asc-shots-pipeline

Original：🇺🇸 English
Translated

Orchestrate iOS screenshot automation with xcodebuild/simctl for build-run, AXe for UI actions, JSON settings and plan files, Go-based framing (`asc screenshots frame`), and screenshot upload (`asc screenshots upload`). Use when users ask for automated screenshot capture, AXe-driven simulator flows, frame composition, or screenshot-to-upload pipelines.

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Sourcerudrankriyam/app-store-connect-cli-skills
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npx skill4agent add rudrankriyam/app-store-connect-cli-skills asc-shots-pipeline

Tags

Translated version includes tags in frontmatter
ios-screenshot-automationxcode-cliaxe-ui-automationasc-clikoubou-framing

SKILL.md Content

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ASC screenshots pipeline (xcodebuild -> AXe -> frame -> asc)

Use this skill for agent-driven screenshot workflows where the app is built and launched with Xcode CLI tools, UI is driven with AXe, and screenshots are uploaded with 
asc
.

Current scope

  • Implemented now: build/run, AXe plan capture, frame composition, and upload.
  • Device discovery is built-in via 
    asc screenshots list-frame-devices
    .
  • Local screenshot automation commands are experimental in ASC.
  • Framing is pinned to Koubou 
    0.13.0
    for deterministic output.
  • Feedback/issues: https://github.com/rudrankriyam/App-Store-Connect-CLI/issues/new/choose

Defaults

  • Settings file: 
    .asc/shots.settings.json
  • Capture plan: 
    .asc/screenshots.json
  • Raw screenshots dir: 
    ./screenshots/raw
  • Framed screenshots dir: 
    ./screenshots/framed
  • Default frame device: 
    iphone-air

1) Create settings JSON first

Create or update 
.asc/shots.settings.json
:
json
{
  "version": 1,
  "app": {
    "bundle_id": "com.example.app",
    "project": "MyApp.xcodeproj",
    "scheme": "MyApp",
    "simulator_udid": "booted"
  },
  "paths": {
    "plan": ".asc/screenshots.json",
    "raw_dir": "./screenshots/raw",
    "framed_dir": "./screenshots/framed"
  },
  "pipeline": {
    "frame_enabled": true,
    "upload_enabled": false
  },
  "upload": {
    "version_localization_id": "",
    "device_type": "IPHONE_65",
    "source_dir": "./screenshots/framed"
  }
}
If you intentionally skip framing, set:
  • "frame_enabled": false
  • "upload.source_dir": "./screenshots/raw"

2) Build and run app on simulator

Use Xcode CLI for build/install/launch:
bash
xcrun simctl boot "$UDID" || true

xcodebuild \
  -project "MyApp.xcodeproj" \
  -scheme "MyApp" \
  -configuration Debug \
  -destination "platform=iOS Simulator,id=$UDID" \
  -derivedDataPath ".build/DerivedData" \
  build

xcrun simctl install "$UDID" ".build/DerivedData/Build/Products/Debug-iphonesimulator/MyApp.app"
xcrun simctl launch "$UDID" "com.example.app"
Use 
xcodebuild -showBuildSettings
if the app bundle path differs from the default location.

3) Capture screenshots with AXe (or 
asc screenshots run
)

Prefer plan-driven capture:
bash
asc screenshots run --plan ".asc/screenshots.json" --udid "$UDID" --output json
Useful AXe primitives during plan authoring:
bash
axe describe-ui --udid "$UDID"
axe tap --id "search_field" --udid "$UDID"
axe type "wwdc" --udid "$UDID"
axe screenshot --output "./screenshots/raw/home.png" --udid "$UDID"
Minimal 
.asc/screenshots.json
example:
json
{
  "version": 1,
  "app": {
    "bundle_id": "com.example.app",
    "udid": "booted",
    "output_dir": "./screenshots/raw"
  },
  "steps": [
    { "action": "launch" },
    { "action": "wait", "duration_ms": 800 },
    { "action": "screenshot", "name": "home" }
  ]
}

