GitLab CI Integration

Use official GitLab CI components to integrate App Store Connect CLI into your pipelines

Official Components

GitLab CI integration is provided through reusable components in the asc-ci-components repository:

Install component - Set up asc in your pipeline
Run component - Install and execute commands in one step
Self-managed support - Works with GitLab.com and self-hosted instances

Repository: github.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components

Quick Start

Using the Run Component

The simplest way to use asc in GitLab CI:

.gitlab-ci.yml

include:
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: deploy
      job_prefix: release
      asc_version: latest
      command: asc apps list

This creates a job named release:run that:

Installs the latest version of asc
Executes asc apps list
Uses CI/CD variables for authentication

Component Reference

Run Component

Installs asc and runs a command in a single job.

include:
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: deploy           # Pipeline stage
      job_prefix: myapp       # Job name prefix
      asc_version: latest     # Version to install
      command: asc --version  # Command to run

Inputs:

Input	Description	Required	Default
`stage`	Pipeline stage name	Yes	-
`job_prefix`	Prefix for job name	Yes	-
`asc_version`	Version to install	No	`latest`
`command`	Command to execute	Yes	-

Install Component

Only installs asc, allowing you to run multiple commands:

include:
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/install@main
    inputs:
      stage: prepare
      job_prefix: setup
      asc_version: latest

Complete Pipelines

TestFlight Deployment

.gitlab-ci.yml

stages:
  - build
  - deploy

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

build:ios:
  stage: build
  tags:
    - macos
  script:
    - xcodebuild -workspace MyApp.xcworkspace \
        -scheme MyApp \
        -configuration Release \
        -archivePath $CI_PROJECT_DIR/build/MyApp.xcarchive \
        archive
    - xcodebuild -exportArchive \
        -archivePath $CI_PROJECT_DIR/build/MyApp.xcarchive \
        -exportPath $CI_PROJECT_DIR/build \
        -exportOptionsPlist ExportOptions.plist
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - build/MyApp.ipa
    expire_in: 1 week

include:
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: deploy
      job_prefix: testflight
      asc_version: latest
      command: |
        asc builds upload \
          --app "$APP_ID" \
          --ipa build/MyApp.ipa

testflight:run:
  needs:
    - build:ios
  only:
    - main
    - tags

Multi-Stage Release

.gitlab-ci.yml

stages:
  - validate
  - submit
  - notify

# Validate app version
include:
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: validate
      job_prefix: check
      asc_version: latest
      command: |
        asc validate \
          --app "$APP_ID" \
          --version "$CI_COMMIT_TAG"

check:run:
  only:
    - tags

# Publish to the App Store
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: submit
      job_prefix: release
      asc_version: latest
      command: |
        asc publish appstore \
          --app "$APP_ID" \
          --ipa "./build/MyApp.ipa" \
          --version "$CI_COMMIT_TAG" \
          --submit \
          --confirm

release:run:
  needs:
    - check:run
  only:
    - tags
  when: manual  # Require manual approval

# Get submission status
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: notify
      job_prefix: status
      asc_version: latest
      command: |
        asc status \
          --app "$APP_ID" \
          --output json > review-status.json

status:run:
  needs:
    - release:run
  artifacts:
    reports:
      dotenv: review-status.json

Metadata Sync Pipeline

.gitlab-ci.yml

stages:
  - sync

variables:
  METADATA_PATH: metadata/

include:
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: sync
      job_prefix: description
      asc_version: latest
      command: |
        asc apps info edit \
          --app "$APP_ID" \
          --locale en-US \
          --description "$(cat $METADATA_PATH/en-US/description.txt)"

description:run:
  only:
    changes:
      - metadata/en-US/description.txt

  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: sync
      job_prefix: screenshots
      asc_version: latest
      command: |
        for screenshot in $METADATA_PATH/en-US/screenshots/iphone67/*.png; do
          asc screenshots upload \
            --version-localization "$VERSION_LOCALIZATION_ID" \
            --device-type "IPHONE_65" \
            --path "$screenshot"
        done

screenshots:run:
  only:
    changes:
      - metadata/en-US/screenshots/**/*

Scheduled Monitoring

.gitlab-ci.yml

stages:
  - monitor

include:
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: monitor
      job_prefix: crashes
      asc_version: latest
      command: |
        asc testflight crashes list \
          --app "$APP_ID" \
          --sort -createdDate \
          --limit 20 \
          --output json > crashes.json

crashes:run:
  only:
    - schedules
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - crashes.json
    expire_in: 30 days

