The gauntlet

Your app runs on localhost. Here's everything between you and the App Store.

FoxDog AI · 6 min read

You built an app with your agent and it runs great on your machine. Then you try to ship it — and hit a wall of unfamiliar steps that have nothing to do with code. Here's the whole path, in order, so none of it surprises you.

1. A developer account (and maybe a company)

Apple Developer Program is $99/yr; Google Play is a $25 one-time fee. Note: new rules can put your name and home address on your public store listing — forming an LLC keeps it private (more on that here).

2. Signing keys & identifiers

iOS needs an App Store Connect API key (a .p8 file) plus a bundle ID — which is permanent once set. Android needs a keystore and a service-account key. These let your tools submit on your behalf, and they should stay on your machine.

3. The app record + compliance forms (no API)

You create the app record by hand in App Store Connect — Apple's API famously rejects this step. Then come the forms with no automation: App Privacy "nutrition labels" (iOS), and Data Safety, Content Rating (IARC), and Target Audience (Google). You fill them with exact answers, and getting them wrong is a common rejection.

4. Build, sign, upload

iOS builds require a Mac with Xcode (archive → IPA → TestFlight). Android produces a signed AAB. Important: TestFlight is testing, not submitted — getting on TestFlight is not the same as being live.

5. Review

Apple review is often 24–48 hours. Google adds a twist: new personal accounts must run a 12-tester, 14-day closed test before they can publish to production. First-timers get rejected often — privacy mismatches, "minimum functionality," in-app-purchase metadata.

6. Live — and then the real work

Being live in a store nobody visits isn't a launch. Your first users, your first ratings, and real feedback are the actual goal. (See getting your first 100 users.)