Axiom App Store Connect Ref

---
name: axiom-app-store-connect-ref
description: Reference for App Store Connect crash analysis, TestFlight feedback, metrics dashboards, and data export workflows
user-invocable: true
skill_type: reference
version: 1.0.0
mcp:
  category: debugging
  tags: [app-store-connect, crashes, testflight, metrics, feedback, analytics]
  related: [axiom-testflight-triage, crash-analyzer]
---

# App Store Connect Reference

## Overview

App Store Connect (ASC) provides crash reports, TestFlight feedback, and performance metrics for your apps. This reference covers how to navigate ASC to find and export crash data for analysis.

**When to use ASC vs Xcode Organizer:**

| Task | Best Tool |
|------|-----------|
| Quick crash triage during development | Xcode Organizer |
| Team-wide crash visibility | App Store Connect |
| TestFlight feedback with screenshots | App Store Connect |
| Historical metrics and trends | App Store Connect |
| Downloading crash logs for analysis | Either (ASC has better export) |
| Symbolication | Xcode Organizer |

---

## Navigating to Crash Data

### Path to Crashes

```
App Store Connect
└── My Apps
    └── [Your App]
        └── Analytics
            └── Crashes
```

**Direct URL pattern:** `https://appstoreconnect.apple.com/analytics/app/[APP_ID]/crashes`

### Crashes Dashboard Layout

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [Filters: Platform ▼] [Version ▼] [Date Range ▼] [Compare ▼]           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                         │
│  Crash-Free Users Graph                                                 │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │  99.5% ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────    │   │
│  │  99.0% ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────    │   │
│  │  98.5% ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────    │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                                                         │
│  Crash Count by Version                                                 │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│  │ v2.1.0  ████████████ 1,234 crashes                                │ │
│  │ v2.0.5  ████████ 892 crashes                                      │ │
│  │ v2.0.4  ███ 156 crashes                                           │ │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│                                                                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Top Crash Signatures                                                   │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│  │ 1. EXC_BAD_ACCESS in UserManager.currentUser.getter    45% share  │ │
│  │ 2. EXC_CRASH in NetworkService.fetchData()             23% share  │ │
│  │ 3. EXC_BREAKPOINT in Array subscript                   12% share  │ │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Key Metrics Explained

| Metric | What It Means |
|--------|---------------|
| **Crash-Free Users** | Percentage of daily active users who didn't experience a crash |
| **Crash Count** | Total number of crash reports received |
| **Crash Rate** | Crashes per 1,000 sessions |
| **Affected Devices** | Number of unique devices that crashed |
| **Crash Signature** | Grouped crashes with same stack trace |

### Filtering Options

| Filter | Use Case |
|--------|----------|
| **Platform** | iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS |
| **Version** | Drill into specific app versions |
| **Date Range** | Last 7/30/90 days or custom range |
| **Compare** | Compare crash rates between versions |
| **Device** | Filter by iPhone model, iPad, etc. |
| **OS Version** | Find OS-specific crashes |

---

## Viewing Individual Crash Reports

### Crash Signature Detail View

Click a crash signature to see:

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ EXC_BAD_ACCESS in UserManager.currentUser.getter                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Affected: 234 devices • 45% of crashes • First seen: Jan 10            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                         │
│ Exception Information                                                   │
│ ───────────────────                                                     │
│ Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)                                         │
│ Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000010                       │
│                                                                         │
│ Crashed Thread (0)                                                      │
│ ─────────────────                                                       │
│ 0  MyApp         UserManager.currentUser.getter + 45                    │
│ 1  MyApp         ProfileViewController.viewDidLoad() + 123              │
│ 2  UIKitCore     -[UIViewController loadView] + 89                      │
│ 3  UIKitCore     -[UIViewController view] + 27                          │
│                                                                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Distribution                                                            │
│ ───────────────                                                         │
│ iOS 17.2: ████████ 65%                                                  │
│ iOS 17.1: ████ 25%                                                      │
│ iOS 16.4: ██ 10%                                                        │
│                                                                         │
│ iPhone 15 Pro: ████████ 45%                                             │
│ iPhone 14:     ████ 30%                                                 │
│ iPhone 13:     ██ 15%                                                   │
│ Other:         █ 10%                                                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Downloading Crash Logs

1. Click on a crash signature
2. Look for **Download Logs** button (top right)
3. Select format:
   - **.ips** (JSON format, iOS 15+)
   - **.crash** (text format, legacy)
4. Use `crash-analyzer` agent to parse: `/axiom:analyze-crash`

---

## TestFlight Feedback

### Path to Feedback

```
App Store Connect
└── My Apps
    └── [Your App]
        └── TestFlight
            └── Feedback
```

### Feedback Entry Contents

Each feedback submission includes:

