How to Publish Your App on the Apple App Store
From an idea to a live iOS app. Build it by describing it, then follow the exact submission path — including the parts Apple makes you do yourself.
Step by step
Describe the app you want
Open the Brainbaby App Builder and describe your app in plain language — what it does, who it's for, what the main screen shows. You get a working React Native app, not a mockup, and you refine it by asking for changes.
Test it on your actual phone
Use Run on Device to open the app on your own handset before you go near a store. Scrolling, keyboards and safe areas behave differently on real hardware than in any preview, and it is far cheaper to find that now than after a rejected build.
Enrol in the Apple Developer Program
Apple charges $99/year and this is not optional — you cannot publish to the App Store without it. Enrolment can take a day or two to verify, so start it early. Individual accounts publish under your own name; an organisation account needs a D-U-N-S number, which takes longer.
Export your store-ready project
Brainbaby exports the full Expo project with app.json and eas.json already configured, including the bundle identifier — a missing bundle identifier is the single most common reason a first build refuses to start.
Build a signed binary
Run `eas build --platform ios` from the exported project. Expo's cloud builders compile it and handle signing certificates and provisioning profiles for you, which is the part that historically required a Mac and a lot of patience.
Upload to App Store Connect
`eas submit --platform ios` sends the build to Apple. It appears in TestFlight first — install it there and use it properly for a day. Reviewers open your app before they read anything you wrote about it.
Write the listing
Name, subtitle, description, keywords, screenshots for each required device size, a privacy policy URL, and the App Privacy questionnaire. The questionnaire is the one people rush; answering it inaccurately is a rejection, and a slow one.
Submit for review
Apple reviews most apps within 24 to 48 hours. Rejections are usually specific and fixable — incomplete metadata, a crash on launch, or a login with no demo account provided. Give the reviewer a test account if your app has a sign-in.