TestFlight Distribution

Distribute builds to beta testers using TestFlight

Manage your TestFlight beta testing program end-to-end, from organizing beta groups to collecting feedback from testers.

Overview

TestFlight allows you to distribute pre-release builds to internal and external testers. The CLI provides complete automation for:

Managing beta groups and testers
Distributing builds to specific groups
Collecting and reviewing crash reports and feedback
Tracking beta tester metrics

Beta Groups Workflow

List existing beta groups

View all beta groups for your app:

asc testflight groups list --app "YOUR_APP_ID"

Filter to internal or external groups:

asc testflight groups list --app "YOUR_APP_ID" --internal
asc testflight groups list --app "YOUR_APP_ID" --external

Create a new beta group

Create an external beta group:

asc testflight groups create --app "YOUR_APP_ID" --name "External Beta Testers"

Create an internal beta group:

asc testflight groups create --app "YOUR_APP_ID" --name "QA Team" --internal

Configure group settings

Enable public link for external distribution:

asc testflight groups edit --id "GROUP_ID" \
  --public-link-enabled \
  --public-link-limit-enabled \
  --public-link-limit 100

Enable feedback collection:

asc testflight groups edit --id "GROUP_ID" --feedback-enabled

Managing Beta Testers

Add beta testers

Add a new tester to a beta group:

asc testflight testers add \
  --app "YOUR_APP_ID" \
  --email "[email protected]" \
  --group "Beta Testers"

Optionally include name details:

asc testflight testers add \
  --app "YOUR_APP_ID" \
  --email "[email protected]" \
  --first-name "Jane" \
  --last-name "Doe" \
  --group "Beta Testers"

Import testers in bulk

Export existing testers to CSV:

asc testflight testers export \
  --app "YOUR_APP_ID" \
  --output "./testers.csv"

Import testers from CSV (with dry-run first):

asc testflight testers import \
  --app "YOUR_APP_ID" \
  --input "./testers.csv" \
  --dry-run

# After verifying, run without dry-run
asc testflight testers import \
  --app "YOUR_APP_ID" \
  --input "./testers.csv"

List and filter testers

List all testers for an app:

asc testflight testers list --app "YOUR_APP_ID"

Filter by beta group:

asc testflight testers list --app "YOUR_APP_ID" --group "Beta Testers"

Filter by build:

asc testflight testers list --app "YOUR_APP_ID" --build-id "BUILD_ID"

Send invitations

Invite a tester to start testing:

asc testflight testers invite \
  --app "YOUR_APP_ID" \
  --email "[email protected]"

Invite and auto-create if tester doesn’t exist:

asc testflight testers invite \
  --app "YOUR_APP_ID" \
  --email "[email protected]" \
  --group "Beta Testers"

Distributing Builds to Groups

Find your build ID

List recent builds:

asc builds list --app "YOUR_APP_ID" --sort "-uploadedDate" --limit 5

Get a specific build:

asc builds info --app "YOUR_APP_ID" --version "1.0" --build-number "42"

Add build to beta groups

Add a build to one or more groups:

asc builds add-groups --build-id "BUILD_ID" --group "GROUP_ID"

Add to multiple groups:

asc builds add-groups --build-id "BUILD_ID" --group "GROUP_ID1,GROUP_ID2"

Verify distribution

Check which groups have access to a build:

asc testflight distribution view --build-id "BUILD_ID"

Feedback and Crash Reports

View crash submissions

Get crash submission details:

asc testflight crashes view --submission-id "SUBMISSION_ID"

Download the crash log:

asc testflight crashes log --submission-id "SUBMISSION_ID"

View screenshot feedback

Get screenshot submission with annotations:

asc testflight feedback view --submission-id "SUBMISSION_ID"

Retrieve crash logs

Get detailed crash logs for analysis:

asc testflight crashes log --crash-log-id "CRASH_LOG_ID"

Clean up old feedback (optional)

