Visual overview
Use the workflow to follow the task, and the architecture map to separate responsibilities. These are conceptual maps; the guide below defines implementation details and verification limits.
- Select project, app target and release configuration
- Inspect purpose strings, privacy reasons and capabilities
- Review metadata and unresolved compliance answers
- Seal the readiness report in ship preparation
- Boundary 1Selected source, plist, entitlements and resource evidence
- Boundary 2Read-only checks with explicit uncertainty
- Boundary 3Developer review before separately approved signing and upload
Connected responsibilities, not a required class hierarchy or an execution trace.
Use the existing audit_app_store_readiness MCP tool or the terminal command from a built checkout:
node mcp-server/dist/unified.js readiness --path /path/to/app \
--project App.xcodeproj --target App --configuration Release \
--metadata metadata.json
The optional metadata file contains name and subtitle; other fields are ignored by this review. The tool runs offline without a model, Apple account or paid service. It does not edit, sign, submit or upload anything.
What is checked
| Evidence | Check | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete permission operations | Selected Info.plist purpose strings, including empty values and generated keys | Reuses the integration permission catalog; imports alone are not requests. Localized strings and unresolved settings need built-app review. |
| HealthKit, Apple Pay, CloudKit, push operations | Selected entitlement presence and expected value shape | Reuses the integration checker. No provisioning validation; unused entitlements are not deleted or declared incorrect. |
| Required-reason API indicators | Nonempty structurally valid category/reason entries in the app target's resource manifest | Five categories: UserDefaults, SystemBootTime, FileTimestamp, DiskSpace, ActiveKeyboards. This is bounded lexical coverage, not a complete API or binary scan. |
| Export compliance | Missing answer advisory and incorrect Boolean type | Never guesses whether encryption is exempt. A missing key is not proof of rejection: App Store Connect can collect the answer. |
| Name and subtitle | Length over 30 characters; possible pricing wording advisory | “Free” may be contextual. No keyword match proves a violation or predicts a rejection. English pricing patterns only. |
| Launch configuration | Existing target-aware storyboard, asset and launch-setting checks | Same existing engine, applied to each selected project/target/configuration. |
A manifest elsewhere in the repository cannot satisfy the selected target's resource membership. An app with no detected required-reason use is not automatically required to add a manifest by this check. Empty or malformed required-reason declarations are reported only when the corresponding use is found. A syntactically valid reason is not verified to be an Apple-approved or legally applicable reason: the developer must check Apple's current list and actual data use.
Unknown is not ready
Missing/ambiguous settings, xcconfig inheritance, preprocessing, folder/synchronized resources, generated inputs, unresolved variables, non-app targets and unsupported project formats are reported as limitations. Missing-key findings are suppressed when the effective configuration cannot be established. Conditional compilation branches are not guessed. The report includes each target and configuration rather than merging every plist in a repository.
Static source matching can miss wrappers, Objective-C, imported binaries or dynamically generated code, and cannot establish runtime paths or app behavior. Review the final archive, privacy report, localizations, SDK manifests and provisioning before submitting. No output is an Apple approval certificate.
Exit 1 means actionable static findings; 2 means incomplete coverage; 0 means the bounded checks completed without actionable findings or reported coverage gaps. Minor advisories still require reading. None of these codes establishes App Store acceptance.
Ship integration
ship prepare reuses this check for the selected release project/target/configuration and supplied metadata. It writes readiness.json before sealing the existing artifact hashes. Review the report alongside analysis.json and metadata drafts. An unknown or advisory result does not secretly authorize signing or uploading: those remain separate explicit approvals. This report does not add an automatic legal/compliance gate or alter the existing resumability and integrity mechanism.
Sources
Rules reviewed October 11, 2026. Static checks support developer review; they do not replace Apple's current requirements.