Set up the Apple App Store console

Overview

To publish your app on the App Store, you must check several values in App Store Connect and Apple Developer and register them in the Hive Console. This document describes where and how to check each value and the Hive Console screens where you register the values. The related console guides explain how to enter and save the values on the console screens.

Register the store App ID

The Bundle ID is the value the App Store uses to identify your app. Hive Axyl integrates with the App Store based on this value to handle login, payment, and more, so register it before you set up login integration and payment integration.

Go to App Store Connect and check the Bundle ID of the target app.

Register the Bundle ID in Store App ID of the App ID that you created with App Store as the store in Project Settings > App ID of the Hive Console. For how to register it, see Register the store App ID.

Apple login completes after the Hive Axyl server verifies the authentication result issued by Apple. For Apple login to work in your app, you must check four values in Apple Developer and register them in the Hive Console: Service ID, Team ID, Key ID, and Private Key, which are used for verification and authorization code exchange.

Prepare all four values in Account in Apple Developer. You do not check them in App Store Connect.

1. Register a Service ID in Apple Developer

The Service ID is the value Apple uses to identify the app that sent a login request. When you register an identifier of the Services IDs type in Apple Developer, the identifier value you enter during registration becomes the Service ID as is.

Open Apple Developer and go to Account > Certificates, IDs & Profiles > Identifiers.
On the screen for registering a new identifier, select Services IDs.
Enter a name that distinguishes the app in Description, enter the identifier value in Identifier, and then complete the registration. For Identifier, enter a value that is easy to distinguish, such as one in the {Bundle ID}.siwa format based on the Bundle ID.
Select the registered identifier and enable Sign in with Apple.
Copy the value you entered in Identifier. This value is the Service ID.

2. Prepare the App ID and provisioning profile for iOS and macOS

To use the Apple login Add-on on iOS or macOS, enable the Sign in with Apple capability for your app's App ID in Apple Developer. Issue a new provisioning profile or renew the existing one to match the App ID with the capability enabled, and then use it to build your app.

The Apple login Add-on automatically adds the required entitlement to the Xcode project at build time. However, you must enable the App ID capability and issue the provisioning profile yourself in Apple Developer.

3. Register the Return URL of the Service ID

To provide Apple login on OSs other than iOS and macOS, register the Hive Axyl relay URL as the Return URL of the Service ID. Because Apple sends login results only to registered HTTPS URLs, for Apple login on Android and Windows, the relay URL operated by Hive Axyl receives the result and passes it to the app. For how to use the relay URL in your app, see Set up the Apple login integration.

In the settings of Sign in with Apple that you enabled for the Service ID in Register a Service ID in Apple Developer, register the following values.

Primary App ID: The Apple App ID identifier that will use Apple login
Return URL: https://core-api.hiveaxyl.com/auth/v1/provider/callback. Use the same value for redirect_uri in the Apple authorization URL
Domain: core-api.hiveaxyl.com

4. Check the Team ID

The Team ID is an identifier that distinguishes Apple Developer teams. You do not need to create one; you only need to check it.

Open Apple Developer and go to Account > Membership details.
Copy the value shown in Team ID.

The Hive Axyl authentication server exchanges Apple authorization codes by sending Apple a value signed with the key for Apple login. When you issue the key, you check the Key ID and the Private Key file together on one screen.

Open Apple Developer and go to Account > Certificates, IDs & Profiles > Keys.
On the screen for registering a new key, enter Key Name and select Sign in with Apple.
In Primary App ID on the Configure Key screen, select the Apple App ID identifier that will use Apple login, and then save.
When registration is complete, copy the Key ID value that appears.
Select Download to download the key file in .p8 format.

Register the key file in the Hive Console as the Private Key, and do not keep it in the app or on the app server. You can download this file only once, when the key is issued. If you lose the file, you must issue a new key and register the Key ID and Private Key in the Hive Console again.

<!-- Add image: Key ID and download area on the Apple Developer Keys screen -->

6. Go to the Hive Console settings

For how to register the credentials you checked and enable Apple login, see Apple login credentials.

Payment integration

App Store payment works as follows: after the user completes a payment, the Hive Axyl server verifies the receipt with the App Store Connect API. For App Store payment to work, you must check the credentials used for verification and the information of the products to sell in App Store Connect and register them in the Hive Console. If you do not sell subscription products, skip steps 2 and 4.

1. Issue an App Store Connect API key

You can check the Issuer ID, Private Key ID, and Private Key to register in the Hive Console all on the App Store Connect API key screen.