4) Frame screenshots with 
asc screenshots frame

ASC pins framing to Koubou 
0.13.0
. Install and verify before running framing steps:
bash
pip install koubou==0.13.0
kou --version  # expect 0.13.0
List supported frame device values first:
bash
asc screenshots list-frame-devices --output json
Frame one screenshot (defaults to 
iphone-air
):
bash
asc screenshots frame \
  --input "./screenshots/raw/home.png" \
  --output-dir "./screenshots/framed" \
  --device "iphone-air" \
  --output json
Supported 
--device
values:
  • iphone-air
    (default)
  • iphone-17-pro
  • iphone-17-pro-max
  • iphone-16e
  • iphone-17

5) Upload screenshots with asc

Generate and review artifacts before upload:
bash
asc screenshots review-generate --framed-dir "./screenshots/framed" --output-dir "./screenshots/review"
asc screenshots review-open --output-dir "./screenshots/review"
asc screenshots review-approve --all-ready --output-dir "./screenshots/review"
Upload from the configured source directory (default 
./screenshots/framed
when framing is enabled):
bash
asc screenshots upload \
  --version-localization "LOC_ID" \
  --path "./screenshots/framed" \
  --device-type "IPHONE_65" \
  --output json
List or validate before upload when needed:
bash
asc screenshots sizes --output table
asc screenshots list --version-localization "LOC_ID" --output table

Agent behavior

  • Always confirm exact flags with 
    --help
    before running commands.
  • Re-check command paths with 
    asc screenshots --help
    because screenshot commands are evolving quickly.
  • Keep outputs deterministic: default to JSON for machine steps.
  • Prefer 
    asc screenshots list-frame-devices --output json
    before selecting a frame device.
  • Ensure screenshot files exist before upload.
  • Use explicit long flags (
    --app
    , 
    --output
    , 
    --version-localization
    , etc.).
  • Treat screenshot-local automation as experimental and call it out in user-facing handoff notes.
  • If framing fails with a version error, re-install pinned Koubou: 
    pip install koubou==0.13.0
    .

6) Multi-locale capture (optional)

Do not use 
xcrun simctl launch ... -e AppleLanguages
for localization. 
-e
is an environment variable pattern and does not reliably switch app language.
For this pipeline, use simulator-wide locale defaults per UDID. This works with 
asc screenshots capture
, which relaunches the app internally.
bash
# Map each locale to a dedicated simulator UDID.
# (Create these simulators once with `xcrun simctl create`.)
declare -A LOCALE_UDID=(
  ["en-US"]="UDID_EN_US"
  ["de-DE"]="UDID_DE_DE"
  ["fr-FR"]="UDID_FR_FR"
  ["ja-JP"]="UDID_JA_JP"
)

set_simulator_locale() {
  local UDID="$1"
  local LOCALE="$2"            # e.g. de-DE
  local LANG="${LOCALE%%-*}"   # de
  local APPLE_LOCALE="${LOCALE/-/_}" # de_DE

  xcrun simctl boot "$UDID" || true
  xcrun simctl spawn "$UDID" defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleLanguages -array "$LANG"
  xcrun simctl spawn "$UDID" defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleLocale -string "$APPLE_LOCALE"
}

for LOCALE in "${!LOCALE_UDID[@]}"; do
  UDID="${LOCALE_UDID[$LOCALE]}"
  echo "Capturing $LOCALE on $UDID..."
  set_simulator_locale "$UDID" "$LOCALE"

  xcrun simctl terminate "$UDID" "com.example.app" || true
  asc screenshots capture \
    --bundle-id "com.example.app" \
    --name "home" \
    --udid "$UDID" \
    --output-dir "./screenshots/raw/$LOCALE" \
    --output json
done
If you launch manually (outside 
asc screenshots capture
), use app launch arguments:
bash
xcrun simctl launch "$UDID" "com.example.app" -AppleLanguages "(de)" -AppleLocale "de_DE"

