

​Examples Repository

​Related Resources

GitHub Actions Integration

Official Action

Quick Start

Basic Workflow

Setup Action Configuration

Inputs

Example: Pin to Specific Version

Complete Workflows

TestFlight Distribution

App Store Submission

Metadata Sync

Crash Monitoring

Matrix Builds

Multiple Apps

Authentication Setup

GitHub Secrets Configuration

Base64 Encoding Private Key

Using Private Key File (Alternative)

Environment Variables

Caching

Conditional Workflows

Deploy only on tags

Manual approval for production

Troubleshooting

Enable Debug Logging

Verify Credentials

Common Issues

Best Practices

Examples Repository

Related Resources