app-store-preflight-skills — Claude Code skill for App Store checks

---
name: app-store-preflight-skills
description: >
  Scan an iOS/macOS Xcode project for common App Store rejection patterns before
  submission. Use when preparing an app for App Store review, after receiving a
  rejection from Apple, or when auditing metadata, subscriptions, privacy manifests,
  entitlements, or design compliance. Integrates with the asc CLI for metadata inspection.
metadata:
  author: truongduy2611
  version: "1.1"
  guidelines-synced: "2026-10-16"
---

# App Store Preflight Skill

Run pre-submission checks on your iOS/macOS project to catch common App Store rejection patterns.

## Prerequisites

- **asc CLI** — Install via Homebrew: `brew install asc` ([App-Store-Connect-CLI](https://github.com/rudrankriyam/App-Store-Connect-CLI))
- **ASC CLI Skills** — [app-store-connect-cli-skills](https://github.com/rudrankriyam/app-store-connect-cli-skills) for `asc` usage patterns
- **jq** — Optional, but used by some JSON-inspection examples in the rule docs

## Step 1: Identify App Type → Load Checklist

Determine which guidelines apply by loading the relevant checklist from `references/guidelines/by-app-type/`. Always start with `all_apps.md`, then add the app-type-specific one:

| App Type | Checklist |
|----------|-----------|
| Every app | `references/guidelines/by-app-type/all_apps.md` |
| Subscriptions / IAP | `references/guidelines/by-app-type/subscription_iap.md` |
| Social / UGC | `references/guidelines/by-app-type/social_ugc.md` |
| Kids Category | `references/guidelines/by-app-type/kids.md` |
| Health & Fitness | `references/guidelines/by-app-type/health_fitness.md` |
| Games | `references/guidelines/by-app-type/games.md` |
| macOS | `references/guidelines/by-app-type/macos.md` |
| AI / Generative AI | `references/guidelines/by-app-type/ai_apps.md` |
| Crypto & Finance | `references/guidelines/by-app-type/crypto_finance.md` |
| VPN | `references/guidelines/by-app-type/vpn.md` |

Full guideline index: `references/guidelines/README.md`

## Step 2: Pull Metadata for Inspection

Pull the latest App Store metadata using the `asc` CLI:

```bash
# Pull canonical metadata JSON for the version you want to review
asc metadata pull --app "<APP_ID>" --version "<VERSION>" --dir ./metadata
```

`asc metadata pull` writes app info files to `./metadata/app-info/*.json` and
version-localization files to `./metadata/version/<VERSION>/*.json`.

Most rule examples below assume the canonical JSON layout written by
`asc metadata pull`.

Creative assets (product page headers, search result assets; Guideline 2.3.14)
live in App Store Connect's Asset Library. If your `asc` version doesn't pull
them, review them by hand against 2.3.14.

If you already have metadata in another layout (for example fastlane
`metadata/`), either adapt the file-path examples to that structure or pull the
canonical `asc` layout first.

## Step 3: Run Rejection Rule Checks

For each category, load the relevant rule files from `references/rules/` and inspect. Each rule contains: **What to Check**, **How to Detect**, **Resolution**, and **Example Rejection**.

| Category | Rule Files |
|----------|------------|
| Metadata | `references/rules/metadata/*.md` |
| Subscription | `references/rules/subscription/*.md` |
| Privacy | `references/rules/privacy/*.md` |
| Design | `references/rules/design/*.md` |
| Entitlements | `references/rules/entitlements/*.md` |

## Step 4: Report Findings

Produce a summary report using this template:

```markdown
## Preflight Report

### ❌ Rejections Found (N)
- [GUIDELINE X.X.X] Description of issue
  - File: path/to/offending/file
  - Fix: What to do

### ⚠️ Warnings (N)
- [GUIDELINE X.X.X] Potential issue

### ✅ Passed (N)
- [Category] All checks passed
```

Order by severity: rejections first, then warnings, then passed.

## Step 5: Autofix + Validate

Some issues can be auto-fixed:
- **Competitor terms** → Suggest replacement text with competitor names removed
- **Metadata character limits** → Show current vs. max length
- **Missing links** → Generate template ToS/PP URLs

After applying any auto-fix, **re-run the affected checks** to confirm the fix resolved the violation. Only mark as resolved once the re-scan passes.

For issues requiring manual intervention (screenshots, UI redesign), provide clear instructions but do not auto-fix.

## Gotchas

- **China storefront** — Banned AI terms (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) are checked across ALL locales, not just `zh-Hans`. Apple checks every locale visible in the China storefront.
- **Privacy manifests** — `PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy` is required even if your app doesn't call Required Reason APIs directly. Third-party SDKs (Firebase, Amplitude, etc.) that use `UserDefaults` or `NSFileManager` trigger this requirement transitively.
- **asc auth** — `asc metadata pull` requires App Store Connect authentication. Run `asc auth login` first, or set `ASC_KEY_ID`, `ASC_ISSUER_ID`, and one of `ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH` / `ASC_PRIVATE_KEY` / `ASC_PRIVATE_KEY_B64`. If you're unsure what `asc` is picking up, run `asc auth doctor`.
- **Subscription metadata** — Apple requires ToS/PP links in BOTH the App Store description AND the in-app subscription purchase screen. Missing either one is a separate rejection.
- **Hidden features (2.5.19)** — Feature flags are allowed, but every feature they can turn on must be in the reviewed build, reachable by the reviewer, and described in the review notes. Gating features on review-environment checks (sandbox receipt, TestFlight) is bait-and-switch and can get the developer account terminated.
- **Third-party AI (5.1.2(i))** — Proxying AI calls through your own backend doesn't exempt you: if prompts or user content reach OpenAI, Gemini, Anthropic, etc., the app needs a consent screen naming the provider *before* the first request.
- **Sign in with Apple relay domain** — New relay addresses use `private.icloud.com` (from late 2026) in addition to `privaterelay.appleid.com`. Hard-coded domain checks break for new users.
- **SDK minimum** — Uploads must be built with the iOS 26 SDK or later (since April 28, 2026). An older Xcode fails at upload, not at review.
- **macOS entitlements** — Apple will ask you to justify every temporary exception entitlement (`com.apple.security.temporary-exception.*`). Remove entitlements you don't actively use.

## Adding New Rules

Create a `.md` file in the appropriate `references/rules/` subdirectory:

```markdown
# Rule: [Short Title]
- **Guideline**: [Apple Guideline Number]
- **Severity**: REJECTION | WARNING
- **Category**: metadata | subscription | privacy | design | entitlements

## What to Check
## How to Detect
## Resolution
## Example Rejection
```