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| **Screenshot** | What the tester saw (often most valuable) |
| **Comment** | Tester's description of the issue |
| **App Version** | Exact TestFlight build number |
| **Device Model** | iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad Air, etc. |
| **OS Version** | iOS 17.2.1, etc. |
| **Battery Level** | Low battery can affect behavior |
| **Available Disk** | Low disk can cause write failures |
| **Network Type** | WiFi vs Cellular |
| **Locale** | Language and region settings |
| **Timestamp** | When submitted |

### Feedback Filtering

| Filter | Use Case |
|--------|----------|
| **Build** | Focus on specific TestFlight builds |
| **Date** | Recent feedback first |
| **Has Screenshot** | Find visual issues quickly |

### Limitation: No Reply

TestFlight feedback is **one-way**. You cannot respond to testers through ASC. For follow-up:

- Contact through TestFlight group email
- Add in-app feedback mechanism
- Include your email in TestFlight notes

---

## Metrics Dashboard

### Path to Metrics

```
App Store Connect
└── My Apps
    └── [Your App]
        └── Analytics
            └── Metrics
```

### Available Metrics Categories

| Category | What It Shows |
|----------|---------------|
| **Crashes** | Crash-free users, crash count, top signatures |
| **Hang Rate** | Main thread hangs > 250ms |
| **Disk Writes** | Excessive disk I/O patterns |
| **Launch Time** | App startup performance |
| **Memory** | Peak memory usage, terminations |
| **Battery** | Energy usage during foreground/background |
| **Scrolling** | Scroll hitch rate |

### Terminations (Non-Crash Kills)

The Metrics dashboard shows terminations that don't produce crash reports:

| Termination Type | Cause |
|------------------|-------|
| **Memory Limit** | Jetsam killed app for memory pressure |
| **CPU Limit (Background)** | Exceeded background CPU quota |
| **Launch Timeout** | App took too long to launch |
| **Background Task Timeout** | Background task exceeded time limit |

### Comparing Versions

Use the **Compare** filter to see:

- Did crash rate improve or regress?
- Which version introduced a spike?
- Performance trends over releases

---

## Exporting Data

### Manual Export

1. Navigate to Crashes or Metrics
2. Use date range filter to select period
3. Click **Export** (if available) or download individual crash logs

### App Store Connect API

For automated export, use the [App Store Connect API](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appstoreconnectapi):

```bash
# Get crash diagnostic insights
GET /v1/apps/{id}/perfPowerMetrics

# Authentication requires API key from ASC
# Users and Access → Keys → App Store Connect API
```

**API capabilities:**

| Endpoint | Data |
|----------|------|
| `perfPowerMetrics` | Performance and power metrics |
| `diagnosticSignatures` | Crash signature aggregates |
| `diagnosticLogs` | Individual crash logs |
| `betaTesters` | TestFlight tester info |
| `betaFeedback` | TestFlight feedback entries |

### Xcode Cloud Integration

If using Xcode Cloud, crash data integrates with CI/CD:

- View crashes per workflow run
- Compare crash rates between branches
- Automated alerts on crash spikes

---

## Best Practices

### Daily Monitoring

1. Check crash-free users percentage
2. Review any new crash signatures
3. Monitor for version-to-version regressions

### Crash Triage Priority

| Priority | Criteria |
|----------|----------|
| **P0 - Critical** | >1% of users affected, data loss risk |
| **P1 - High** | >0.5% affected, user-facing impact |
| **P2 - Medium** | <0.5% affected, workaround exists |
| **P3 - Low** | Rare, edge case, no impact |

### Correlating with Releases

After each release:

1. Wait 24-48 hours for crash data to populate
2. Compare crash-free rate to previous version
3. Investigate any new top crash signatures
4. Check TestFlight feedback for user reports

---

## Common Questions

### Why don't I see crashes in ASC?

| Cause | Fix |
|-------|-----|
| Too recent | Wait 24 hours for processing |
| No users yet | Need active installs to report |
| User opted out | Requires device analytics sharing |
| Build not distributed | Must be TestFlight or App Store |

### Why are crashes unsymbolicated?

ASC crashes should auto-symbolicate if:
- You uploaded dSYMs during distribution
- "Upload debug symbols" was enabled

If still unsymbolicated:
1. Download .ips file from ASC
2. Use `mdfind` to locate dSYM by UUID
3. Symbolicate with `atos`

See `crash-analyzer` agent: `/axiom:analyze-crash`

### ASC vs Organizer: Which stack trace is better?

Both show the same data, but:
- **Organizer** integrates with Xcode projects (click to jump to code)
- **ASC** better for team-wide visibility and historical trends

---

## Related

**Skills:** axiom-testflight-triage (Xcode Organizer workflows)

**Agents:** crash-analyzer (automated crash log parsing)

**Commands:** `/axiom:analyze-crash`

---

## Resources

**WWDC:** 2020-10076, 2020-10078, 2021-10203, 2021-10258

**Docs:** /app-store-connect/api, /xcode/diagnosing-issues-using-crash-reports-and-device-logs