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publish

High-level publish workflows for TestFlight and App Store
The publish command is the high-level publishing surface for TestFlight and the canonical App Store upload + submit flow.

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Usage

asc publish <workflow> [flags]

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Canonical paths

Use these top-level workflows deliberately:
  • asc publish testflight - canonical high-level TestFlight publish path
  • asc publish appstore - canonical high-level App Store publish path
  • asc release stage - prepare an App Store version without submitting it
In 1.0, the deprecated asc release run path was removed. Use Migrate to 1.0 if you still have older automation that expects a single deprecated release command.

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Workflows

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TestFlight workflow

Upload and distribute to TestFlight: 
asc publish testflight \
  --app APP_ID \
  --ipa /path/to/MyApp.ipa \
  --group "External Testers"
This workflow:
  1. Uploads the build
  2. Waits for processing
  3. Distributes to specified beta groups

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App Store workflow

Ship to the App Store with the canonical publish command: 
asc publish appstore \
  --app APP_ID \
  --ipa /path/to/MyApp.ipa \
  --version 1.2.0 \
  --submit \
  --confirm
This workflow:
  1. Uploads the IPA
  2. Finds or creates the matching App Store version
  3. Attaches the processed build
  4. Optionally submits for review with --submit
  5. Prints the resulting build/version/submission identifiers

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TestFlight flags

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--app
string
required
App ID for the build
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--file
string
required
Path to IPA file
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--groups
string
Comma-separated beta group names or IDsExample: "External Testers,Internal Team"
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--wait
boolean
Wait for build processing to completeDefault: true

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1.0 migration note

If older automation still invokes the deprecated asc release run, replace it with asc publish appstore --submit --confirm for end-to-end shipping or asc release stage for pre-submit preparation work.

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Example workflows

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Publish to TestFlight

asc publish testflight \
  --app 123456789 \
  --ipa build/MyApp.ipa \
  --group "External Testers,Beta Team"

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Publish to App Store

asc publish appstore \
  --app 123456789 \
  --ipa build/MyApp.ipa \
  --version 1.2.0 \
  --submit \
  --confirm

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CI/CD integration

# GitHub Actions
- name: Publish to TestFlight
  run: |
    asc publish testflight \
      --app ${{ secrets.APP_ID }} \
      --ipa MyApp.ipa \
      --group "External Testers"

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Output

Uploading build...
Build uploaded successfully
Waiting for processing...
Build processed (VALID)
Distributing to beta groups...
Build distributed to External Testers

Publish complete!
Build ID: build-id-here

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Error handling

If any step fails, the workflow stops and reports the error: 
Upload failed: Invalid IPA file
You can retry individual steps using the lower-level commands: 
asc builds upload --app 123456789 --ipa MyApp.ipa
asc builds add-groups --build-id BUILD_ID --group "External Testers"

Builds command

Manage builds and uploads

Release command

Pre-submit release staging

Automation guide

Workflow automation patterns