Tapbound

Publishing guide

Publish your app yourself, step by step

Tapbound delivers the finished files, the Android aab and the iOS ipa, and publishing them is your task, under your own developer accounts. This guide walks the whole path. A store-submission add-on [beta] can do it for you with your scoped credentials once it is verified against real stores; until then, you are in full control.

Google Play (Android)

Your .aab file

The aab file is the Android App Bundle, the format Google Play requires for new apps. You upload it from the Play Console, under your own developer account.

  1. 1Create a Google Play Console account ($25 one-time) at play.google.com/console and accept the developer agreement.
  2. 2Create a new app: click "Create app", fill the name and category, and set it to active.
  3. 3Complete the app content sections Play requires before release: privacy policy, ads declaration, content rating questionnaire, target audience, and the Data safety form.
  4. 4Set up pricing and distribution (free or paid) and select the countries you distribute to.
  5. 5Under "App signing", Google Play App Signing is recommended. Google holds the signing key, you keep an upload key. Your Tapbound build is already signed with an upload key it can work with (auto-generated unless you uploaded your own keystore).
  6. 6Create a release: choose the internal testing or production track, upload your aab file, fill the release notes, and review.
  7. 7Roll out and submit for review. Review typically takes hours to a few days.

If you already have the aab, most of the time goes to the Play Console listing requirements, not the file.

Apple App Store (iOS)

Your .ipa file

The ipa file is the iOS app archive. You upload it to App Store Connect and submit it for review from there, under your own Apple Developer account.

  1. 1Join the Apple Developer Program ($99/year) at developer.apple.com. It is required to distribute through the App Store.
  2. 2Create your app record in App Store Connect (appstoreconnect.apple.com): the app name, the bundle id Tapbound stamped (shown in your dashboard), and the primary language.
  3. 3Fill the app information: privacy policy URL, categories, and the App Privacy answers.
  4. 4Upload the ipa with Transporter (the App Store Connect companion app, available for Mac and on Windows via the web). The bundle id must match your record exactly.
  5. 5Add the build that appears in App Store Connect: screenshots (6.9-inch and 6.5-inch required), description, keywords, and a support URL.
  6. 6Set up App Store pricing and availability, then click Submit for Review. You can also use TestFlight first to test on your own devices.
  7. 7Review typically takes one to three days.

iOS requires a Mac (or Transporter) to upload the ipa. The build itself needs no Mac; only the upload does.

Important to know

  • You need your own Apple and Google developer accounts. Apple requires them by policy; every app publishes under a real developer account, and yours is the one that publishes it.
  • An ipa requires your own valid Apple signing credentials, a distribution certificate and a provisioning profile for your bundle id. You upload them in the dashboard's Integrations tab, and the build uses them (Tapbound never holds your Apple identity). Without them the iOS build cannot be signed.
  • Android is signed with an upload key, auto-generated unless you upload your own keystore in the dashboard.
  • Every rebuild produces a fresh identifier except the store submission build, which carries your app's stable one. Re-submitting updates your existing listing instead of creating a new app.
  • Store review is outside our control. The stores test the same requirements our compliance gate checks against, but only they decide approval.
  • When the submission add-on launches, you will be able to hand this whole process to us. Your scoped credentials, your accounts, your apps. Until then, this guide is the complete path.

Related In-Depth Guides

Google Play 20-Tester Guide

Passing the mandatory 14-day closed testing requirement on personal accounts.

Apple Guideline 4.2 Guide

How to satisfy Apple minimum functionality review without rejections.

What is an AAB File?

The Android App Bundle format explained simply.

What is an IPA File?

iOS app archives, signing credentials, and installation.