App Store Connect API Key

Remember, documentation is king. For the full official reference, see Creating API Keys for App Store Connect API — Apple Developer.

This guide walks you through creating an App Store Connect API key for automated iOS and macOS app uploads, and storing the credentials as GitHub repository secrets.

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Prerequisites

• An active Apple Developer Program membership
• Admin or Account Holder role in App Store Connect
• Your app record must already be created in App Store Connect (go to My Apps > + to create it)

Note: Unlike Google Play and Microsoft Store, App Store Connect does not require a manual first upload — you can use the API key to upload builds from the start. However, the app record (bundle ID, app name, SKU) must exist in App Store Connect before uploading.

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Step 1 — Navigate to API Keys

1. Go to App Store Connect
2. Navigate to Users and Access
3. Select the Integrations tab
4. Click on App Store Connect API

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Step 2 — Generate an API Key

1. Click the + button to create a new key
2. Enter a name for the key (e.g., CI/CD Upload Key)
3. Select the access level:
   • App Manager — recommended for CI/CD uploads
   • Developer — minimum role for uploading builds
4. Click Generate

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Step 3 — Download the Private Key

1. After generation, click Download API Key to get the .p8 file
2. Save this file securely — it can only be downloaded once

If you lose the .p8 file, you will need to revoke the key and create a new one.

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Step 4 — Note the Key ID and Issuer ID

On the same API Keys page:

• Key ID — displayed next to your key name (e.g., ABC123DEF4)
• Issuer ID — displayed at the top of the page (a UUID like xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx)

Save both values.

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Step 5 — Encode the Private Key with Base64

# macOS
base64 -i AuthKey_ABC123DEF4.p8 | pbcopy

Replace ABC123DEF4 with your actual Key ID.

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Step 6 — Store Secrets in GitHub

Go to Your repository > Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions and create the following secrets:

Secret name	Value
APPLE_API_KEY_ID	The Key ID from Step 4
APPLE_API_KEY_ISSUER_ID	The Issuer ID (UUID) from Step 4
APPLE_API_KEY_CONTENT	The Base64-encoded .p8 file from Step 5

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Step 7 — Use the Secrets in Your Workflow

For iOS publishing:

- name: Publish to App Store (iOS)
  uses: Spaccesi/flutter-actions-suite/publish/ios-app-store@main
  with:
    apple-api-key-id: ${{ secrets.APPLE_API_KEY_ID }}
    apple-api-key-issuer-id: ${{ secrets.APPLE_API_KEY_ISSUER_ID }}
    apple-api-key-content: ${{ secrets.APPLE_API_KEY_CONTENT }}

For macOS publishing:

- name: Publish to App Store (macOS)
  uses: Spaccesi/flutter-actions-suite/publish/macos-app-store@main
  with:
    apple-api-key-id: ${{ secrets.APPLE_API_KEY_ID }}
    apple-api-key-issuer-id: ${{ secrets.APPLE_API_KEY_ISSUER_ID }}
    apple-api-key-content: ${{ secrets.APPLE_API_KEY_CONTENT }}

The same API key works for both iOS and macOS uploads.

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Summary

Step	Action
1	Navigate to App Store Connect API Keys
2	Generate a new API key with App Manager role
3	Download the .p8 private key (one-time download)
4	Note the Key ID and Issuer ID
5	Encode the .p8 file with Base64
6	Store all three values as GitHub secrets
7	Reference the secrets in your workflow