How to publish an app on the App Store, from enrollment to release

What does it take to publish an app on the App Store?

Publishing is eight jobs in a fixed order. Seven of them are forms and uploads; only one, App Review, is outside your control. If you are still building, start with the iPhone app guide. This page picks up when you have an app that runs on a real device.

1. Enroll in the Apple Developer Program.
2. Sign the agreements in App Store Connect.
3. Create the app record.
4. Upload a build and wait for it to process.
5. Test it with TestFlight.
6. Complete the listing, privacy answers, age rating and pricing.
7. Add for Review, then Submit for Review.
8. Choose how the approved version is released.

Everything below is taken from Apple’s own documentation, linked at each step. Apple changes its screens and rules, so use this as the map and Apple’s pages as the detail.

How do you join the Apple Developer Program, and what does it cost?

Apple’s enrollment page says you can enroll as an individual or as an organization. The fee is USD 99 a year as of October 2026, with prices varying by region and fee waivers for eligible nonprofits, schools and government entities. A free Apple Account is enough to learn and to test on your own devices, but not to distribute.

The seller name point surprises people. Apple states that an individual’s legal name is displayed as the seller name of their apps, so decide before you enroll whether you are comfortable with that. Switching later is possible through an app transfer or a new account, but it is not a click.

How do you create the app in App Store Connect?

App Store Connect is where the listing, builds, testers and reviews live. Apple’s guide to adding a new app lists the order.

1. Sign the agreements. Apple notes you can’t add an app until the Account Holder signs the latest agreement in the Business section. If you plan to charge for the app, App Store Connect also has places for banking and tax details.
2. Click the add button in Apps and choose New App. Pick the platforms and enter the app information: the app name, primary language, the bundle ID that matches your Xcode project, and a SKU, which is an internal reference you choose.
3. Check the name. Apple says an app name can be used for one app per localization. If it is already taken in your account you must rename or remove the other app. If another developer holds it and you own the trademark, you can file a claim.
4. Choose user access. Limited access if only some teammates should see the app, full access otherwise.
5. Click Create. The app appears with the status Prepare for Submission.

Pick the bundle ID carefully. It is the permanent identity of the app, and the build you upload must carry the same one.

How do you upload a build and test it?

Apple’s upload builds guide says you can upload a build using Xcode, Swift Playground, altool or Transporter. For most people that means Xcode: archive the app, then distribute it to App Store Connect. The build has to be processed in Apple’s system before it appears, and Apple sends an email when processing is complete.

Do not skip TestFlight. Apple’s TestFlight page says you can add up to 100 internal testers from your own team and invite up to 10,000 external testers. External testing needs a beta app description and beta app review information. The App Review Guidelines also say demos, betas and trial versions do not belong on the App Store and should go through TestFlight instead.

• Test on a real iPhone, not just the simulator. Camera, notifications, slow networks and low battery behave differently.
• Run the exact build you will submit. A build with debug settings left on is a common rejection.
• Use a clean install. Delete the app, install the TestFlight build and go through first launch as a stranger would.

What goes into the App Store listing?

Apple publishes a reference table of required, localizable and editable properties. Read it once; the items below are the ones first-time publishers most often meet late.

Guideline 2.1 says submissions should be final versions with all necessary metadata and fully functional URLs, with placeholder text and empty websites scrubbed, and that you should include demo account information, and turn on your back-end service, if the app has a login. The notes field is where you remove doubt for the reviewer.

App: [name], version [1.0].
What it does: [one sentence, as a user would describe it].

How to test the main feature:
1. Open the app. No sign-in is needed. (If sign-in is needed: demo account [email], password [password]. The back end is live.)
2. [Tap X to do Y.]
3. [Expected result: Z.]

Permissions the app requests and why:
- [Camera: to scan the code in step 2. Declined permission shows a message and the app still opens.]

Payments: [None. / In-app purchase, product [name], uses Apple’s in-app purchase.]
Data: [Stored on the device only. / Sent to [service] for [reason]; see the privacy policy at [URL].]
Contact for the reviewer: [name, phone, email].

Which App Review rules catch first-time publishers?

The App Review Guidelines run to many pages. The iPhone app guide covers the usual tripwires: a repackaged website, placeholder content, a missing privacy policy and missing account deletion. These are the next ones, which tend to appear once an app has users, money or accounts.

Apple’s App Review page says review typically covers at least 50% of submissions in under 24 hours and 90% in under 48 hours. If the reviewer finds a problem, the rejection message names the guideline. Fix that, reply in App Store Connect if you disagree, and resubmit.

How do you submit the app and release it?

Apple’s submit an app guide gives the final sequence. Your role needs to be Account Holder, Admin or App Manager.

1. Select the app, then the version in the sidebar.
2. In the Build section, confirm you have attached the right build.
3. Click Add for Review and choose a new or existing draft submission. The status changes to Ready for Review, but nothing has gone to Apple yet.
4. Click Submit for Review. When review starts the status changes to In Review.

Before submitting, choose a release option for the version. Apple’s release options guide lists three: release it yourself after approval, release it automatically after approval, or release it automatically no earlier than a date and time you set. Manual release leaves the version in Pending Developer Release until you click Release This Version, and Apple says it can then take up to 24 hours to appear on the App Store.

What should you do after the app is live?

Publishing is the start of the work. Reply to reviews, watch crash reports and ship fixes. A new version goes through the same Add for Review and Submit for Review steps, and Apple lets you release updates in phases. The guide to marketing an app and making money from an app cover what comes next.

If you are still looking for something to build, browse the board: every idea has a generated build prompt. And if you have an idea you will never build, post it so someone else can.