Delete processed crash submissions:

asc testflight crashes delete --submission-id "SUBMISSION_ID" --confirm

Delete screenshot submissions:

asc testflight feedback delete --submission-id "SUBMISSION_ID" --confirm

Beta Tester Metrics

Track how testers engage with your builds:

asc testflight metrics app-testers --app "YOUR_APP_ID"

This provides insights into:

Number of sessions per tester
App version usage
Install and session counts

Complete Example Workflow

Here’s a complete workflow for distributing a new build:

# 1. Set your app ID
export ASC_APP_ID="YOUR_APP_ID"

# 2. Find the latest build
asc builds list --app "$ASC_APP_ID" --sort "-uploadedDate" --limit 1 --output json
BUILD_ID="..." # Extract from output

# 3. Create or find your beta group
asc testflight groups list --app "$ASC_APP_ID"
GROUP_ID="..." # Use existing or create new

# 4. Add build to the beta group
asc builds add-groups --build-id "$BUILD_ID" --group "$GROUP_ID"

# 5. List testers in the group
asc testflight testers list --app "$ASC_APP_ID" --group "$GROUP_ID"

# 6. Add new testers if needed
asc testflight testers add \
  --app "$ASC_APP_ID" \
  --email "[email protected]" \
  --group "Beta Testers"

# 7. Send invitations
asc testflight testers invite --app "$ASC_APP_ID" --email "[email protected]"

# 8. Monitor beta tester activity
asc testflight metrics app-testers --app "$ASC_APP_ID"

Troubleshooting

Tester Not Receiving Invitation

Verify the tester is added to the group:

asc testflight testers list --app "YOUR_APP_ID" --group "GROUP_ID"

Check if invitation was sent:

asc testflight testers view --id "TESTER_ID"

Resend invitation:

asc testflight testers invite --app "YOUR_APP_ID" --email "[email protected]"

Build Not Appearing for Testers

Verify build is assigned to the group:

asc testflight distribution view --build-id "BUILD_ID"

Check build processing status:
asc builds info --build-id "BUILD_ID"

Ensure build passed TestFlight review:

asc testflight review submissions list --build-id "BUILD_ID"

Managing Group Limits

Internal groups have a limit of 100 testers. External groups can have up to 10,000 testers. To check current tester counts:

asc testflight groups view --id "GROUP_ID"

If you hit limits, create additional groups:

asc testflight groups create --app "YOUR_APP_ID" --name "Beta Testers Group 2"

Best Practices

Organize by testing focus: Create separate groups for different testing purposes (QA, feature testing, general beta)
Use CSV import for bulk operations: Export your current tester list, make changes, and re-import
Enable feedback collection: Turn on feedback for external groups to collect valuable user input
Monitor crash reports: Regularly check crash submissions and address issues before App Store release
Set public link limits: For public beta links, set reasonable limits to control your beta population size
Track metrics: Use beta tester usage metrics to identify your most active testers

App Store Submission - Submit builds for App Store review
Build Management - Manage builds in App Store Connect
Analytics and Reports - Download usage and crash analytics

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Guides

CI/CD Integration

Configuration

Testflight

TestFlight Distribution

Overview

Beta Groups Workflow

Managing Beta Testers

Distributing Builds to Groups

Feedback and Crash Reports

Beta Tester Metrics

Complete Example Workflow

Troubleshooting

Tester Not Receiving Invitation

Build Not Appearing for Testers

Managing Group Limits

Best Practices

​TestFlight Distribution

​Overview

​Beta Groups Workflow

​Managing Beta Testers

​Distributing Builds to Groups

​Feedback and Crash Reports

​Beta Tester Metrics

​Complete Example Workflow

​Troubleshooting

​Tester Not Receiving Invitation

​Build Not Appearing for Testers

​Managing Group Limits

​Best Practices

​Related Commands

TestFlight Distribution

Overview

Beta Groups Workflow

Managing Beta Testers

Distributing Builds to Groups

Feedback and Crash Reports

Beta Tester Metrics

Complete Example Workflow

Troubleshooting

Tester Not Receiving Invitation

Build Not Appearing for Testers

Managing Group Limits

Best Practices

Related Commands