Open App Store Connect and go to Users and Access > Integrations > App Store Connect API.
If there is no list of active keys, select Request Access and complete the API access request.
Select the + button to the right of the active key list.
Enter a name, select Admin for access, and then select Generate.
Copy the value shown in Issuer ID.
Copy the Key ID value of the key you generated. This value is the Private Key ID to register in the Hive Console.
Select Download to download the key file in .p8 format. This file is the Private Key to register in the Hive Console.

You can download the key file only once on this screen and cannot download it again. If you lose the file, you must issue a new key and register the Private Key ID and Private Key in the Hive Console again.

<!-- Add image: Issuer ID and key area on the App Store Connect API screen in App Store Connect -->

2. Check the shared secret for subscription products

If you sell subscription products, the Hive Axyl server uses the shared secret when it verifies subscription receipts. The shared secret is a 32-character hexadecimal string issued by App Store Connect. If you generate a new shared secret, you must use the new value to check auto-renewable subscriptions for all apps in the same organization, so do not generate a new one if you already have a shared secret in use.

Open App Store Connect and go to Users and Access > Integrations > Shared Secret.
If you have already generated a shared secret, copy the value shown. If not, generate a shared secret and then copy the value shown.

If you use a different shared secret for each app, use an app-specific shared secret instead of the primary shared secret. To generate an app-specific shared secret, select the target app in App Store Connect and go to General > App Information > App-Specific Shared Secret. Once an app starts using an app-specific shared secret, the primary shared secret can no longer be used for that app, so enter the shared secret that the app actually uses in the Hive Console.

<!-- Add image: Shared secret generation screen in App Store Connect -->

3. Register products to sell and check product IDs

Hive Axyl retrieves the product information registered in the App Store by using the product IDs registered in the Hive Console. Therefore, the product IDs registered in App Store Connect and the product IDs to register in the Hive Console must be the same.

In App Store Connect, register the in-app purchase products or subscription products to sell, and check their product IDs.

4. Enter the Hive Axyl server URL in App Store Connect

If you sell subscription products, enter the Hive Axyl server URL in App Store Connect so that the App Store sends subscription status change notifications to the Hive Axyl server.

Open App Store Connect and select the target app.
Go to General > App Information > App Store Server Notifications.
Enter https://api.hiveaxyl.com/payment/v1/webhook/subscription/apple in Production Server URL.
Save the changes.

5. Register in the Hive Console

Register the values you checked in App Store Connect in the following locations. The Hive Axyl server verifies receipts with the credentials registered in Store Settings and retrieves App Store product information with the product IDs registered in Product Registration.

Value checked in App Store Connect	Where to register in the Hive Console	How to register
Issuer ID, Private Key ID, Private Key, Subscription Shared Secret Key	App Store card in Payment > Store Settings	App Store credentials
Product ID	Payment > Product Registration	Product registration

When you register products, select App Store for Payment platform. Because the actual payment price of App Store products is managed in App Store Connect, the price entered in the Hive Console does not affect the payment amount.

If you use different credentials for each App ID, register them individually as described in Configure credentials per App ID.

If you sell subscription products, also register the URL of the app server that will receive subscription status change notifications in Payment > Subscription Server Notification URL. For how to register it, see Subscription server notification URL. If you do not have an app server to receive notifications yet, first register a server in App server.

Push notification integration

App Store push notifications are sent using Apple Push Notification service (APNs). To use push notifications in an iOS app, you must prepare APNs credentials in Apple Developer.

Enable APNs and prepare the private key in the following order.

1. Prepare the APNs certificate file and Key ID

Register the key to use for sending APNs notifications in Apple Developer. For how to issue a key, see the official Apple guide.

Open Apple Developer and go to Account > Certificates, IDs & Profiles > Keys.
Register the key to use for sending APNs notifications.
Copy the Key ID value of the registered key. For how to check the Key ID, see the official Apple guide.
Select Download.
Download the file in .p8 format.
Use the downloaded file as the APNs certificate file to register in the Hive Console.

Check the Key ID of the new key. Use the new key file as the APNs certificate file.

2. Check the Team ID

The Team ID is an identifier that distinguishes Apple Developer teams. For how to check the Team ID, see the official Apple guide.

Open Apple Developer and go to Account > Membership details.
Copy the value shown in Team ID.

3. Register in the Hive Console

To configure APNs as a push notification method, go to Push > Push Settings. Register the values you checked in the Hive Console.

Value prepared in Apple Developer	Where to register in the Hive Console
APNs certificate file	APNs settings in Push > Push Settings
Key ID	APNs settings in Push > Push Settings
Team ID	APNs settings in Push > Push Settings

Upload the APNs certificate file.

Enter the Key ID and Team ID, and then select Save.