Publishing to App Stores

Publishing to App Stores

Guide to submitting Capacitor apps to Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

When to Use This Skill

• User is ready to publish app
• User asks about app store submission
• User needs app store screenshots
• User has app rejection issues
• User needs to update app listing

Pre-Submission Checklist

Universal Requirements

• App icon in all required sizes
• Splash screen configured
• App name and bundle ID set
• Version and build numbers set
• Privacy policy URL
• Terms of service URL
• Support email/​URL
• Age rating content questionnaire
• App description (short and long)
• Keywords/​tags
• Screenshots for all device sizes
• Feature graphic (Android)
• App preview video (optional)

iOS-Specific

• Apple Developer Program membership ($99/​year)
• App Store Connect app created
• Signing certificates and profiles
• Info.plist usage descriptions
• App Tracking Transparency (if applicable)
• Sign in with Apple (if social login used)
• Export compliance (encryption)

Android-Specific

• Google Play Developer account ($25 one-time)
• App signed with release keystore
• Target SDK level (API 34+)
• 64-bit support
• Permissions declared in manifest
• Data safety form completed
• Content rating questionnaire

App Store Configuration

Version and Build Numbers

// capacitor.config.ts - Not stored here, just for reference

// iOS: Info.plist
// CFBundleShortVersionString = "1.2.3" (user-visible)
// CFBundleVersion = "45" (build number, increment each upload)

// Android: build.gradle
// versionName = "1.2.3" (user-visible)
// versionCode = 45 (must increment each upload)

iOS Info.plist

<!-- ios/​App/​App/​Info.plist -->
<key>CFBundleDisplayName</​key>
<string>My App</​string>

<key>CFBundleShortVersionString</​key>
<string>1.0.0</​string>

<key>CFBundleVersion</​key>
<string>1</​string>

<!-- Privacy descriptions - REQUIRED for permissions -->
<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</​key>
<string>Take photos for your profile</​string>

<key>NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription</​key>
<string>Select photos from your library</​string>

<key>NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription</​key>
<string>Find nearby locations</​string>

<key>NSFaceIDUsageDescription</​key>
<string>Secure login with Face ID</​string>

<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</​key>
<string>Record voice messages</​string>

<!-- App Tracking Transparency -->
<key>NSUserTrackingUsageDescription</​key>
<string>Allow tracking for personalized ads</​string>

<!-- Export compliance -->
<key>ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption</​key>
<false/>

Android build.gradle

// android/​app/​build.gradle
android {
    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "com.yourcompany.yourapp"
        minSdkVersion 22
        targetSdkVersion 34
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0.0"

        // 64-bit support
        ndk {
            abiFilters 'armeabi-v7a', 'arm64-v8a', 'x86', 'x86_64'
        }
    }

    buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled true
            shrinkResources true
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
        }
    }

    bundle {
        language {
            enableSplit = true
        }
        density {
            enableSplit = true
        }
        abi {
            enableSplit = true
        }
    }
}

App Icons

iOS App Icons

Required sizes (place in Assets.xcassets):

Android App Icons

Required sizes (place in res/​mipmap-*):

Also needed:

• Adaptive icon (foreground + background layers)
• Play Store icon: 512x512

Generate Icons

# Use capacitor-assets
bun add -D @capacitor/​assets
bunx capacitor-assets generate --iconBackgroundColor '#ffffff'

Screenshots

iOS Screenshot Sizes

Android Screenshot Sizes

Feature Graphic (Android)

• Size: 1024x500
• Required for Play Store listing

Generating Screenshots

// Use Playwright for automated screenshots
import { test } from '@playwright/​test';

const devices = [
  { name: 'iPhone 14 Pro Max', viewport: { width: 430, height: 932 } },
  { name: 'iPhone 14', viewport: { width: 390, height: 844 } },
  { name: 'Pixel 7', viewport: { width: 412, height: 915 } },
];

test('generate screenshots', async ({ page }) => {
  for (const device of devices) {
    await page.setViewportSize(device.viewport);

    // Screenshot 1: Home
    await page.goto('/');
    await page.screenshot({
      path: `screenshots/​${device.name}-home.png`,
      fullPage: false,
    });

    // Screenshot 2: Feature
    await page.goto('/​feature');
    await page.screenshot({
      path: `screenshots/​${device.name}-feature.png`,
    });
  }
});

App Store Connect Submission

1. Create App

1. Go to https://appstoreconnect.apple.com
2. My Apps > + > New App
3. Fill in:
   • Platform: iOS
   • Name: Your App Name
   • Primary Language
   • Bundle ID
   • SKU (unique identifier)

2. App Information

• Category (primary and secondary)
• Content Rights
• Age Rating (complete questionnaire)

3. Pricing and Availability

• Price (Free or paid tier)
• Availability (countries)

4. App Privacy

• Privacy Policy URL (required)
• Data collection types:
  • Contact Info
  • Health & Fitness
  • Financial Info
  • Location
  • Identifiers
  • Usage Data
  • etc.

5. Version Information

• Screenshots (all sizes)
• Promotional Text (170 chars)
• Description (4000 chars)
• Keywords (100 chars, comma-separated)
• Support URL
• Marketing URL (optional)
• What's New (for updates)

6. Build Upload

# Using Xcode
# Product > Archive > Distribute App > App Store Connect

# Using Fastlane
fastlane ios release

# Using xcrun
xcrun altool --upload-app --type ios --file App.ipa \
  --apiKey KEY_ID --apiIssuer ISSUER_ID

7. Submit for Review

• Answer export compliance questions
• Add notes for reviewer (if needed)
• Submit

Google Play Console Submission

1. Create App

1. Go to https://play.google.com/console
2. All apps > Create app
3. Fill in:
   • App name
   • Default language
   • App or game
   • Free or paid

2. Store Listing

• Short description (80 chars)
• Full description (4000 chars)
• Screenshots (2-8 per device type)
• Feature graphic (1024x500)
• App icon (512x512)
• Video URL (optional, YouTube)

3. Content Rating

Complete the questionnaire for IARC rating

4. Target Audience

• Target age group
• Ads declaration

5. Data Safety

• Data collection
• Data sharing
• Security practices
• Data deletion request handling

6. App Content

• Ads (yes/​no)
• App category
• Contact details
• Privacy policy

7. Release

# Build AAB (required for new apps)
cd android && ./​gradlew bundleRelease

# Upload via Play Console or API
# Production > Create new release > Upload AAB

Release Tracks

Common Rejection Reasons

iOS Rejections

Android Rejections

Updates and Versioning

Version Incrementing

# Increment patch (1.0.0 -> 1.0.1)
bun version patch

# Increment minor (1.0.0 -> 1.1.0)
bun version minor

# Increment major (1.0.0 -> 2.0.0)
bun version major

Phased Rollout

iOS:

• Enable phased release in App Store Connect
• 7-day gradual rollout (1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 50%, 100%)

Android:

• Set rollout percentage in release
• Monitor crash rate before increasing

Resources

• App Store Review Guidelines: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines
• Google Play Policy Center: https://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy
• App Store Connect: https://appstoreconnect.apple.com
• Google Play Console: https://play.google.com/console
• Capacitor Assets: https://github.com/ionic-team/capacitor-assets