Putting your app on the App Store
What uploading an iPhone app involves, for someone who has never done it — and where the platform stands today.
Where this stands: iPhone builds are not available. The platform cannot make the iPhone file (an .ipa) for you, and your AI will tell you so honestly if you ask. Uarpie does not upload apps to the App Store either: that part is always yours.
This page is here so you know what the App Store route involves, and can plan for it.
Before you start — once, ever
- An Apple Developer account. developer.apple.com/programs. Apple charges $99 a year, in your own name, with identity verification and legal agreements only you can accept. For a business, Apple also asks for a D-U-N-S number, which is free but takes days.
- A Mac, usually. Uploading to Apple is normally done from a Mac with Apple's Transporter app; see below if you do not have one.
- Things to write down: a name (30 characters), a subtitle, a description, an icon (1024×1024), screenshots for at least one iPhone size, a support web address, a privacy policy web address, and answers about what the app collects. Your AI can write the descriptions and the policy page.
Creating the app in App Store Connect
- Go to appstoreconnect.apple.com → My Apps → + → New App.
- Choose iOS, give it the name, choose the language, and choose the bundle ID (the one in your app's
app.json, underios.bundleIdentifier; ask your AI if you are not sure). - Fill in the App Information and Pricing pages (Free).
Uploading the file
- With a Mac: open Transporter, sign in, drop the
.ipain, and choose Deliver. A few minutes later the build appears under TestFlight in App Store Connect. - Without a Mac: Transporter only runs on a Mac, so borrow one, or use a service made for uploading to Apple. Uarpie does not do this step for you.
Under TestFlight, add yourself as a tester; you can install the app on your own iPhone before it is public.
The forms Apple needs
On the version page: the screenshots, descriptions, keywords, support and privacy addresses; the App Privacy questionnaire (what the app collects — your AI knows); the age rating questionnaire; and, if the app needs a login, a demo account for the reviewer.
Then choose the build under Build, and Add for Review → Submit to App Review.
The review
A person at Apple opens the app, usually within a day or two. Apple is stricter than Google: apps that are "just a website", have too little to do, or ask for a login without explaining why are commonly refused the first time. The email says exactly why; paste it to your AI. Approval means the app appears on the App Store within a day.
Updating it later
Each update is a new version number, a new build uploaded the same way, and a new (usually faster) review.