revenuecat-troubleshoot: diagnose RevenueCat integration problems
Use this skill when the user reports a RevenueCat behavior that does not match expectations: empty offerings, missing products, an entitlement that does not unlock after a successful purchase, a paywall that fails to render, or sandbox transactions that never reach the dashboard.
This skill combines two angles:
- Code-side diagnosis — turn on debug logging, walk a universal checklist, drop into platform specifics.
- Dashboard inspection — use the RevenueCat MCP server to read the project, apps, products, entitlements, offerings, and webhooks, and offer fixes.
Work them in order. Most reports resolve before you reach the platform specifics.
1. Detect the platform
Inspect the working directory and pick the first match, from top to bottom:
- React Native: has a entry, or as a dependency → read
platforms/react-native.md
. If is also a dependency, note it as an Expo project.
- Flutter: exists at the project root → read .
- Kotlin Multiplatform: contains a multiplatform source sets block, or depends on
com.revenuecat.purchases:purchases-kmp*
→ read .
- Android (native): applies (and is not KMP) → read .
- iOS (native): , , , or at the project root → read .
If several match (e.g. an
folder inside a Flutter project), pick the
outermost project, the one that owns the build. If still ambiguous, ask the user which platform the bug reproduces on.
2. Universal code-side checklist
Walk these nine items in order. Most reports are resolved by steps 1 through 5.
- Turn on debug logging and reproduce. The SDK narrates what it is doing. Roughly 80% of reports are diagnosable from the log output alone. Each platform file shows how to set to debug.
- Verify the API key platform matches the app. iOS apps must use an public SDK key. Android apps must use (or for Amazon). A mismatched key produces an authentication error on the first network call. On iOS this surfaces as an error code. On Android it surfaces as
PurchasesErrorCode.InvalidCredentialsError
.
- Verify the bundle ID / applicationId matches the dashboard. Open the RevenueCat dashboard → Project → Apps. The bundle identifier (iOS) or applicationId (Android) registered there must match the built app exactly, including capitalization. A mismatch causes offerings to come back empty because the app is not recognized.
- Verify offerings in the dashboard. Dashboard → Products → Offerings. The offering marked "current" must have at least one package attached, and each package must reference a store product. An offering with zero packages returns an empty list even though succeeds.
- Verify store products are live. Products must be in "Ready to Submit" on App Store Connect or "Active" on Google Play Console. A product in a draft state will not be returned by the store, even in sandbox. If the SDK logs show offerings arriving from RevenueCat but products failing to resolve, this is almost always the cause.
- Verify the testing account. iOS: the device must be signed into a Sandbox Apple ID under Settings → App Store → Sandbox Account (set on iOS 14+ after the first sandbox prompt). Android: the tester's Gmail must be added to Google Play Console → Setup → License testing, and the app must be installed via the Internal Testing opt-in link, not sideloaded.
- Verify the network. Corporate VPNs, captive portals, and some DNS filters silently block the RevenueCat API or the store APIs. Try a different network before digging deeper.
- Verify the appUserID. If was called with an ID that does not match what the user expects, entitlements appear missing because they are attached to a different RC user. Print
Purchases.shared.appUserID
(iOS) / Purchases.sharedInstance.appUserID
(Android) and confirm it matches.
- Reset and retry. Uninstall the app, re-sign into the sandbox / tester account, reinstall from the correct channel, relaunch.
3. Dashboard inspection via the RevenueCat MCP
Use this when steps 3, 4, or 5 above point at dashboard configuration, when the user has no working app yet, or when you need to confirm a fix landed.
Important: The API key may have access to multiple projects. Always call
first. If multiple projects are returned, ask the user which to inspect.
Phase A: gather context
- Symptom — "What specifically isn't working? What error messages are you seeing? Which platform (iOS, Android, Web)?"
- User state — "Is this happening for new purchases or existing subscribers? Sandbox or production?"
Phase B: systematic diagnosis
Work through this checklist via MCP tools:
Check 1: Project overview
list-projects → ask user to select project if multiple
list-apps (with selected project_id)
- Verify project exists and apps are present.
Check 2: Products
Check 3: Entitlements
list-entitlements
get-products-from-entitlement (for each entitlement)
Check 4: Offerings
list-offerings
list-packages
Check 5: Webhooks (if server-side issues suspected)
list-webhook-integrations
Phase C: report and offer fixes
Diagnostic Report
=================
Project: {project_name}
Checks Passed: ✅
- Project exists and is accessible
- 2 apps configured (iOS, Android)
- 4 products found
Issues Found: ⚠️
1. CRITICAL: Product not attached to entitlement
Product: annual_premium (prod123)
Fix: Attach this product to an entitlement
2. WARNING: Offering has empty package
Offering: default / Package: $rc_annual has no products
Fix: Attach annual_premium to this package
3. INFO: No webhook configured
Optional but recommended for server-side access control
Recommended Actions:
1. Attach annual_premium to "premium" entitlement
2. Attach annual_premium to $rc_annual package
Would you like me to fix issues #1 and #2 now?
