Workflows

Workflows let you define reusable, multi-step automation sequences in a declarative JSON file. Think of workflows as lightweight CI/CD pipelines for App Store Connect tasks.

Quick Start

Create a workflow file at .asc/workflow.json:

{
  "workflows": {
    "beta": {
      "description": "Distribute latest build to TestFlight beta group",
      "steps": [
        "asc builds list --app $APP_ID --limit 1 --sort -uploadedDate",
        {
          "name": "add_to_group",
          "run": "asc builds add-groups --build $BUILD_ID --group $GROUP_ID"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Run it:

asc workflow run beta BUILD_ID:abc123 GROUP_ID:xyz789

Workflow File Structure

Workflows are defined in .asc/workflow.json (or a custom path with --file).

Top-Level Schema

{
  "env": {
    "APP_ID": "123456789",
    "VERSION": "1.0.0"
  },
  "before_all": "asc auth status",
  "after_all": "echo workflow_done",
  "error": "echo workflow_failed",
  "workflows": {
    "workflow_name": {
      "description": "...",
      "steps": [...]
    }
  }
}

Field	Type	Description
`env`	object	Global environment variables available to all workflows
`before_all`	string	Shell command run before any workflow
`after_all`	string	Shell command run after workflow completes (success or failure)
`error`	string	Shell command run only on workflow failure
`workflows`	object	Map of named workflows

Workflow Schema

{
  "description": "Human-readable description",
  "private": false,
  "env": {
    "BUILD_ID": ""
  },
  "steps": [
    "asc apps list",
    {
      "name": "step_name",
      "run": "asc builds list --app $APP_ID",
      "if": "BUILD_ID",
      "with": {
        "NOTE": "custom value"
      },
      "workflow": "other_workflow"
    }
  ]
}

Field	Type	Description
`description`	string	Optional description (shown in `workflow list`)
`private`	boolean	Hide from `workflow list` (callable only via other workflows)
`env`	object	Workflow-specific environment variables
`steps`	array	Ordered list of steps to execute

Step Schema

Steps can be short form (bare string) or long form (object):

// Short form
"asc apps list"

// Long form
{
  "name": "list_apps",
  "run": "asc apps list --output json",
  "if": "VARIABLE_NAME",
  "with": {"KEY": "value"},
  "workflow": "sub_workflow_name"
}

Field	Type	Required	Description
`run`	string	Conditional	Shell command to execute (mutually exclusive with `workflow`)
`workflow`	string	Conditional	Name of another workflow to call (mutually exclusive with `run`)
`name`	string	No	Step identifier (for debugging and JSON output)
`if`	string	No	Only run if the environment variable exists and is non-empty
`with`	object	No	Additional environment variables for this step only

A step must have either run or workflow, but not both.

Environment Variables

Workflows support environment variable expansion using $VAR or ${VAR} syntax:

{
  "env": {
    "APP_ID": "123456789",
    "VERSION": "1.0.0"
  },
  "workflows": {
    "example": {
      "steps": [
        "asc apps get --id $APP_ID",
        "asc versions list --app ${APP_ID} --filter[versionString]=$VERSION"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Variable Precedence

Runtime parameters (highest priority): asc workflow run example VAR:value
Step-level with: {"with": {"VAR": "value"}}
Workflow-level env: {"env": {"VAR": "value"}}
Global env: Top-level env object
Process environment (lowest priority): Inherited from shell

Runtime Parameters

Pass parameters when running a workflow:

asc workflow run beta \
  BUILD_ID:abc123 \
  GROUP_ID:xyz789 \
  APP_ID:123456789

Parameters follow the format KEY:VALUE. They override all other variable sources.

Conditional Steps

Use the if field to skip steps when a variable is unset or empty:

{
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "upload_build",
      "run": "asc builds upload --path app.ipa"
    },
    {
      "name": "submit_build",
      "if": "SUBMIT_FOR_REVIEW",
      "run": "asc submit create --app $APP_ID --version $VERSION --build $BUILD_ID --confirm"
    }
  ]
}

Skip the submission step:

asc workflow run release

Include the submission step:

asc workflow run release SUBMIT_FOR_REVIEW:true

Calling Other Workflows

Workflows can call other workflows using the workflow field:

{
  "workflows": {
    "preflight": {
      "private": true,
      "description": "Pre-deployment checks",
      "steps": [
        "asc auth status",
        "asc apps get --id $APP_ID"
      ]
    },
    "deploy": {
      "description": "Deploy to TestFlight",
      "steps": [
        {
          "workflow": "preflight",
          "with": {"NOTE": "Running preflight checks"}
        },
        "asc builds upload --path app.ipa"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Run the parent workflow:

asc workflow run deploy APP_ID:123456789

The preflight workflow is called first, with access to the NOTE variable.

Private workflows ("private": true) are hidden from asc workflow list but can be called by other workflows.

Hooks

Workflows support lifecycle hooks at the definition level:

before_all

Runs once before any workflow:

{
  "before_all": "asc auth status",
  "workflows": {...}
}

Use for authentication checks, environment validation, or setup tasks.

after_all

Runs once after the workflow completes (success or failure):

{
  "after_all": "echo workflow_done",
  "workflows": {...}
}

Use for cleanup, notifications, or logging.

error

Runs only on workflow failure:

{
  "error": "echo workflow_failed && curl -X POST https://hooks.slack.com/...",
  "workflows": {...}
}

Use for error notifications or rollback logic.

Hooks run via bash (with pipefail) or sh. At least one shell must be in PATH.

