Ship IOS App

Ship iOS/macOS App Version

This skill manages the release workflow for iOS and macOS apps distributed via App Store Connect.

Pre-flight Checks

Before shipping, verify ALL of the following conditions:

1. Check for Ready Pull Request

gh pr list --state open --json number,title,headRefName,statusCheckRollup

A PR is ready to ship ONLY if:

• There is an open PR targeting the main branch
• All status checks have passed (all items in statusCheckRollup show "SUCCESS")

If no PR exists with passing tests, STOP and report: "No Pull Request ready to ship. A PR with passing tests is required."

2. Verify Version Bump Has Occurred

Compare the version in README.md and CLAUDE.md against the last tagged version:

# Get the last tagged version
git fetch --tags
git tag --sort=-v:refname | head -1

# Check versions in documentation files
grep -i "version" README.md
grep -i "version" CLAUDE.md

If the versions in README.md and CLAUDE.md match the last tagged version, STOP and report: "Version has not been bumped. Please update the version in README.md and CLAUDE.md before shipping."

3. Verify Version Consistency with App Store

Check that BOTH marketing version AND build number are correct:

# Check local marketing version (what users see: 1.0, 2.0, 22, 23...)
MARKETING_VERSION=$(grep "MARKETING_VERSION" <YourApp>.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj | head -1 | grep -oE '[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)*')
echo "Local Marketing Version: ${MARKETING_VERSION}"

# Check local build number (internal counter: 274, 275, 276...)
BUILD_NUMBER=$(agvtool what-version -terse)
echo "Local Build Number: ${BUILD_NUMBER}"

CRITICAL: iOS apps use TWO version numbers:

• Marketing Version (user-visible): 1.0, 2.0, 22, 23... (shown in App Store)
• Build Number (auto-incrementing): 274, 275, 276... (internal tracking)

Verify on TestFlight:

1. Marketing Version should match the version shown in TestFlight "Version" field
2. Build Number must be HIGHER than the latest TestFlight build number

If marketing version doesn't match App Store, STOP and report: "Marketing version mismatch with App Store." If build number is not higher than App Store, STOP and report: "Build number must be incremented beyond App Store Connect."

4. Verify Changelog Entry Exists

Check that CHANGELOG.md has an entry for the current release in development:

# Get the version from project
VERSION=$(grep "MARKETING_VERSION" <YourApp>.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj | head -1 | grep -oE '[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)*')

# Check if CHANGELOG.md has an entry for this version
grep -i "version ${VERSION}\|## ${VERSION}\|# ${VERSION}" CHANGELOG.md

If no changelog entry exists for the current version, STOP and report: "Missing changelog entry. CHANGELOG.md must have an entry for version ${VERSION} before shipping."

5. Determine Next Version

The next version is always one more than the last tag:

• If last tag is v1.2.3, next version is v1.2.4
• If last tag is 1.2.3, next version is 1.2.4 (preserve format)

Shipping Process

Once all pre-flight checks pass:

Step 1: Merge the Pull Request

Squash merge to keep main branch history clean:

gh pr merge <PR_NUMBER> --squash --delete-branch

Step 2: Fetch the Merge Commit

git fetch origin main
git checkout main
git pull origin main

Step 3: Tag the Merge Commit

Tag the merge commit that was just created with the agreed-upon version:

git tag <VERSION>
git push origin <VERSION>

Step 4: Verify and Report

# Verify the tag exists on remote
git ls-remote --tags origin | grep <VERSION>

# Show the tagged commit
git show <VERSION> --oneline --no-patch

Report success with:

• The version number that was shipped
• The PR number that was merged
• A link to the new tag/release

Important Rules

1. NEVER ship without a passing PR - Quality gates are mandatory
2. NEVER ship if version hasn't been bumped - Each release must have a unique version
3. NEVER ship if version doesn't match App Store canonical version - Version consistency is critical
4. NEVER ship without a changelog entry - Users need to know what changed
5. ALWAYS use squash merge - Keep main branch history clean with --squash flag
6. ALWAYS increment from last tag - Version is always last tag + 1 (patch version)
7. ALWAYS delete the branch after merge - Keep the repo clean

Failure Scenarios