For each fixable issue, confirm with the user, then execute via MCP:
attach-products-to-entitlement
attach-products-to-package
4. Platform specific step
Read the platform file that matches detection. Each one lists platform specific gotchas not covered above (StoreKit configuration files, Gradle/desugaring, Metro caching, Expo prebuild, etc.).
platforms/react-native.md
5. Verify the fix
Do not declare the issue fixed until:
- The log that previously showed the error now shows the expected success line (offerings returned with at least one package, purchase completed, entitlement active).
- The dashboard reflects the change. For a purchase, check the Sandbox view on the Customers page and confirm the transaction is attached to the right .
- The reproduction steps from the original report now pass.
If the user cannot reproduce locally, have them send the full debug log from app launch to the moment of failure. The SDK's own output is usually enough.
Reference: SDK error codes
Common errors
| Error code | Likely cause | Solution |
|---|
| Reserved characters or empty string | Use alphanumeric IDs, underscores, hyphens only |
| Wrong API key or bundle ID mismatch | Verify API key matches app |
| No connectivity or firewall | Check network, verify RevenueCat domains allowed |
| Store downtime, config issue, iOS 18.x bug | Check store status, verify config, see Known iOS Issues below |
SIGNATURE_VERIFICATION_FAILED
| Tampered receipt or config error | Verify In-App Purchase Key (iOS) or service credentials |
Purchase errors
| Error code | Solution |
|---|
| Call or sync customer |
PRODUCT_NOT_AVAILABLE_FOR_PURCHASE
| Verify product status in App Store Connect / Play Console |
| Check parental controls, payment method |
PRODUCT_ALREADY_PURCHASED
| Call to sync |
Reference: debug log interpretation
Ask the developer to enable debug logging:
- iOS:
Purchases.logLevel = .debug
- Android:
Purchases.logLevel = LogLevel.DEBUG
Log emoji indicators: 🍎 Apple/StoreKit · 🤖 Google Play · 📦 Amazon · 😿 RevenueCat backend.
Reference: known platform issues
iOS
iOS 18.0–18.3.2: StoreKit Daemon Connection Failure
- Symptom: (NSCocoaErrorDomain Code 4097) on ~25% of purchases on physical devices.
- Fix: Upgrade to iOS 18.4+.
iOS 18.4–18.5 Simulator: Products Don't Load
- Symptom: Products return empty in simulator with sandbox.
- Affected: Simulator only — physical devices and production unaffected.
- Fix: Test on physical device, or use Xcode 26+ with iOS 26+ simulators.
Android
ProxyBillingActivity NullPointerException
- Typically from automated testing or Play Store pre-launch reports on LG Nexus 5X / rooted devices.
- Safe to ignore/silence in crash reporting tools.
NoCoreLibraryDesugaringException / NoClassDefFoundError
- Fix: Enable core library desugaring in or raise .
Reference: platform configuration checklists
iOS
Android
Reference: App Store rejection troubleshooting
"Issues fetching products" — Products must be submitted for review with the app on first submission. Create products in App Store Connect, then submit app and products together.
"Error during purchase" (Sandbox) — Apple sandbox downtime. Inform reviewer, provide RevenueCat sandbox dashboard screenshot showing test purchases work, ask to retry.
"Content not unlocked after purchase" — Verify product → entitlement connection in RevenueCat. Ensure app calls
after purchase.
Reference: common issues
User purchased but has no entitlement — Check product → entitlement attachment and verify store identifier matches exactly.
Offering returns empty — Verify a
offering exists, packages have products attached, and products exist in the app's store.
Webhook not receiving events — Verify URL is internet-accessible and returns 200 OK. Test with webhook.site.
Subscription status out of sync — SDK caches
for 5 min (foreground). Force refresh:
swift
// iOS
Purchases.shared.getCustomerInfo(fetchPolicy: .fetchCurrent) { ... }
kotlin
// Android
Purchases.sharedInstance.getCustomerInfoWith(CacheFetchPolicy.FETCH_CURRENT) { ... }
SDK crashes on launch (iOS / Xcode 26) — Initialize RevenueCat before other networking libraries.
SDK crashes on launch (Android) — Enable core library desugaring or raise
to 24+.