Output Format

Workflow output is JSON-only on stdout:

asc workflow run beta BUILD_ID:abc123 GROUP_ID:xyz789 --pretty

{
  "workflow": "beta",
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "step_1",
      "command": "asc builds list --app $APP_ID --limit 1 --sort -uploadedDate",
      "exit_code": 0
    },
    {
      "name": "add_to_group",
      "command": "asc builds add-groups --build abc123 --group xyz789",
      "exit_code": 0
    }
  ],
  "before_all": {
    "command": "asc auth status",
    "exit_code": 0
  },
  "after_all": {
    "command": "echo workflow_done",
    "exit_code": 0
  },
  "success": true
}

Step and hook command output streams to stderr to keep stdout machine-parseable.

Commands

workflow run

Run a named workflow:

asc workflow run <name> [KEY:VALUE ...] [flags]

Flags:

--file - Path to workflow.json (default: .asc/workflow.json)
--dry-run - Preview steps without executing
--pretty - Pretty-print JSON output

Example:

asc workflow run beta \
  BUILD_ID:abc123 \
  GROUP_ID:xyz789 \
  --dry-run \
  --pretty

workflow list

List available workflows:

asc workflow list [flags]

Flags:

--file - Path to workflow.json
--all - Include private workflows
--pretty - Pretty-print JSON output

Output:

[
  {
    "name": "beta",
    "description": "Distribute latest build to TestFlight beta group",
    "private": false,
    "step_count": 2
  },
  {
    "name": "release",
    "description": "Submit a version for App Store review",
    "private": false,
    "step_count": 3
  }
]

workflow validate

Validate workflow file for errors and cycles:

asc workflow validate [flags]

Flags:

--file - Path to workflow.json
--pretty - Pretty-print JSON output

Output:

{
  "valid": true,
  "errors": []
}

Or on error:

{
  "valid": false,
  "errors": [
    {
      "workflow": "beta",
      "message": "step 2: missing 'run' or 'workflow' field"
    },
    {
      "workflow": "release",
      "message": "circular dependency detected: release -> preflight -> release"
    }
  ]
}

Security Considerations

Workflows intentionally execute arbitrary shell commands. Only run workflow files you trust.

Best Practices

Review workflow files before running them, especially with --file
Avoid running workflows from untrusted sources (e.g., unreviewed PRs)
Be careful with secrets - steps inherit your process environment
In CI, use secret masking - workflows may log environment variables
Use workflow validate to check structure, but validation does not check safety

CI/CD Considerations

# GitHub Actions example
- name: Run workflow
  run: asc workflow run beta BUILD_ID:${{ secrets.BUILD_ID }}
  env:
    ASC_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_KEY_ID }}
    ASC_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.ASC_ISSUER_ID }}
    ASC_PRIVATE_KEY: ${{ secrets.ASC_PRIVATE_KEY }}

Avoid running workflows on untrusted pull requests with access to secrets or tokens.

Examples

TestFlight Distribution

{
  "env": {
    "APP_ID": "123456789"
  },
  "workflows": {
    "beta": {
      "description": "Distribute build to TestFlight beta group",
      "env": {
        "BUILD_ID": "",
        "GROUP_ID": ""
      },
      "steps": [
        {
          "name": "list_builds",
          "run": "asc builds list --app $APP_ID --sort -uploadedDate --limit 5"
        },
        {
          "name": "list_groups",
          "run": "asc testflight beta-groups list --app $APP_ID --limit 20"
        },
        {
          "name": "add_build_to_group",
          "if": "BUILD_ID",
          "run": "asc builds add-groups --build $BUILD_ID --group $GROUP_ID"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Run:

asc workflow run beta BUILD_ID:abc123 GROUP_ID:xyz789

App Store Submission

{
  "workflows": {
    "release": {
      "description": "Submit version for App Store review",
      "steps": [
        {
          "workflow": "preflight",
          "with": {"NOTE": "running preflight checks"}
        },
        {
          "name": "submit",
          "run": "asc submit create --app $APP_ID --version $VERSION --build $BUILD_ID --confirm"
        }
      ]
    },
    "preflight": {
      "private": true,
      "description": "Pre-submission checks",
      "steps": [
        "asc auth status",
        "asc apps get --id $APP_ID",
        "asc builds get --id $BUILD_ID"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Run:

asc workflow run release \
  APP_ID:123456789 \
  VERSION:1.0.0 \
  BUILD_ID:abc123

Error Handling - How workflows handle step failures
Output Formats - Workflow output is JSON-only
Authentication - Workflows inherit authentication

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Guides

CI/CD Integration

Configuration

Quick Start

Workflow File Structure

Top-Level Schema

Workflow Schema

Step Schema

Environment Variables

Variable Precedence

Runtime Parameters

Conditional Steps

Calling Other Workflows

Hooks

before_all

after_all

error

Output Format

Commands

workflow run

workflow list

workflow validate

Security Considerations

Best Practices

CI/CD Considerations

Examples

TestFlight Distribution

App Store Submission

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Guides

CI/CD Integration

Configuration

​Quick Start

​Workflow File Structure

​Top-Level Schema

​Workflow Schema

​Step Schema

​Environment Variables

​Variable Precedence

​Runtime Parameters

​Conditional Steps

​Calling Other Workflows

​Hooks

​before_all

​after_all

​error

​Output Format

​Commands

​workflow run

​workflow list

​workflow validate

​Security Considerations

​Best Practices

​CI/CD Considerations

​Examples

​TestFlight Distribution

​App Store Submission

​Related

Quick Start

Workflow File Structure

Top-Level Schema

Workflow Schema

Step Schema

Environment Variables

Variable Precedence

Runtime Parameters

Conditional Steps

Calling Other Workflows

Hooks

before_all

after_all

error

Output Format

Commands

workflow run

workflow list

workflow validate

Security Considerations

Best Practices

CI/CD Considerations

Examples

TestFlight Distribution

App Store Submission

Related