  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: monitor
      job_prefix: feedback
      asc_version: latest
      command: |
        asc testflight feedback list \
          --app "$APP_ID" \
          --paginate \
          --output json > feedback.json

feedback:run:
  only:
    - schedules
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - feedback.json
    expire_in: 30 days

Authentication Setup

CI/CD Variables

Navigate to Settings > CI/CD > Variables
Click Add variable
Add the required variables:

Variable	Value	Protected	Masked
`ASC_KEY_ID`	Your Key ID	Yes	Yes
`ASC_ISSUER_ID`	Your Issuer ID	Yes	Yes
`ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64`	Base64-encoded private key	Yes	Yes
`APP_ID`	Your app ID (optional)	No	No

Enable Protected to restrict access to protected branches/tags. Enable Masked to prevent values from appearing in job logs.

Base64 Encoding

# Encode private key
base64 -i AuthKey_ABC123.p8 | tr -d '\n'

# Verify encoding
echo "$ENCODED_KEY" | base64 -d | head -1
# Should output: -----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----

Using Private Key File

Alternatively, store the raw private key and write it to a file:

before_script:
  - echo "$ASC_PRIVATE_KEY" > /tmp/AuthKey.p8
  - chmod 600 /tmp/AuthKey.p8
  - export ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH=/tmp/AuthKey.p8

after_script:
  - rm -f /tmp/AuthKey.p8

Self-Managed GitLab

For self-hosted GitLab instances, components work identically:

include:
  - component: gitlab.example.com/your-group/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: deploy
      job_prefix: release
      asc_version: latest
      command: asc apps list

Clone the components repository to your GitLab instance and reference it with your instance URL.

Advanced Patterns

Parallel Jobs

stages:
  - deploy

.testflight_template:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - asc builds upload --app "$APP_ID" --ipa "build/$APP_NAME.ipa"
  only:
    - main

include:
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/install@main
    inputs:
      stage: deploy
      job_prefix: setup
      asc_version: latest

deploy:app1:
  extends: .testflight_template
  needs:
    - setup:install
  variables:
    APP_ID: "123456789"
    APP_NAME: "MyApp"

deploy:app2:
  extends: .testflight_template
  needs:
    - setup:install
  variables:
    APP_ID: "987654321"
    APP_NAME: "MyAppPro"

Dynamic Versioning

stages:
  - prepare
  - deploy

version:extract:
  stage: prepare
  script:
    - VERSION=$(grep 'MARKETING_VERSION' MyApp.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj | head -1 | sed 's/.*= \(.*\);/\1/')
    - echo "VERSION=$VERSION" > version.env
  artifacts:
    reports:
      dotenv: version.env

include:
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: deploy
      job_prefix: release
      asc_version: latest
      command: |
        echo "Publishing version $VERSION"
        asc publish appstore --app "$APP_ID" --ipa "./build/MyApp.ipa" --version "$VERSION" --submit --confirm

release:run:
  needs:
    - version:extract

Retry Logic

include:
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: deploy
      job_prefix: upload
      asc_version: latest
      command: |
        # Retry up to 3 times on failure
        for i in 1 2 3; do
          echo "Upload attempt $i/3"
          asc builds upload --app "$APP_ID" --ipa build/MyApp.ipa && break
          if [ $i -lt 3 ]; then
            echo "Retrying in 30 seconds..."
            sleep 30
          fi
        done

upload:run:
  retry:
    max: 2
    when:
      - api_failure
      - stuck_or_timeout_failure

Environment-Specific Deployments

stages:
  - deploy:staging
  - deploy:production

# Staging deployment
include:
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: deploy:staging
      job_prefix: staging
      asc_version: latest
      command: |
        asc builds upload \
          --app "$STAGING_APP_ID" \
          --ipa build/MyApp-Staging.ipa

staging:run:
  environment:
    name: staging
  only:
    - develop

# Production deployment
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: deploy:production
      job_prefix: production
      asc_version: latest
      command: |
        asc publish appstore \
          --app "$PRODUCTION_APP_ID" \
          --ipa "./build/MyApp.ipa" \
          --version "$CI_COMMIT_TAG" \
          --submit \
          --confirm

production:run:
  environment:
    name: production
  only:
    - tags
  when: manual

Debugging

Enable Debug Output

variables:
  ASC_DEBUG: api

include:
  - component: gitlab.com/rudrankriyam/asc-ci-components/run@main
    inputs:
      stage: deploy
      job_prefix: debug
      asc_version: latest
      command: asc apps list

Test Authentication

test:auth:
  stage: test
  script:
    - |
      echo "Testing App Store Connect authentication..."
      echo "Key ID: ${ASC_KEY_ID:0:8}..."
      echo "Issuer ID: ${ASC_ISSUER_ID:0:8}..."
      
