Before you submit
This is where your first submission is won.
Most first rejections are avoidable. Work these three steps top to bottom.
Start here
Two passes that catch most first-timer rejections before you submit.
- Pre-submit self-audit Answer a few yes/no questions about your app and get routed to the exact checks, fiches and templates that de-risk your specific submission.
- First submission checklist A sectioned, before-you-click-Submit checklist covering account, build, metadata, assets, privacy, login, IAP and release — each item cross-linked to the fiche that goes deeper.
Set up correctly
Get the money and your app-specific details right in App Store Connect.
- Checklist Subscription & in-app purchase setup checklist Every field and agreement you must complete for your subscription to load, clear 'Missing Metadata', and pass review — with the money plumbing that silently blocks products.
- Guide Find your app type AI, subscription, WebView, no-code, crypto, UGC — the traps specific to your kind of app.
Reference
Look these up when a field, a status, or a term is unclear.
- Field guide App Store Connect field guide Every field of the App Store Connect submission form explained tab-by-tab: what it is, its spec/limit, the common mistake, and the rejection risk.
- Field guide App Store Connect statuses & build errors, decoded Every App Store Connect status and build/upload error, decoded with Apple's official red/yellow/green color legend into one plain answer: what it means and what — if anything — you need to do about it.
- Explainer App Store Connect & App Review glossary Every confusing App Store Connect and App Review term — statuses, IAP, build/signing, metadata, privacy, distribution — defined in one line and linked to the page that goes deeper.
- Explainer TestFlight vs App Store Clears up the confusion between TestFlight testing and a real App Store submission, and the version-number gotcha that trips up first-timers.
More
- Field guide App Store Connect API keys & roles Create an App Store Connect API key the right way — Key ID, Issuer ID, the .p8 you can only download once — and decode the 403 Forbidden that means your key's role is too weak.
- Field guide Locales & language codes The canonical App Store locale codes that trip up first-timers — why it's ar-SA not ar, de-DE not de, zh-Hans not zh — and the rule that every required field must be filled for each language you add.
- Field guide Screenshot & app preview specs The exact pixel dimensions, formats, and counts Apple accepts for screenshots and app preview videos in 2026 — the required 6.9-inch iPhone and 13-inch iPad sets, and why video is not the same size as a screenshot.
- Field guide What's New / release notes How to write the What's New field so it doesn't draw a 2.3 rejection — the 4,000-character limit, the gotcha that your first version can't have release notes at all, and copy-paste templates you can generate from your git log.