7) Parallel execution for speed

Run one locale per simulator UDID in parallel:
bash
#!/bin/bash
# parallel-capture.sh

declare -A LOCALE_UDID=(
  ["en-US"]="UDID_EN_US"
  ["de-DE"]="UDID_DE_DE"
  ["fr-FR"]="UDID_FR_FR"
  ["ja-JP"]="UDID_JA_JP"
)

capture_locale() {
  local LOCALE="$1"
  local UDID="$2"
  local LANG="${LOCALE%%-*}"
  local APPLE_LOCALE="${LOCALE/-/_}"

  echo "Starting $LOCALE on $UDID"
  xcrun simctl boot "$UDID" || true
  xcrun simctl spawn "$UDID" defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleLanguages -array "$LANG"
  xcrun simctl spawn "$UDID" defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleLocale -string "$APPLE_LOCALE"
  xcrun simctl terminate "$UDID" "com.example.app" || true

  asc screenshots capture \
    --bundle-id "com.example.app" \
    --name "home" \
    --udid "$UDID" \
    --output-dir "./screenshots/raw/$LOCALE" \
    --output json

  echo "Completed $LOCALE"
}

for LOCALE in "${!LOCALE_UDID[@]}"; do
  capture_locale "$LOCALE" "${LOCALE_UDID[$LOCALE]}" &
done

wait
echo "All captures done. Now framing..."
Or use 
xargs
with 
locale:udid
pairs:
bash
printf "%s\n" \
  "en-US:UDID_EN_US" \
  "de-DE:UDID_DE_DE" \
  "fr-FR:UDID_FR_FR" \
  "ja-JP:UDID_JA_JP" | xargs -P 4 -I {} bash -c '
    PAIR="{}"
    LOCALE="${PAIR%%:*}"
    UDID="${PAIR##*:}"
    LANG="${LOCALE%%-*}"
    APPLE_LOCALE="${LOCALE/-/_}"
    xcrun simctl boot "$UDID" || true
    xcrun simctl spawn "$UDID" defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleLanguages -array "$LANG"
    xcrun simctl spawn "$UDID" defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleLocale -string "$APPLE_LOCALE"
    xcrun simctl terminate "$UDID" "com.example.app" || true
    asc screenshots capture --bundle-id "com.example.app" --name "home" --udid "$UDID" --output-dir "./screenshots/raw/$LOCALE" --output json
  '

8) Full multi-locale pipeline example

bash
#!/bin/bash
# full-pipeline-multi-locale.sh

declare -A LOCALE_UDID=(
  ["en-US"]="UDID_EN_US"
  ["de-DE"]="UDID_DE_DE"
  ["fr-FR"]="UDID_FR_FR"
  ["es-ES"]="UDID_ES_ES"
  ["ja-JP"]="UDID_JA_JP"
)

DEVICE="iphone-air"
RAW_DIR="./screenshots/raw"
FRAMED_DIR="./screenshots/framed"

# Step 1: Parallel capture with per-simulator locale defaults
for LOCALE in "${!LOCALE_UDID[@]}"; do
  (
    UDID="${LOCALE_UDID[$LOCALE]}"
    LANG="${LOCALE%%-*}"
    APPLE_LOCALE="${LOCALE/-/_}"

    xcrun simctl boot "$UDID" || true
    xcrun simctl spawn "$UDID" defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleLanguages -array "$LANG"
    xcrun simctl spawn "$UDID" defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleLocale -string "$APPLE_LOCALE"
    xcrun simctl terminate "$UDID" "com.example.app" || true

    asc screenshots capture \
      --bundle-id "com.example.app" \
      --name "home" \
      --udid "$UDID" \
      --output-dir "$RAW_DIR/$LOCALE" \
      --output json
    echo "Captured $LOCALE"
  ) &
done
wait

# Step 2: Parallel framing
for LOCALE in "${!LOCALE_UDID[@]}"; do
  (
    asc screenshots frame \
      --input "$RAW_DIR/$LOCALE/home.png" \
      --output-dir "$FRAMED_DIR/$LOCALE" \
      --device "$DEVICE" \
      --output json
    echo "Framed $LOCALE"
  ) &
done
wait

# Step 3: Generate review (single run, aggregates all locales)
asc screenshots review-generate \
  --framed-dir "$FRAMED_DIR" \
  --output-dir "./screenshots/review"

# Step 4: Upload (run per locale if needed)
for LOCALE in "${!LOCALE_UDID[@]}"; do
  asc screenshots upload \
    --version-localization "LOC_ID_FOR_$LOCALE" \
    --path "$FRAMED_DIR/$LOCALE" \
    --device-type "IPHONE_65" \
    --output json
done