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

• Click on a crash signature

• Look for Download Logs button (top right)

• Select format:

• .ips (JSON format, iOS 15+)

• .crash (text format, legacy)

• 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

• Navigate to Crashes or Metrics

• Use date range filter to select period

• Click Export (if available) or download individual crash logs

App Store Connect API

For automated export, use the App Store Connect API:

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

• Check crash-free users percentage

• Review any new crash signatures

• 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:

• Wait 24-48 hours for crash data to populate

• Compare crash-free rate to previous version

• Investigate any new top crash signatures

• 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:

• Download .ips file from ASC

• Use mdfind to locate dSYM by UUID

• 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