asc metadata sync

Use this skill to keep App Store metadata in sync with App Store Connect. Prefer the canonical asc metadata workflow for app-info and version localization fields. Use the lower-level asc localizations and asc migrate commands only when the user specifically needs .strings files or legacy fastlane-format metadata.

Current canonical workflow

1. Pull canonical metadata

asc metadata pull --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata"

If the app has multiple app-info records, resolve the app-info ID first and pass it explicitly:

asc apps info list --app "APP_ID" --output table
asc metadata pull --app "APP_ID" --app-info "APP_INFO_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata"

2. Edit local files

Canonical files are written under:

• metadata/app-info/<locale>.json for app-level fields: name, subtitle, privacyPolicyUrl, privacyChoicesUrl, privacyPolicyText
• metadata/version/<version>/<locale>.json for version fields: description, keywords, marketingUrl, promotionalText, supportUrl, whatsNew

Copyright is not a localization field. Manage it with:

asc versions update --version-id "VERSION_ID" --copyright "2026 Your Company"

3. Validate before upload

asc metadata validate --dir "./metadata" --output table

For subscription apps, include the extra Terms of Use / EULA heuristic:

asc metadata validate --dir "./metadata" --subscription-app --output table

4. Preview and apply

Run a dry run first:

asc metadata push --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata" --dry-run --output table

Apply after the plan looks correct:

asc metadata push --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata"

Use asc metadata apply when the user wants the apply-named command shape for the same canonical files:

asc metadata apply --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata" --dry-run
asc metadata apply --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata"

For a review-artifact workflow with explicit approval before mutation, use the metadata review commands introduced in asc 2.6.1:

asc metadata plan --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata" --review-dir ".asc/metadata/review"
asc metadata approve --review-dir ".asc/metadata/review" --all
asc metadata status --review-dir ".asc/metadata/review" --output table
asc metadata apply --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata" --review-dir ".asc/metadata/review" --confirm

Use asc metadata approve --key "version:1.2.3:en-US:whatsNew" or --scope app-info,version when the user wants selective approval artifacts before the guarded apply. Version-scoped keys include the App Store version string.

App Clip and preview transfers

Metadata pull/push defaults to localization text. Select asset scopes explicitly:

asc metadata pull --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata" --include localizations,app-clip,previews
asc metadata push --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata" --include localizations,app-clip,previews --dry-run
asc metadata push --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata" --include localizations,app-clip,previews --confirm

Preview validation requires ffprobe. App Clip header replacement deletes the old header first and also requires --allow-deletes; authorize that replacement explicitly. Exports may contain HLS .m3u8 playlists and .preview.json references, not original videos. Matching remote previews can be reused; an unmatched reference needs the original video or exclusion of previews from --include. Renaming a playlist to .mp4 does not make it uploadable. Direct video-previews download also returns playlists; use a .m3u8 output path for individual downloads.

For reusable library media, headers/search creative assets, or localized placements, read Asset Library workflows. These are separate from App Clip header images and ordinary metadata text.

Keyword-only workflow

Use this when only the version-localization keywords field should change:

asc metadata keywords diff --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata"
asc metadata keywords apply --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata" --confirm

For importing keyword research:

asc metadata keywords import --dir "./metadata" --version "1.2.3" --locale "en-US" --input "./keywords.csv"
asc metadata keywords sync --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --dir "./metadata" --input "./keywords.csv"

Quick field updates

For one-off version-localization edits, pass an explicit version selector. Use --version-id for deterministic updates when you already have it, or --version plus --platform when working from a version string.

asc apps info edit --app "APP_ID" --version-id "VERSION_ID" --locale "en-US" --whats-new "Bug fixes and improvements"
asc apps info edit --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --locale "en-US" --description "Your app description here"
asc apps info edit --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --locale "en-US" --keywords "keyword1,keyword2,keyword3"
asc apps info edit --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --platform IOS --locale "en-US" --support-url "https://support.example.com"

For app-info fields, prefer the post-create setup command:

asc app-setup info set --app "APP_ID" --primary-locale "en-US" --privacy-policy-url "https://example.com/privacy"
asc app-setup info set --app "APP_ID" --locale "en-US" --name "Your App Name" --subtitle "Your subtitle"

Lower-level localization files

Use .strings files when the user specifically wants import/export files instead of canonical JSON:

asc localizations list --version "VERSION_ID" --output table
asc localizations download --version "VERSION_ID" --path "./localizations"
asc localizations upload --version "VERSION_ID" --path "./localizations" --dry-run
asc localizations upload --version "VERSION_ID" --path "./localizations"

For app-info localizations:

asc apps info list --app "APP_ID" --output table
asc localizations list --app "APP_ID" --type app-info --app-info "APP_INFO_ID" --output table
asc localizations download --app "APP_ID" --type app-info --app-info "APP_INFO_ID" --path "./app-info-localizations"
asc localizations upload --app "APP_ID" --type app-info --app-info "APP_INFO_ID" --path "./app-info-localizations" --dry-run
asc localizations upload --app "APP_ID" --type app-info --app-info "APP_INFO_ID" --path "./app-info-localizations"

Legacy fastlane metadata

Use this only for existing fastlane-format trees:

asc migrate export --app "APP_ID" --version-id "VERSION_ID" --output-dir "./fastlane"
asc migrate validate --fastlane-dir "./fastlane"
asc migrate import --app "APP_ID" --version-id "VERSION_ID" --fastlane-dir "./fastlane" --dry-run
asc migrate import --app "APP_ID" --version-id "VERSION_ID" --fastlane-dir "./fastlane" --confirm

Deliverfile metadata_path and screenshots_path values take precedence and resolve relative to the Deliverfile. With --fastlane-dir "./fastlane", use metadata_path "./metadata" rather than "./fastlane/metadata"; the latter resolves to ./fastlane/fastlane/metadata. Fix stale values in the Deliverfile, or remove them to use the conventional metadata/ and screenshots/ directories.

Paths outside the selected Fastlane directory fail unless the operator explicitly trusts them with --allow-external-metadata or --allow-external-screenshots. Keep those flags off for untrusted imports.

An import --dry-run inventories local inputs by default. Add --check-remote to compare remote store assets without writes; this requires auth and may download delivered media. Use --skip-previews when exported playlist references cannot be matched and the original videos are unavailable.

Inspect the validation body as well as the process exit: asc migrate validate can return a report with valid: false and a nonzero errorCount while exiting 0. A confirmed import can print status: "partial" with completed stages and failure details while exiting nonzero, so non-empty stdout does not mean success.

Character limits

Agent behavior

• Start with asc metadata pull unless the user specifically asks for .strings or fastlane metadata.
• Always run asc metadata validate before remote writes.
• Preview remote changes with --dry-run when the command supports it.
• Use asc metadata plan plus approve/status when the user wants a durable review artifact before apply.
• For quick edits, always pass --version-id or --version plus --platform; do not rely on ambiguous latest-version behavior.
• Keep app-info fields and version fields separate.
• Use --output table for human verification and JSON for automation.