asc-build-lifecycle_skill

Overview

This skill automates tracking and lifecycle management for App Store Connect builds using the asc CLI. It helps you find the latest builds, inspect processing state, run end-to-end distribution, and clean up old or expired builds. Use it to enforce build retention policies and to wait for processing before publishing.

How this skill works

The skill issues asc CLI commands to list and query builds, fetch build details, publish to TestFlight or App Store, and expire builds based on age. It supports preview dry-runs for safe cleanup and flags to wait or poll until processing completes. Commands include listing recent builds, showing build info, publishing with --wait, and expiring builds individually or in bulk.

When to use it

• When you need the latest build for a specific app version or platform before publishing.
• When you must check build processing status and wait for completion.
• When automating TestFlight or App Store distribution pipelines end-to-end.
• When enforcing retention policies and removing old builds to free space.
• When you want to preview which builds would be expired before applying changes.

Best practices

• Use asc builds latest or asc builds list with sorting to reliably pick the intended build.
• Include --wait, --poll-interval, and --timeout on long processing operations to avoid race conditions.
• Run expire-all with --dry-run first to review which builds will be removed.
• Prefer asc publish for full upload-to-distribution flows instead of asc builds upload alone.
• Automate cleanup on a schedule and retain a buffer window (e.g., 90 days) to avoid accidental removals.

Example use cases

• CI pipeline: fetch asc builds latest for version X, wait for processing, then asc publish testflight --wait to distribute to testers.
• Audit: list recent builds with asc builds list --limit to verify uploads and timestamps.
• Retention enforcement: run asc builds expire-all --older-than 90d --dry-run, then confirm to remove old builds.
• Manual troubleshooting: use asc builds info --build to inspect processing errors for a specific build ID.
• One-off removal: remove a problematic build with asc builds expire --build to prevent accidental distribution.