Apple Developer setup

Your iOS app is submitted under your own Apple Developer account, not Appolar's. You own the App Store listing, the reviews, and the relationship with your customers. This page walks you through the one-time setup.

What you need

Before Appolar can compile and submit your iOS app, you need an active Apple Developer Program membership. The fee is $99 per year, billed to your Apple ID. Once enrolled, you control your app's listing, pricing, and release schedule directly in App Store Connect.

Appolar handles the compilation (via EAS and Xcode Cloud) and the submission. You provide the credentials that authorize Appolar to act on your behalf. You never need to install Xcode or touch a certificate manually.

Create your Apple Developer account

Go to developer.apple.com/programs/enroll and sign in with your Apple ID. If you do not have one, create it first at appleid.apple.com.

Choose your enrollment type: Individual or Organization. Individual enrollment is faster and requires no extra documentation. Organization enrollment ties the account to your legal business entity and requires the D-U-N-S number mentioned above.

Complete identity verification and payment. After Apple processes your enrollment, you will receive a confirmation email and your developer portal will be active within a few minutes.

Create an App ID

An App ID (also called a bundle identifier) is the unique reverse-domain name that identifies your app across Apple's systems. You will need to create one before Appolar can build your app.

1. In the Apple Developer portal, go to Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles, then select Identifiers.
2. Click the + button to register a new identifier. Choose App IDs, then App.
3. Enter a description (e.g., "My Store App") and a bundle ID in reverse-domain format. Use something like com.yourstore.app where yourstore matches your store name. Once set, the bundle ID cannot be changed without creating a new App Store listing.
4. Under Capabilities, enable Push Notifications. This is required for Appolar's push notification feature to work after you configure it.
5. Click Continue and then Register.

Copy the exact bundle ID string. You will enter it in Appolar's admin when connecting your account.

Generate an App Store Connect API key

An App Store Connect API key lets Appolar submit builds, manage metadata, and push releases on your behalf without needing your Apple ID password.

1. Go to App Store Connect and open Users and Access, then the Keys tab.
2. Click the + button to generate a new key.
3. Give it a name like "Appolar" and set the access role to Developer. Developer access is sufficient for Appolar's needs.
4. Click Generate, then download the .p8 file immediately. Apple only makes this file available once. If you close the page without downloading it, you will need to revoke the key and create a new one.
5. Note your Issuer ID (shown at the top of the Keys page, a UUID) and the Key ID (the 10-character code shown next to each key in the list). You will need both.

Connect to Appolar

Once you have your Issuer ID, Key ID, and .p8 file ready, connect your Apple account in Appolar:

1. In your Shopify admin, open the Appolar sidebar and go to Settings.
2. Select App Accounts, then the Apple tab.
3. Enter your Issuer ID and Key ID in the corresponding fields.
4. Upload your .p8 file.
5. Also enter the bundle ID you registered earlier (e.g., com.yourstore.app).
6. Click Save. Appolar tests the connection and shows a green checkmark if valid.

With a valid connection, you are ready to trigger your first iOS build. Certificates and provisioning profiles are generated and managed by Appolar automatically — you do not need to create them yourself.