Apple Developer Toolkit

Three tools in one binary. Each part works independently with different credential requirements.

Architecture

Ships as a single unified binary appledev with multi-call support:

appledev build ...    # iOS app builder (SwiftShip)
appledev store ...    # App Store Connect CLI
appledev b ...        # Short alias
appledev s ...        # Short alias

One binary, three tools, zero duplication.

Credential Requirements by Feature

| Feature | Credentials Needed | Works Without Setup | |---------|-------------------|-------------------| | Documentation Search (Part 1) | None | Yes | | App Store Connect (Part 2) | App Store Connect API key (.p8) | No | | iOS App Builder (Part 3) | LLM API key + Xcode | No |

Setup

Part 1: Documentation Search (no setup needed)

Works immediately with Node.js:

node cli.js search "NavigationStack"

Part 2: App Store Connect CLI

Install via Homebrew:

brew install Abdullah4AI/tap/appledev

Authenticate with your App Store Connect API key:

appledev store auth login --name "MyApp" --key-id "KEY_ID" --issuer-id "ISSUER_ID" --private-key /path/to/AuthKey.p8

Or set environment variables:

export APPSTORE_KEY_ID="your-key-id"
export APPSTORE_ISSUER_ID="your-issuer-id"
export APPSTORE_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH="/path/to/AuthKey.p8"

API keys are created at https://appstoreconnect.apple.com/access/integrations/api

Part 3: iOS App Builder

Prerequisites: Xcode (with iOS Simulator), XcodeGen, and an LLM API key for code generation.

appledev build setup    # Checks and installs prerequisites

Build from source

bash scripts/setup.sh

Part 1: Documentation Search

node cli.js search "NavigationStack"
node cli.js symbols "UIView"
node cli.js doc "/documentation/swiftui/navigationstack"
node cli.js overview "SwiftUI"
node cli.js samples "SwiftUI"
node cli.js wwdc-search "concurrency"
node cli.js wwdc-year 2025
node cli.js wwdc-topic "swiftui-ui-frameworks"

Part 2: App Store Connect

Full reference: references/app-store-connect.md

| Task | Command | |------|---------| | List apps | appledev store apps | | Upload build | appledev store builds upload --app "APP_ID" --ipa "app.ipa" --wait | | Find build by number | appledev store builds find --app "APP_ID" --build-number "42" | | Wait for build processing | appledev store builds wait --build "BUILD_ID" | | Publish TestFlight | appledev store publish testflight --app "APP_ID" --ipa "app.ipa" --group "Beta" --wait | | Submit App Store | appledev store publish appstore --app "APP_ID" --ipa "app.ipa" --submit --confirm --wait | | Pre-submission validation | appledev store validate --app "APP_ID" --version-id "VERSION_ID" | | List certificates | appledev store certificates list | | Reviews | appledev store reviews --app "APP_ID" --output table | | Update localizations | appledev store localizations update --app "APP_ID" --locale "en-US" --name "My App" | | Sales report | appledev store analytics sales --vendor "VENDOR" --type SALES --subtype SUMMARY --frequency DAILY --date "2024-01-20" | | Xcode Cloud | appledev store xcode-cloud run --app "APP_ID" --workflow "CI" --branch "main" --wait | | Notarize | appledev store notarization submit --file ./MyApp.zip --wait | | Status dashboard | appledev store status --app "APP_ID" --output table | | Weekly insights | appledev store insights weekly --app "APP_ID" --source analytics | | Metadata pull | appledev store metadata pull --app "APP_ID" --version "1.2.3" --dir ./metadata | | Release notes | appledev store release-notes generate --since-tag "v1.2.2" | | Diff localizations | appledev store diff localizations --app "APP_ID" --path ./metadata | | Nominations | appledev store nominations create --app "APP_ID" --name "Launch" | | Price point filter | appledev store pricing price-points --app "APP_ID" --price 0.99 | | IAP (family sharable) | appledev store iap create --app "APP_ID" --family-sharable | | Subscription (family sharable) | appledev store subscriptions create --app "APP_ID" --family-sharable |

Environment Variables

All environment variables are optional. They override flags when set.

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | APPSTORE_KEY_ID | API Key ID | | APPSTORE_ISSUER_ID | API Issuer ID | | APPSTORE_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH | Path to .p8 key file | | APPSTORE_PRIVATE_KEY | Raw private key string | | APPSTORE_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 | Base64-encoded private key | | APPSTORE_APP_ID | Default app ID | | APPSTORE_PROFILE | Default auth profile | | APPSTORE_DEBUG | Enable debug output | | APPSTORE_TIMEOUT | Request timeout | | APPSTORE_BYPASS_KEYCHAIN | Skip system keychain |

Part 3: Multi-Platform App Builder

Supports iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and iPad. Generates complete Swift/SwiftUI apps from natural language with AI-powered code generation.

appledev build                     # Interactive mode
appledev build setup               # Install prerequisites (Xcode, XcodeGen, AI backend)
appledev build fix                 # Auto-fix build errors
appledev build run                 # Build and launch in simulator
appledev build open                # Open project in Xcode
appledev build chat                # Interactive chat mode (edit/ask questions)
appledev build info                # Show project status
appledev build usage               # Token usage and cost

Supported Platforms

| Platform | Status | |----------|--------| | iOS | Full support | | iPad | Full support | | macOS | Supported | | watchOS | Supported | | tvOS | Supported | | visionOS | Supported |

How it works

describe > analyze > plan > build > fix > run

1. Analyze - Extracts app name, features, core flow, target platform from description
2. Plan - Produces file-level build plan: data models, navigation, design
3. Build - Generates Swift source files, project.yml, asset catalog
4. Fix - Compiles and auto-repairs until build succeeds
5. Run - Boots Simulator and launches the app

Interactive commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | /run | Build and launch in simulator | | /fix | Auto-fix compilation errors | | /open | Open project in Xcode | | /ask [question] | Ask a question about the project | | /model [name] | Switch model (sonnet, opus, haiku) | | /info | Show project info | | /usage | Token usage and cost |

References

| Reference | Content | |-----------|---------| | references/app-store-connect.md | Complete App Store Connect CLI commands | | references/ios-rules/ | 38 iOS development rules | | references/swiftui-guides/ | 12 SwiftUI best practice guides | | references/ios-app-builder-prompts.md | System prompts for app building |

iOS Rules (38 files)

accessibility, app_clips, app_review, apple_translation, biometrics, camera, charts, color_contrast, components, dark_mode, design-system, feedback_states, file-structure, forbidden-patterns, foundation_models, gestures, haptics, healthkit, live_activities, localization, maps, mvvm-architecture, navigation-patterns, notification_service, notifications, safari_extension, share_extension, siri_intents, spacing_layout, speech, storage-patterns, swift-conventions, timers, typography, view-composition, view_complexity, website_links, widgets

SwiftUI Guides (12 files)

animations, forms-and-input, layout, liquid-glass, list-patterns, media, modern-apis, navigation, performance, scroll-patterns, state-management, text-formatting