Ship It Checklist

Checklists /Ship to the App Store /Release

Critical

Archive a release build and validate it

A simulator build cannot be submitted. You need an archive of a generic iOS device, then Validate in the Organizer or via the upload tool, before you send it to review. Validation catches the missing purpose string, the wrong icon, and bitcode or signature problems while you can still fix them the same day.

How to check

  1. Select Any iOS Device or a generic destination, then Product, Archive. Do not archive a simulator destination.
  2. In the Organizer, run Validate App against the production team.
  3. Fix every error it reports. Warnings about privacy manifests are worth reading before review.
  4. Only then choose Distribute App and App Store Connect.

Prompt

Fix prompt
Paste into Cursor or Claude Code
You are working in this iOS project. Do not add features.

Goal: The iOS scheme can archive a release build for a generic device.

The project may be Expo, React Native, Swift, a Capacitor wrapper, or a FlutterFlow export. Change only files that already exist.

Steps:
1. Check the Release configuration is the one the Archive action uses.
2. Remove settings that only succeed for a simulator, such as an x86-only dependency, if you can do that without changing features.
3. Tell me the exact Xcode or EAS command to archive. Do not upload it.
4. Do not print certificates, private keys, API keys, or App Store Connect passwords.
5. Tell me which files you changed, and list anything I still have to do in Xcode or App Store Connect.

This uses the same ticks as the checklist page, saved in this browser.

Related error fixes