      # Install asc
      curl -fsSL https://asccli.sh/install | bash
      
      # Test command
      asc apps list --limit 1
  only:
    - branches

Verify Variables

verify:env:
  stage: test
  script:
    - |
      echo "Checking required variables..."
      
      if [ -z "$ASC_KEY_ID" ]; then
        echo "ERROR: ASC_KEY_ID not set"
        exit 1
      fi
      
      if [ -z "$ASC_ISSUER_ID" ]; then
        echo "ERROR: ASC_ISSUER_ID not set"
        exit 1
      fi
      
      if [ -z "$ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64" ]; then
        echo "ERROR: ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 not set"
        exit 1
      fi
      
      echo "All required variables are set"
  only:
    - branches

Troubleshooting

Component not found

Verify component URL matches your GitLab instance
Check repository exists and is accessible
Ensure you’re using the correct branch/tag (@main, @v1, etc.)
For self-hosted: confirm components are published to the instance

Authentication failed

Verify all three variables are set in CI/CD settings
Check that variables are not expired or masked incorrectly
Ensure private key is properly base64-encoded
Test credentials locally with the same key

Job timeout

Increase job timeout in .gitlab-ci.yml:
upload:run: timeout: 30m
Set ASC_UPLOAD_TIMEOUT for long uploads

Artifacts not found

Check artifact paths in previous jobs
Verify needs dependencies are correct
Ensure artifacts haven’t expired

Best Practices

Use protected variables

Mark sensitive variables as Protected and Masked to prevent exposure in logs.

Pin component versions

Use specific tags instead of @main for stability:

component: .../[email protected]

Set timeouts

Configure appropriate timeouts for upload operations:

variables:
  ASC_UPLOAD_TIMEOUT: 15m

Use manual triggers

Require manual approval for production:

when: manual

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Guides

CI/CD Integration

Configuration

Gitlab ci

GitLab CI Integration

Official Components

Quick Start

Using the Run Component

Component Reference

Run Component

Install Component

Complete Pipelines

TestFlight Deployment

Multi-Stage Release

Metadata Sync Pipeline

Scheduled Monitoring

Authentication Setup

CI/CD Variables

Base64 Encoding

Using Private Key File

Self-Managed GitLab

Advanced Patterns

Parallel Jobs

Dynamic Versioning

Retry Logic

Environment-Specific Deployments

Debugging

Enable Debug Output

Test Authentication

Verify Variables

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Use protected variables

Pin component versions

Set timeouts

Use manual triggers

​GitLab CI Integration

​Official Components

​Quick Start

​Using the Run Component

​Component Reference

​Run Component

​Install Component

​Complete Pipelines

​TestFlight Deployment

​Multi-Stage Release

​Metadata Sync Pipeline

​Scheduled Monitoring

​Authentication Setup

​CI/CD Variables

​Base64 Encoding

​Using Private Key File

​Self-Managed GitLab

​Advanced Patterns

​Parallel Jobs

​Dynamic Versioning

​Retry Logic

​Environment-Specific Deployments

​Debugging

​Enable Debug Output

​Test Authentication

​Verify Variables

​Troubleshooting

​Best Practices

Use protected variables

Pin component versions

Set timeouts

Use manual triggers

​Related Resources

GitLab CI Integration

Official Components

Quick Start

Using the Run Component

Component Reference

Run Component

Install Component

Complete Pipelines

TestFlight Deployment

Multi-Stage Release

Metadata Sync Pipeline

Scheduled Monitoring

Authentication Setup

CI/CD Variables

Base64 Encoding

Using Private Key File

Self-Managed GitLab

Advanced Patterns

Parallel Jobs

Dynamic Versioning

Retry Logic

Environment-Specific Deployments

Debugging

Enable Debug Output

Test Authentication

Verify Variables

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Related Resources