Testflight Release

TestFlight release (iOS companion)

Cuts a TestFlight build of TermioMobile by hand. Unlike the Mac app, this is not automated: .github/workflows has no upload step, so nothing happens when a PR merges. Every TestFlight build is a local archive + upload.

Use the asc skill for anything beyond this path (crash triage, App Store submission, metadata). This skill is only the beta-build pipeline, with the repo-specific facts that asc cannot know.

Constants

The build number in the repo is a lie

CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION in ios/TermioMobile.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj sits at an old value (285 at the time of writing) while App Store Connect is in the 700s. That is deliberate: the bump is applied for the archive and then thrown away.

Never commit the bump. Resolve it against ASC, build, upload, revert:

cd ios
asc xcode version edit --next-build-number --app 6790142237 --platform IOS \
    --project TermioMobile.xcodeproj --output json
# ... archive, export, upload ...
git checkout -- TermioMobile.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj

Uploading a build number at or below the highest one in ASC is rejected, so never guess it from the repo.

Steps

Run from a clean worktree on the commit you want to ship (normally main).

1. Bump — the command above. It reports the number it chose.

2. Archive (Release, signed for distribution):

   cd ios
   asc xcode archive \
     --project TermioMobile.xcodeproj --scheme TermioMobile \
     --configuration Release --clean \
     --archive-path .asc/artifacts/TermioMobile.xcarchive \
     --xcodebuild-flag=-destination --xcodebuild-flag=generic/platform=iOS \
     --xcodebuild-flag=-allowProvisioningUpdates --output json

3. Export. Automatic signing does not work on this Mac — Xcode's stored account token is broken (missing Xcode-Token), so asc xcode export fails with No signing certificate "iOS Distribution" found. Export manually against the profile instead, with ios/.asc/ExportOptions.plist:

   <key>method</key>                <string>app-store-connect</string>
   <key>teamID</key>                <string>5Y27G7B6D8</string>
   <key>signingStyle</key>          <string>manual</string>
   <key>signingCertificate</key>    <string>iPhone Distribution: Jiwei Yuan (5Y27G7B6D8)</string>
   <key>provisioningProfiles</key>  <dict><key>sh.termio.mobile</key><string>Termio iOS App Store</string></dict>

   xcodebuild -exportArchive \
     -archivePath .asc/artifacts/TermioMobile.xcarchive \
     -exportPath .asc/artifacts/export \
     -exportOptionsPlist .asc/ExportOptions.plist

   It still logs the DVTDeveloperAccountManager credential error; with manual signing that is noise, not a failure. Check for ** EXPORT SUCCEEDED **.

4. Upload and wait for processing:

   asc builds upload --app 6790142237 --ipa .asc/artifacts/export/TermioMobile.ipa --wait

5. What to Test — required for external testers, good manners for internal:

   asc builds test-notes create --build-id "BUILD_ID" --locale en-US \
     --whats-new "..."

   Note the subcommand is create; update only edits notes that already exist. One paragraph, concrete, no AI attribution.

6. Distribute.

   • Internal needs no command. Internal groups pick up every processed build automatically — asc builds add-groups on the Internal group fails with "Cannot add internal group to a build." Confirm instead: asc testflight distribution view --build-id "BUILD_ID" → Internal State: IN_BETA_TESTING.

   • Public Beta is external and gated on Beta App Review. Read externalBuildState before doing anything: READY_FOR_BETA_SUBMISSION means it still needs submitting, WAITING_FOR_BETA_REVIEW means it is already in Apple's queue and there is nothing to do but wait, and BETA_TESTING means it is live on the public link. Ask the user before submitting — that ships to real testers.

     It takes two commands, and the first one alone looks like it worked:

     asc builds add-groups --build-id "BUILD_ID" --group fe170244-643a-4c73-9c94-84ab44c254f9
     asc testflight review submit --build-id "BUILD_ID" --confirm

     Adding the group reports success and changes nothing — externalBuildState stays READY_FOR_BETA_SUBMISSION until the build is actually submitted. This holds even for a marketing version that has already cleared review: 1.1 build 951 still had to be submitted on 2026-08-28, having been told here that it would skip the step. What that version buys is the wait, not the submission — the state went WAITING_FOR_REVIEW → IN_BETA_TESTING within a minute rather than hours.

7. Revert the pbxproj bump and delete ios/.asc/ (untracked build artifacts, ~10 MB IPA plus the archive).